[Iabs-talk] chicago minutes may 2014

Mon Jun 9 12:01:47 UTC 2014

NFBI CHICAGO CHAPTER

226 S. Wabash, Chicago

May 10, 2014

CALL TO ORDER

Chicago Chapter President David Meyer called the meeting to order at 1 PM. 

Forty-one people were in attendance. Howard Wilson announced that he
competed in the national senior Paralympic Judo Trials in Reno, Nevada and
received a silver medal. He qualifies to represent the US in the World Games
in September. Nick Robertson said he is investigating the possibility of a
barbecue competition fundraiser. We would need to find a spice company as a
sponsor, have six or more judges, have T-shirts to sell, and charge for
food. Michal Nowicki is preparing to take the LSAT. Gina Falvo has been
cancer free for two and a half years. Francisco Chang has taken a new job at
Swedish Covenant Hospital and will now be focusing on stress testing and
cardiac rehab. Denise Avant has been appointed to the Resolutions Committee
at national convention. Robert Hansen will be graduating at the end of this
semester.

Linda Hendle's husband is in the hospital.

PROGRAM

Program Committee Chairman Jemal Powell introduced a program about national
convention. Gina Falvo described her first convention in 2010. She
remembered the reaction of a group of sighted people when she and about ten
other people with canes got off the elevator. She emphasized the importance
of the Rookie Roundup for first-timers. Dave Meyer spoke about how his
experience of convention has changed since he first attended in 1977. He
said he didn't really find the convention spirit until the Chicago
convention in 1995. He did marshalling, worked in the Illinois Suite, and
helped out in other capacities. He said it is important to study the agenda
and select the things that interest you most. Bob Widman attended his first
convention in 1974. He said he got hooked when Dr. Jernigan played a series
of ten-second radio spots about the work blind people do. He explained that
there is a wealth of resources to discover in the exhibit hall, and you
never know who you might meet. Patti Chang announced that the Illinois
Caucus will be at 7:30 AM on July 3, Board Meeting Day. Everyone must bring
banquet tickets for the ticket exchange.

ELECTIONS

First vice president Denise Avant conducted the election for president. 

David Meyer was elected unanimously. Dave announced that this will be his
final year as chapter president. It is time for us to train and develop new
leadership at the local level. He conducted the rest of the board elections.

Patti Chang was elected as first vice president, Jemal Powell as second vice
president, Robert Hansen as secretary, and Steve Hastalis as treasurer. 

Howard Wilson, Debbie Pittman, Gina Falvo, and Denise Avant were elected to
the four board seats.

Patti Chang expressed her appreciation to Mary Lou Grunwald and Debbie Stein
for stepping down from the board in order to bring in new, younger people. 

She pointed out that serving on the board entails making a serious
commitment to fundraising. We can't do the work we do without money to pay
for it.

FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE

Fundraising Committee Chairman Ken Staley announced that we made $221 with
our Beggars Pizza event. We are still selling Sox tickets for $25. Steve
Hastalis is accepting cash and checks. Nick Robertson bought the
ninety-ninth ticket, Glenn Moore the 100th, and Sean Ziadeh the 101st. Dave
thanked everyone who participated in the sale.

Secretary's MINUTES

The minutes of the March 8 meeting were approved.

TREASURER's REPORT

Treasurer Steve Hastalis delivered the first quarter report for 2014. On
January 1 the chapter had an opening balance of $2,423.00. Income came to

$1,040.52 and expenses were $487.48. The ending balance on March 31, 2014,
was $2,976.04. The report was approved.

PRESIDENTIAL RELEASE

NFB President Marc Maurer announced an initiative to establish seventy-five
new chapters in honor of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the NFB. The
Seventy-five Days of Action will begin at national convention. If you are
interested in getting involved, email seventy-fivedays at nfb.org or call (8 6
6) 5 4 3-6 8 0 8. Committee chair Jeannie Massay urged Federationists to
take up the challenge. Youth in Science at the NFB Jernigan Institute will
launch a new program, STEM 2 U, with a grant from the National Science
Foundation. Older students called apprentices will assist teachers in
science activities with younger students. The first regional sites will be
Baltimore; Boston; and Columbus, Ohio. Blind Industries and Services of
Maryland (BISM) will host high school and middle school training programs
this summer. Cheryl Echevarria of the Travel and Tourism announced a trip to
Nashville in October 2014. Dr. Maurer spoke about ablind  college student at
Atlantic Cape Community College in New Jersey who was denied the use of any
campus facilities unless accompanied by a sighted person. The NFB organized
a demonstration and got TV coverage. The Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium
brought together scholars in the fields of civil rights and disability
rights law. The American Bar Association also held a disability law
conference, which shows that we have gotten the field to take disability
issues seriously. Gabe Cazares encourages people to submit lyrics and music
for a new seventy-fifth anniversary song by July 13. For more information,
contact Gabe at gcazares at nfbtx.org.

STATE REPORT

NFBI President Patti Chang said we need someone to go with Steve Hastalis to
see Jan Schakowski. Robert Hansen volunteered to go with him. She invited
people to contact her about the Seventy-five Days of Action Committee. The
NFBI Scholarship Committee has selected Ashley Griggs as a 2014 internship
winner. Oktoberfest will take place at the home of Patti and Francisco Chang
on September 20. Our face-to-face board meeting will occur at the Naperville
Marriott on August 30. State Convention will take place the weekend of
October 31. For national rep we have requested Ever Lee Hairston, Joe
Ruffalo, or Jim Gashel. We cannot hold a BELL program in Bloomington because
we cannot find a venue at a reasonable price. We have tried working out the
logistics with four different venues. Our state budget is currently in the
red. At our MAY 12 board meeting we will discuss possible fundraisers.

FAN-OUT CALLS

Dave Meyer announced that we need more people to make fan-out calls, since
we have acquired about fifty new members in the past year. Debbie Stein,
Debbie Pittman, Gary Jones, Terry Leap, Paul Shepherdson, and Robert Hansen
volunteered.

OLD BUSINESS

Margaret James reported that she, Howard Wilson, and Dave Meyer visited
Congressman Davis. She asked how other congressional appointments are going.

Patti said that she and Denise visited the offices of both senators. She
felt they were the best senatorial visits she has ever made. Neither of the
senators has agreed to vote as we want on our issues, but they really seemed
to listen. Denise Avant and Robert Hansen visited Mike Quigley, who was
already on HR 831. A week after their visit he signed onto HR 3505, the
TEACH Bill. Jesse Rogers, Charlie Stolzenbach, and Charlene Elder have
visited representatives downstate.

NEW BUSINESS

Steve Hastalis announced that CTA is planning an activity to teach train
evacuation techniques. Training will take place at 3349 W. Lawrence at the
end of the Brown Line on June 7. There will be two two-hour sessions at 9
and 11. Glenn Moore is looking for drivers for the student event at Indiana
Dunes on June 21. We need people to drive people from Chicago. If you have
ideas, contact Glenn at (8 4 7) 8 9 9-9 8 0 1.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 3:04.

Respectfully submitted,

Debbie Stein, Secretary

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Coordinator and channel administrator, NFB-NewsLine

Chicago Chapter President