[Iabs-talk] Chicago minutes june 2011

[David Meyer]

NFBI Chicago Chapter
June 11, 2011
Exchequer Pub and Restaurant
226 S. Wabash, Chicago

CALL TO ORDER

Chapter President Dave Meyer called the meeting to order at 1:03 PM.

FEDERATION FUZZIES AND ATTENDANCE

The meeting began with Federation Fuzzies, items of good news that people
wanted to share. A number of people reported improvements in health,
including Leanne Mayne and Blair Alper. Jemal Powell reported that Braille
numbers have been replaced on the south suburban PACE buses. Jemal has been
appointed to a full term on the Suburban 88 Budget Committee. Denise Avant
participated in a 5-K run. Patti Chang has been asked to give a presentation
at the annual conference of the International Municipal Lawyers Association.

Sam Chou has graduated from Northeastern University. Connie Davis had a bad
fall last December and has been using a cane ever since. Bruce Paul is
starting to learn Braille. Jessica Lopez is graduating from Walter Peyton
High School. There were forty-eight people in attendance, including
out-of-towners Blair Alper and Julie Meyer and first-timer Rose Sloan. Three
more people were listening to the streaming audio.

COLLECTIONS

Dave Meyer announced that the chapter will contribute to six NFB funds this
year: White Cane, tenBroek, Imagination, Jernigan, SUN, and NFB Camp. We
took a single collection to cover all of these funds.

PROGRAM

Several members reported on their experiences at national conventions. The
May Monitor includes a description of the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in
Orlando where this year's convention will be held. Pam Gillmore gave
first-time conventioneers some ideas about what to expect day by day. She
described such convention standards as the Resolutions Committee meeting,
Mock Trial, the Exhibit Hall, the Independence Market, and Division Day. 
Gina Falvo talked about her first convention and encouraged new people to
attend the Rookie Roundup.

SECRETARY's MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting of May 14 were approved. Kelly Doty suggested
that treasurer's reports should also be distributed along with the minutes.

CHAPTER BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS

Dave Meyer reported the board's recommendations for chapter contributions to
national funds. The board recommended that the chapter give $300 to the
White Cane Fund, $300 to the Jacobus tenBroek Fund, and $200 each to the
Imagination Fund, the Jernigan Fund, the SUN Fund, and NFB Camp. The board
approved giving three scholarships to help people attend the NFBI
convention. Each will be worth $150, and recipients must attend the entire
convention. One of these scholarships will be given in memory of Carmen
Dennis. The Chicago Convention Scholarship Committee will be anonymous, as
it was last year.

STATE REPORT

NFBI President Patti Gregory-Chang said that tickets are now available for
Oktoberfest, which will be held on September 17 at the home of Patti and
Francisco. Tickets cost $30. Our Manna Certificate order this month was over
$6,000, thanks to co-ordinator Joe Monti. Patti noted that we have five NFBI
scholarship winners, and three of them were at the meeting: Rose Sloan,
Michal Nowicki, and Vandana Chaudhry. Leanne reported that Illinois is down
in terms of the Imagination Fund. She urged everyone to sign up to be an
imaginator and to raise money. Some people have signed up but haven't raised
money yet. Patti Chang and Denise Avant have each already raised over $1000.

The Law School Admissions Council Website has been inaccessible to blind
students. The NFB attempted to negotiate and finally had to sue them. The
council settled and will make the site accessible. A suit against
Ticketmaster also settled, and the site will be accessible by December 31. 
The Chicago Chapter will have a charter bus to state convention in Rock
Island. The bus will leave ON TIME, at 9 AM, from the northwest corner of
Clark and Lake. Patti and Leanne will appoint people to help with the lift
and co-ordinate things on board.

At national convention the Illinois Caucus will meet on July 5 at 7:30 AM in
Wikiwa 1 on Level 2. Kelly will handle the banquet ticket exchange. The
names of every person who registered for the Race for Independence will be
entered into a drawing at the caucus to win a Louis Braille coin.

We need to do legislative follow-ups to Washington Seminar. In addition to
the issues we raised at the seminar we are also going to try to introduce a
minimum-wage bill that would repeal the exemption for sheltered workshops. 
Dave Meyer, Bob Gardner, and Annette Grove will arrange visits to
legislators. Let them know if you can be available and they will pair you
with someone and give you pointers on what to say. Patti and Denise will
visit Rep. Quigley. Debbie Pittman, Dave Meyer, Debbie Stein, Steve
Hastalis, Vandana Chaudhry, Rose Sloan, Glenn Moore, Jemal Powell, Mary Lou
Grunwald, George and Linda Villa, and Leanne Mayne all volunteered to make
visits.

State convention will be held October 7, 8, and 9. The registration form is
available and will soon be on the Website. Laura Martinez will be on the
agenda talking about her training and job as a chef. We will also have a
blind mechanic. We will have programs for parents, teens, and significant
others. Denise announced that we need lots of door prizes. We will have a
face-to-face board meeting on August 6 at the convention hotel. Make
reservations by calling 309-794-1212. Francisco Chang and Kristi Dennis will
be driving.

Patti urged people to contribute articles to the newsletter. Byron Lee
offered to write about Directions for Me. Byron asked people to contribute
photos to our Flickr account so they can be put on the Website.

Denise explained the current issues relating to the Illinois School for the
Visually Impaired (ISVI). Three bills related to the school are on the
governor's desk awaiting his signature. The first is HB 3717, which calls
for severe budget cuts for ISVI, the Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD), and
the residential school at ICRE Wood. The schools will be able to stay open,
but programming may be seriously impaired. Marybeth Lauderdale, the joint
superintendent of ISVI and ISD, is very concerned. We will try to restore
some line items. The next bill, S 173, will take the appointment of the
superintendent from DHS and put it under the governor's office. We did not
support that bill because of some of the language. The final bill is S. 
1802, which will require ISVI parents to pay for some activities such as
sports. Payment will be on a sliding scale and will be at the discretion of
the superintendent.

STATE COMMITTEES

Transportation Committee: Jemal Powell reported that the next meeting will
be on June 15 at 7:30.

Membership Committee: Co-chair Kelly Doty explained that a contest is being
held in which members can earn points by bringing in new people. One can
also earn points by getting new people to attend state convention. She
suggested that the Chicago Chapter might put together a brochure with photos
that could be handed out when we have tables at health fairs and other
events. The next meeting will be held at 7 on June 20. Vandana pointed out
that the Disability Pride Parade will be held on July 23. She agreed to
co-ordinate the chapter's participation.

Public Relations Committee: Debbie Pittman said that the PR Committee will
meet on June 13 at 7 PM. New members are always needed to spread the word
about our activities.

FIFTY-FIFTY RAFFLE

Kelly announced that ticket sales raised $802. Therefore someone would win
$401. Anthony Thomas did the drawing, and the winner was Steve Hastalis. 
Kelly thanked everyone who sold tickets.

CHAPTER PICNIC

The Chicago Chapter Picnic will be held on July 16. People should gather by
the Landmark Café at the Lincoln Park Zoo at 12 noon.

CHAPTER COMMITTEE REPORTS

Fundraising: Committee Chairperson Ken Staley thanked George and Linda Villa
for distributing the spring candy. The chapter ended up with 32 boxes
instead of 30. Ken also thanked Dave Meyer for ordering our 54 White Sox
tickets for the August 20 game. We buy them for $21 and sell them for $30
each.

Membership Committee: Leanne Mayne requested contact information on all new
chapter members. This will help with fan-out calls.

OLD BUSINESS

Dave Meyer, Denise Avant, Glenn Moore, Gina Falvo, Ken Schad, and Bob Widman
volunteered to take part in the Disability Pride Parade. We should have some
people at a table and some marching. Anyone else interested should contact
Vandana.

NEW BUSINESS

Jemal announced that he and Gina worked a table at the Southland Expo in
May. They handed out 27 information packets in two hours. George and Linda
Villa and Dave Meyer will manage a table during Visually Impaired Awareness
Day at the College of duPage in Glen Ellyn on June 15. There are lots of
items on exhibit.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 3:15.

Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Stein, Secretary

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