[Iabs-talk] Corrected minutes

[David Meyer]

CHICAGO CHAPTER MINUTES
November 12, 2011
Exchequer Pub and Restaurant
226 S. Wabash, Chicago

CALL TO ORDER

Chicago Chapter President David Meyer called the meeting to order at 1:00
PM. There were thirty-two people in attendance, including first-timer Nikki
Martin. Dave announced that Greg Rosenberg was hit by a car and may need an
MRI. Gina Falvo will be having a breast biopsy and will get the results on
the 21st. Leanne Mayne's mother is very ill. In terms of Federation Fuzzies,
Jemal Powell is now officially a member of the Public Safety Committee for
University Park. Steve Hastalis gave a presentation at a middle school in
Virginia and will also speak at a Greek Orthodox church for Inclusion
Awareness Sunday. Pam and Don Gillmore will spend the winter in St. 
Petersburg, Florida. Chris Jeckel went to the ABA competition in Kansas
City, and his team placed third. He used Braille notes during the
competition.

PROGRAM

Crystal Schiltz from Envision America spoke about her company's products. 
They make a talking bar code scanner and also have a product called Script
Talk, which helps blind people manage their medications. The user has a
reader that reads aloud the information on the prescription bottle. 
Pharmacies have to subscribe to the system in order to provide this service.

So far smaller stores have been more receptive than the big chains. She
urged us to request our pharmacies to get involved with the program. She has
a list of pharmacies that already have come on board.

SECRETARY's AND TREASURER's REPORTS

The minutes from the meeting of October 15, 2011, were approved. Treasurer
Steve Hastalis gave a brief update, reporting that we have approximately
$5,300 in the treasury.

PRESIDENTIAL RELEASE

NFB President Marc Maurer reported that applications are open for the 2012
BELL Program, which provides two weeks of intensive Braille instruction to
blind children. For more information, contact Emily Gibbs, (410) 659-9314,
Ext. 2407 or egibbs at nfb.org. The Bid for Excellence auction is a national
online auction that runs through December 5. Dr. Maurer urged everyone to
spread the word. The NFB Jernigan Institute is accepting requests for
Braille letters from Santa for blind children under the age of ten. An
international meeting on quiet road vehicles was held at the National Center
for the Blind, and participants had the chance to learn about how blind
people travel. On October 4 Reps. Cliff Stearns of Florida and Tim Bishop of
New York introduced the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act,
HR3086. The bill would phase out Section 14-C of the Fair Labor Standards
Act, which allows employers to pay disabled workers less than the federal
minimum wage. The bill had six cosponsors as of October 31. Dr. Maurer urged
us to contact our representatives about this bill. You can reach your
congressional representative by calling the Capitol switchboard at
202-224-3121. Call Anil Lewis at the National Center if you have questions. 
The National Association of Blind Veterans is holding a lottery for veterans
who have lost their sight in Iraq or Afghanistan; the first prize will be a
trip to the NFB convention in Dallas. For more information visit
<www.nabb.org> or call Dwight Sayer at (407) 877-8668. On September 26 the
Department of Transportation issued a suplemental notice of proposed
rule-making titled "Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air
Travel, Accessibility of Websites and Automated Kiosks at US Airports." The
notice was issued after years of advocacy by the NFB, and it acknowledges
the Federation's role in its process. We are generally pleased with the
outcome, although we still have some concerns. On October 11 the NFB and
Penn State University announced a settlement in a complaint that was filed
with the US Office of Civil Rights. The NFB had charged that Penn State used
inaccessible systems that discriminated against the blind. Penn State has
agreed to make all of the electronic and information technology systems used
on its campus fully accessible to blind students and staff. Applications for
the 2012 NFB Scholarships are now available online.

STATE REPORT

NFBI President Patti Gregory-Chang corrected information from the national
report; the NFB scholarship applications are not yet online. Applications
for Washington Seminar are due to Patti by midnight of December 1. Debbie
Stein and Debbie Pittman will be coordinating a dual seminar for parents and
teachers of blind children in April. The next NFBI board meeting will be
held by teleconference on November 22, and all are welcome to call in. We
will be choosing a hotel for the 2012 state convention, which will be held
Columbus Day weekend. We have switched our state account to Fifth Third
Bank, which has a program called Community Partners. If you open a new
account with Fifth Third Bank we can receive from $25 to $250. Joe Monti
explained the Manna Certificates program, which is one of our most important
state fundraisers. He will take orders until December 4, and the
certificates will be ready by the December 10 meeting. Email your orders to
josephmonti339 at comcast.net or call 708-383-0577.

ELECTIONS

Due to health issues, Kelly Doty has had to step down from her position as
second vice president of the Chicago Chapter. The chapter therefore held an
interim election and elected Patti Chang as second vice president. Gina
Falvo was elected to the board seat formerly held by Patti.

FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE

Ken Staley reminded people of the December holiday auction. The Fundraising
Committee will meet on December 6 via the conference line.

NEW BUSINESS

Steve Hastalis reported a recent incident with the airlines regarding the
storage of his straight cane during the flight, when a flight attendant
seemed unaware of the federal regulations. Part E of the Federal Aviation
Regulations covers the use of the long white cane, described as a "flexible
travel cane." Patti spoke about a recent incident where a flight attendant
tried to grab her cane as she was boarding a plane. Clearly cane incidents
still occur. Ronza Othman reported that the FAA held a conference earlier
this week to deal with this issue. There will be additional training of
staff. The FAA asks that incidents be reported to the headquarters of the
airline involved and to the FAA. Mika Pykhala has been involved with the FAA
and can share information on where to report incidents. leanne asked if
someone can help her Braille labels for auction items. Debbie Stein and Ryan
Kwaak offered to help. Connie Davis announced that the next newsletter will
be out before the end of the year, and invited people to contribute articles
and recipes.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 2:40 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Stein, Secretary