[Iabs-talk] chicago minutes august 2015

[David Meyer]

David Meyer, NFB of Illinois

Coordinator and Channel Administrator, NFB-NewsLine

 

NFBI CHICAGO CHAPTER MINUTES

 

MEETING OF AUGUST 8, 2015

 

The meeting was called to order by Chapter President Debbie Stein at 1:00
P.M. Initial introductions revealed 21 people present.

 

What is Happening? Patti Chang was hospitalized during the previous week
with what was thought to be a virus. David Meyer's mother passed away in
June.  He also lost a cousin in July. Pam Gillmore reported that Don is
continuing to do well. His next checkup will be in September. Gina Falvo is
doing well with her physical health; accept that there are stretch marks on
her right retina.  She will be seeing a retina specialist to determine a
course of treatment. Steve Hastalis's friend Cynthia from the Fredericksburg
Virginia chapter has cancer and is about to undergo chemotherapy radiation.
Ken Staley congratulated Janna Stein on her marriage. Dan Tevelde asked
about the Montis. Pam will call on behalf of the chapter. Debbie Stein will
have some sculpture displayed at the school where she is now taking
sculpture classes. Margaret James went swimming with dolphins while
vacationing in Mexico.

 

Program: Jemal Powell introduced Gina Falvo for the program. She and several
other federationists talked about where they were in life before becoming
federationists, where they are now, and where they wish to be in the
federation in the future. During the program, several people came in, making
the final count 29 members.

 

Secretaries minutes: As the May minutes were not voted upon in the June
meeting, it was moved, seconded and passed to approve the May minutes as
presented. It was then moved and seconded to approve the June minutes as
presented.  That motion also carried without descent.

 

Treasurers report: Steve Hastalis gave the treasurers report for the second
quarter of 2015.  The beginning balance on April 1 was $5,972.26. Income,
2,984.40. Expenses, 3,314.24. Balance, June 30, 2015, $5,642.42. The report
was approved as given.

 

Presidential Reports:

 

National Presidential Release: NFB President Mark Riccobono reported on the
following. There is a very limited quantity of NFB 75th anniversary mugs
available which will be selling for $7.50 each plus shipping. Audio
highlights from our recent convention are now available. They can be found
at www.nfb.org/national-convention-highlights. President Riccobono was
recently at the White House to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the
Americans with Disabilities Act. It is noteworthy that nothing was said
about instituting regulation that would clarify that the internet is indeed
a place of public accommodation according to the Americans with Disabilities
Act. We need to let the White House know that these regulations are
necessary and long overdue. Please email Maria Towns who is the Disability
point person at the White House. (maria_m_town at who.eop.gov.) Parnell Diggs
has replaced Lauren McClarney as Director of Governmental Affairs.  Lauren
will be attending law school in the fall. The House of Representatives is
now in recess and will be through September 7. Parnell Diggs encouraged all
of us to schedule an appointment with our representatives to encourage them
to cosponsor HR-188. We presently have 41 cosponsors. The Membership Minute
will be a new feature of the Presidential release.  Danyelle Trabino was
introduced. This minute focused on building membership. When recruiting a
member one must be "active", meaning the following:  Ask people who are not
members to come to chapter meetings. Complete a registration process with a
new member. Teach your new members about the organization. Invite new
members to something social with you. Vote new members into the chapter.
Engage new members in chapter projects which suit their interests. We will
be ramping up our efforts to secure parental rights for blind people. These
efforts will include public awareness campaigns as well as the passing of
state laws to secure disabled person the same right to parent their children
as others now have. 

Parnell Brown passed away unexpectedly.  On June 30, Fred and Kathy
Schroeder are now grandparents. 

 

State Presidential Report: State President Denise Avant reported the
following. First, she thanked everyone who worked the hospitality suite
during the convention, as well as those who covered a variety of meetings at
the convention. The NFB set a world record at the convention for the largest
umbrella mosaic with a total of 2,480 umbrellas. The previous record was
2,170. President Riccobono gave an outstanding banquet speech. In addition,
there was a rousing opening ceremony and a great dance during the evening of
the first day of general session. We had two Bell programs this summer. The
Chicago Bell program took place at the Chicago Lighthouse from June 18
through July 1. The Springfield Bell program occurred during the week of
July 20-24. Denise encouraged all of us to contact our congressmen and
senators to cosponsor the Time act, (Transitioning to Integrated Meaningful
Employment.) This legislation is HR-188 in the house, and S-2001 in the
senate. David Meyer will lead a delegation to appoint with Congressman Danny
Davis, Jemal Powell will appoint with Congresswoman Robin Kelly, Debbie
Pittman and Tammy Hampton will appoint with Congressman Rush, Edwin
Rodriguez will appoint with Congressman Gutierrez, Glenn Moore will see
Congressman Duckworth, Debbie and Denise will appoint with Senators Derbin
and Kirk. Our October Fest fundraiser will occur on September 19 at the home
of Patti and Francisco Chang, 6919 West Berwyn Avenue, Chicago. The cost for
this event is $25. The cutoff date for October Fest is September 13. The
state convention will occur during October 30-31 and November 1. The
registration form will soon be on the website.  People are encouraged to
register on line. Invesco Corp has donated $5,000 to sponsor our convention.
The deadline for preregistration is October 16, with preregistration costing
$5. Those who register after October 16 will pay $15. Resolutions will also
be due on October 16. You must secure a hotel room by October 9.  The number
to call is 800-228-9092. Our national representative will be James Gashel.
We will also have an employment panel featuring Dick Davis from Blind INC
and Byron Harvey who is attempting to start his own business training people
to do various audio tasks. Kareme Dale will also participate on the program
as well. The face-to-face board meeting will occur on August 22 at the
Naperville Marriott hotel which is the same hotel which will host our state
convention.

 

Old Business: Steve Hastalis reminded us that his last meeting with the
Chicago Transit Authority ADA Advisory Committee will take place on October
13. He encouraged anyone interested should apply.  Denise has an application
for this committee. Marco will apply. The deadline for completing this
application is August 21.

 

New Business: Jemal Powell inquired about the possibility of having business
cards made out for the Chicago Chapter. President Stein thought that this
might be an excellent project for the membership committee. David Meyer
mentioned that the Illinois Council of the Blind Metro Chicago Chapter is
holding a fundraiser at Beggars Pizza on September 16. He encouraged all of
us to attend, as several Illinois Council members have attended various
fundraisers of the Chicago Chapter. Roberta Glickman pointed out that
several chapter members have birthdays in August. Pam Gillmore lead the
group in a rendition of Happy Birthday for those members. Jemal suggested
that we make happy birthday a monthly activity.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 3:08 P.M.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

David Meyer Secretary7