[Iabs-talk] chicago minutes for October 2015

[David Meyer]

David Meyer, NFB of Illinois

Coordinator and Channel Administrator, NFB-NewsLine

 

NFBI CHICAGO CHAPTER MINUTES

 

MEETING OF OCTOBER 14, 2015

 

Second Vice-President Jemal Powell called to order the October 2015 meeting
of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois Chicago Chapter at 1:00
P.M. Introductions-Health concerns:  Happy Birthday wishes go out to Denise
Avant, Debbie Stein and Teresa Meyer. Teresa has received three chemotherapy
treatments and has handled them well. She has, however, experienced a fluid
buildup which has to be released from time to time. Steve Hastalis friend
Cynthia who was secretary in the Fredericksburg Virginia chapter passed away
in September. Gregg Rosenberg had what he called a minor heart attack. He is
recovering nicely. Howard Wilson has been appointed to serve on an Athletics
Ambassadors committee which assists Chicago public school students in
athletics and in learning to set goals for themselves. Introductions
revealed that 26 members were present. One additional member came in, making
for a final count of 27.

 

Program: The program consisted of Tips and Tricks used by Chicago Chapter
members to make life more efficient. Topics addressed in this program were
tips and tricks for the laundry, barbecuing, other meal preparation
procedures, organizing medications, travel, organizing clothing, labeling
clothes hangers, notetaking during medical appointments

 

Secretary's minutes:  It was moved and seconded to approve minutes for the
September meeting. The motion carried without descent.

 

Treasurers Report: Steve Hastalis gave the treasurers report for the third
quarter of 2015. Beginning balance on July 1, $5,642.42. Income, $1,545.58.
Expenses, $450. Ending balance, September 30, $6,738. The report was
approved as given.

Presidential Reports

 

National Presidential Release: Mark Riccobono, President, National
Federation of the Blind reported on the following items. The National
Federation of the Blind was victorious in a dispute with the Seattle Public
school system concerning accessibility of information. All information will
be accessible on websites from the Seattle Public schools, with vendors
being held responsible if it is not. We are making progress on the "time"
(transitioning to integrated meaningful employment act). The 2016 Washington
Seminar will take place from January 24-28. The Great Gathering in meeting
will occur at 5:00 EST on Monday, January 25. Beginning this year,
reservations for the Washington Seminar will be made directly with the
Holiday Inn Capital Hotel. The number to be given when requesting a
reservation is N9B. The room rate is $184 per night excluding tax. To
reserve, call 877-572-6951. 

 

Reservations may be cancelled up to 72 hours prior to your anticipated
arrival time. Deadline for room reservations will be Monday, December 21. If
you wish to schedule a special meeting, please do so through Lisa Bonderson.
Her email address is lbonderson at cocenter.org. Those meetings must be
scheduled by December 10. The Rhythm of the Movement, a collection of songs
first presented at our 75th annual convention is now available on CD. The
price is $12 and it may be obtained from the Independence Market. Downloads
are available on CD Baby. Finally, Cynthia Cross, a member of the National
Federation of the Blind of Virginia passed away in September.

 

State Presidential Report: Denise Avant, President, National Federation of
the Blind of Illinois reported on the following items. Our state convention
will take place October 30-November 1 at the Chicago Marriott Naperville
Hotel. One must register by October 16 to take advantage of early
registration rates. There will be a breakfast for parents on Saturday and a
breakfast for students on Sunday. The cost is $10 for each breakfast. The
parent-student lunch is $15 and the banquet is $30. The National
representative for this year's convention will be James Gashel. There will
be several programs including an employment panel and a program on
accessible software for computers. Marco Gionnatti is our door prize
chairman. Please bring all door prizes to him at convention. If you wish to
reach Marco his number is 773-671-4848. Resolutions for consideration must
be submitted to Patti Chang by October 16. We are looking for more
congressional support for HR188, the "time" act. Congressmen Robin Kelly,
Danny Davis and Bobby Rush were specifically mentioned. The Washington
Seminar application is now on the NFB of Illinois website. If interested,
you must fill out an application and get it to President Avant by December
1. The Chicago Chapter will send four members. The Braille Readers are
Leaders contest will take place from December 1 through January 22. Students
may apply on November 1. This time, Minnesota will also participate in this
contest.  The new name for the contest is LOL Squared BRAL (Land of Lincoln,
Land of Lakes.) The NFB of Illinois Scholarship application may be filled
out beginning November 1. The deadline for applications is March 31, 2016.
Our internship program is now a year round program. We will also have a
Spring seminar and a Bell program in 2016.

 

Fundraising Report: Ken Staley announced that a read-a-thon will take place
on Saturday, November 14 at the Exchequer Pub. Any sort of reading is
permissible, including the reading of braille, print or audio books. The
entry fee is $10. However, if one is able to raise more than $10, the entry
fee will be waved. Chairman Powell also mentioned the Christmas auction
which will take place following the December 12 meeting. Please bring your
wallets, checkbooks and plenty of items to bid on. Finally, Games night will
occur following the January meeting on January 9. Cost of the event is $25.
Pizza, salad and soda will be included.

 

Membership: Robert Hansen encouraged all members of the membership committee
to make fan out calls prior to the next meeting.

 

New Business: The Chicago Transit Authority ADA Advisory Committee will meet
on Tuesday, October 13, at CTA headquarters. Steve Hastalis will be leaving
the committee following this meeting due to term limits. He is concerned
that there will be no representation on the committee from consumer
organizations of the blind. Denise mentioned that we as NFBI members need to
attend these committee meetings and continue to make our voices heard.
Denise Avant mentioned that the convention agenda is now up on the website
as well as on NewsLine. Additionally, IABS Idol will feature a costume
contest. The student 50-50 raffle will be drawn at the state convention. The
cost is $2 per ticket, or three tickets for $5. Finally, the raffle drawing
will take place on December 12, the day of the chapter meeting. The NFB
Travel and Tourism division will have a conference call on Tuesday, October
13. The phone number is 641-715-3273 with the code being 871517. If you have
accessibility concerns with Greyhound, you will have a chance to address
them on this call.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 P.M.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

David Meyer, Secretary