[CT-NFB] January NFB of CT Board Meeting minutes

Tue Mar 7 20:15:04 UTC 2023

National Federation of the Blind of CT 

BOARD MEETING MINUTES

Saturday, January 7, 2023

Plainville Library, 11:00 AM.

Meeting came to order at 11:12 AM.

Roll Call:

NFB Board: President Maryanne Melley, 1st Vice-President Nathanael Wales,
2nd Vice-President Mary Silverberg, Secretary Becky Ireland, Treasurer Cheri
Duquette, Board Members Veronica Alston, Deb Reed, Beth Rival, and Jim
McCollum.

Guest Speaker: Carol Jenkins Director of BESB.

We opened the meeting with the NFB Pledge.

President Melley mentioned that on NFB Voice, on Instagram, Kristen
Dockendorff was featured on Braille Day. The segment showed her reading
Braille. Everyone congratulated Kristen.

Reports:

Treasurer's Report

Cheri Duquette gave a Treasurer's Report. If you would like a copy, please
contact Lucia and she will forward a copy to you.

Comments and Questions:

Marchele Davis asked, What the bill for $5,000 was that will be paid for out
of the funds?   

Cheri replied "That $5,083.32 out of the Blackford Fund will be used to pay
for the first 2 months of Newsline.  BESB pays for the remaining 10 months
of the year. The Blackford Fund was set up for this purpose. 

Nathaniel Wales made a motion to accept the Treasurer's Report.

Seconded: Beth Rival 

Vote was 9 to 0 motion passes, Treasurer's report approved.

Harlow Grant - Beth Rival

Beth told members about the New Harlow Grant. She explained how she applied
for the grant and was informed, just after the state convention, that she
would be awarded the funds. This new grant is for technological independence
for the blind. There is $40,000 available in this fund and will be awarded
quarterly to applicants. To be eligible for the grant you must be a resident
of the greater New Haven area and an active member of the NFB. Beth read out
a list of towns and cities that are eligible. If you would like a copy of
the list, contact her and she will send it to you. All paperwork and
eligibility requirements will be on the application forms. Information about
how to apply for this grant will be sent out to members soon.

The Federationist- Brianna Rigsbee

Pres. Melley read Brianna's report to the members.

Brianna would like members to write articles for the paper. Articles can be
about your first Washington Seminar, your first National Convention,
receiving your first guide dog or any advice you may have for younger
members. Articles need to be submitted by February 10th. Please send
articles to editor.fedct at gmail.com <mailto:editor.fedct at gmail.com> .

Questions and comments

Kristen Dockendorff asked to who is The Federationist sent?

Pres. Melley replied that it goes out to everyone in the state. She also
shares it with Presidents in other states for their magazines. Articles may
also be shared with the Editor of The Braille Monitor.

PAC Plan (Pre-Authorized Contribution) Len Schlenk

Len reported that a few members signed up for the PAC plan at the
convention. He also stated that they are doing better with donations. He
still encourages members to sign up for the PAC plan that it is only $5 a
month. He plans to get a full list of members from CT, from National. If you
would like to donate, please contact Len and he will help you out.  

Affiliate Dues

Pres. Melley reminded members that Affiliate dues are due in the month of
January. It doesn't matter when chapter dues are due, local Treasurers must
have members' dues sent to Lucia by the end of January. She encouraged
chapter presidents to email their members to remind them to send their dues
to Lucia. Please remember Affiliate dues are now $5 for each person.  

NFB Newsline

Pres. Melley mentioned that our current coordinator Gary Allen is no longer
able to do this job.  Pres. Melley asked if there're was anyone who would
like to volunteer to take over.  Deb Reed volunteered to take over as
coordinator.  

Paralympics

Pres. Melley mentioned that she was contacted by a lady from the
Paralympics. The lady wanted to know if we would be interested in
participating. If interested let her know and she will send you the
information.    

State Convention Committee

Pres. Melley mentioned that Jim Cronin is looking into a hotel in New
London. Their rates are $142 a night for a room, and they want $2,000
deposit for the large conference room. Pres. Melley mentioned that we went
there before and there were some issues. The committee will check to see if
these issues have been rectified.

ABPVI (Advisory Board for Persons who are Visually Impaired) :Mary
Silverberg 

Mary reported the following:

*	They met on December 20,202. Carol was introduced to the Board. She
told the Board a little bit about herself and her background working with
the blind.
*	Carol told the Board that she has been making time to meet all the
employees and to see how they work together. She is identifying the
vacancies in the department to determine the qualifications needed to fill
them. Her plan also is to get more funding, hiring to fill positions, and
training. The current vacancies are in clerical, VR, and adult services.
*	Mary spoke about several programs that BESB is working on and a new
program that Southern Connecticut State University is offering. She stated
that the program that SCSU is offering is extremely helpful and supportive.
They hope this will help people have a successful start.
*	They spoke to a college about starting a micro-market program. An
administration, at a community college, is exploring alternative ways to
provide services to their students. More on both these items at our next
meeting.
*	They are also in conversation with the National Guard facility in
Niantic about exploring and expanding the
*	micro-market concept.
*	A technology group is providing audio technical instruction to BESB
and the library. This will help those over 65 who need help learning how to
use voiceover on their smartphones and other devices. 
*	After 13 years, Brenda has decided to retire from the SRC (State
Rehabilitative Committee). She worked very hard on this committee and will
be missed.
*	Currently they are working with BESB to hire new Doctors for their
low vision clients. It's been difficult because some doctors won't accept
their insurance. They are looking into providing credit cards to their
clients they will be able to use to pay for eye exams and purchase the
glasses they need.

Carol added that there are currently 3 people working in the billing
department. So, some new projects may take longer to be implemented. They
are currently looking to hire more people in this department.

Comments and Questions

A Member asked how long does it usually take to fill a position?

Carol replied, it can take a while because it needs to go to HR for
approval. Once posted they can set a closed date for applications. After
this it's a matter of interviewing applicants  and choosing a candidate for
the position. 

Pres. Melley welcomed Carol Jenkins to our meeting and said that we look
forward to working with her.

SRC (State Rehabilitative Committee): Deb Reed

Deb reed reported the following:

*	Their last meeting was on December 21,2022. Carol Jenkins also
attended this meeting. She introduced herself and described her background
and experience to the members of the committee. Since there wasn't a quorum,
no votes were taken at this meeting.
*	They had a guest speaker Marty from AIRA, he spoke at our state
convention, he stated that we now have 55 users in Connecticut. This is more
users than we had when he spoke at our convention last November. They are
currently working on a campaign called "The 50 ways to use AIRA". They hope
this will help users know all the different ways they can use the app. He
also mentioned that, in Alabama, they tell all their new clients about AIRA.
This way when an instructor arrives at their home, they can help them
download and set up the app on their phones.
*	Deb stated that, the focus group of which she is a member, have been
looking into the Consumer Satisfaction Survey that CCSU sent out. They came
to the conclusion that it doesn't include a true representation of BESB's
clients who may or may not have had problems with their service.  They feel
we need a voice to express any concerns we may have.  CCSU will send out a
new survey that will be more inclusive of all BESB clients.
*	This month's success story is Rebecca Anderson. She has been a
client of BESB since she was a very young child. She has graduated from high
school and will be attending the Seminary where she will major in Disabled
Theology.  Currently she is working part time with Julian's Way, a
non-profit, that provides care to the elderly.

Questions and comments

Nathanael asked if there was something the NFB could do to help BESB get the
necessary funding they need ?

Carol replied that she doesn't have the power to add or remove funds from
the budget. However, she is willing to forward information about the budget
so that we can advocate on their behalf by bringing our concerns to our
Representatives. She also explained the process of how the budget is created
and voted upon. She also noted that certain funds seem to be less and less
each year so any help we give will be appreciated.

Nathanael asked in what areas are needs not being met?

Carol replied that technology is generally the area where needs are not
being met. With everything going digital many adult users are not getting
the training they need to stay connected.

Deb asked how is the Federal government made aware of our funding needs?

Carol replied that every year a report is sent to the RSA (Rehabilitative
Services Association) containing information such as how many consumers we
are serving, what services we provide, and the funding needed. They review
the report and then send their recommendations and the report to Congress
where they will make their final decision. 

Members had a brief discussion about different ways to advocate for these
funds. Ideas mentioned include contacting our Representatives and joining a
disability rights group in our area to help make our voices heard. 

Washington Seminar: Mary Silverberg

Mary stated that the appointments are being made. It is a little more
difficult this year. This is because they want constituents to meet with a
Representative in their district. There are currently 11 members going this
year. This covers all but 2 Reps.

After a brief discussion it was suggested to tell them that even though the
members talking to them do not live in their district they do have
constituents who are affected and need their help.

Jim McCollum set up the workshop dates for the seminar. The dates are as
follows:

Jan. 10 at 8 PM

Jan. 12 at 8 PM 

Jan 17 at 8 PM 

All sessions will be virtual. Zoom information will be sent out soon.

Subsidy for National Convention

This year the National Convention is from July 1st thru July 6th. Pres.
Melley stated that each year we give out subsidies to help members attend
the convention. She asked members how much the subsidy should be this year.
After a brief discussion members agreed upon $800.

Beth Rival made a motion that the subsidy for the National Convention be in
the amount of $800.

Seconded: Mary Silverberg

Vote was 9 to 0 motion passes subsidy is approved.

A Gift in the Memory of Steve Famiglietti

Pres. Melley suggested that we make a donation or present a gift in memory
of Steve Famiglietti who passed away in November of 2022. Members had a
brief discussion about what they would like to do. Suggestions included
donating funds to a scholarship in Steve's name, planting a tree in his
memory at Oak Hill where he worked and lived, and donating money to Fidelco
where Steve received his guide dogs. This discussion was tabled until our
next meeting so that Pres. Melley can get further information.

Audio Vault

Kristen Dockendorff told members about a website called Audiovault.com. She
heard about it from Steve Cook. You go to this Website enter your name and
email and then you can download any movie or TV show you want free. You are
downloading is the audio track with audio description no video. So, check
out this Website and enjoy your favorite shows. 

Chapter News

At Large Chapter Jim Cronin

Jim was unable to attend, so Pres. Melley read his report. 

The chapter now has 24 members in its group. In October they had a guest
speaker Ted Browning, Director of Elections, where they talked about
accessible voting. In November they heard from a Braille coordinator from
BESB. In December they heard from Andrew and Paula, Community specialists
from Media Technologies, they talked about the Super Sense app. The
Southwest Chapter is currently organizing and now has 8 members.

Southern Chapter Len Schlenk 

Len reported that Carol Jenkins attended their Christmas party in December.
They enjoyed meeting and talking with her. He also mentioned they have a few
new members who attended their last meeting.

Central CT Chapter Deb Reed

Deb reported they enjoyed a wonderful Christmas party lunch at Paradise
Pizza in New Britain. She mentioned that Carol also attended their Christmas
party, and a good time was had by all. She mentioned they are planning to do
an outreach table at Pet Smart in May. 

The next NFB Board meeting is scheduled for April 15, 2023 and will be
hosted by the Southern Chapter.

Meeting adjourned at 2:52 PM.

Respectfully submitted by,

Rebecca Ireland

Secretary

NFB of CT 

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