[Iabs-talk] chicago minutes december 2015

[David Meyer]

NFBI CHICAGO CHAPTER

 

Meeting of December 12, 2015

 

The December 2015 meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of
Illinois Chicago Chapter was called to order by President Debbie Stein at
12:00 noon.

 

Introductions: There were 23 members present.

 

What's Happening: David Meyer mentioned that Teresa was doing quite well,
and that she would be scheduled for surgery sometime in January. A date had
not yet been set. Pam Gillmore mentioned that Don had a good checkup and
that they would be leaving for Florida on December 16. Ken Staley mentioned
that his brother was continuing to cope with cancer.

Secretary's Report: It was moved and seconded to approve the minutes for the
October 2015 meeting. The motion carried without descent.

 

Presidential Reports:

National Presidential Release: National Federation of the Blind President,
Mark Riccobono reported on the following items. President Riccobono wished
everyone a happy holiday season and mentioned that 2015 was an amazing year
for the National federation of the Blind. He also mentioned that he was
privileged to attend the 2015 NFB of Pennsylvania convention in Wilkes-Barre
PA. The convention was held in the same hotel which hosted the first NFB
National Convention in 1940. There is a marker at the original entrance
which notes it as the birth place of the National Federation of the Blind.
Several current NFB leaders attended the convention, as well as Dutch
TenBroek, son of DR. Jacobus TenBroek, the founding father and first
president of the NFB. The Independence Market is still selling 75th
anniversary NFB mugs. We have come to an agreement with a company called
Scrib. This agreement will make the Scrib website accessible to the blind by
2017. The Department of Justice has announced that internet regulations
which will fall under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act will
be formulated in 2018. We hope to persuade the Department of Justice to deal
with this topic much earlier. We have begun to support a group of employees
in Ohio who have been working for $2.50 an hour over the past three years.
They are asking the Department of Labor to review what they consider to be
substandard wages they are getting from the sheltered workshop where they
are working. We are supporting their petition. We now have a new NewsLine ap
for the iPhone. The Washington Seminar is scheduled from January 24-28. The
Grate Gathering In meeting will occur at 5:00 Eastern time on January 25.
Reservations this year are being made directly with the Holiday Inn Capital.
They must be made by December 21. Call the Holiday Inn Capital at
877-572-6951. Use the booking code N9B. Meetings at the Washington Seminar
must be scheduled with Lisa Bonderson. She can be reached at
lbonderson at cocenter.org. Lisa must receive your request by December 10.

 

Membership Minute: Danielle Travino mentioned some things that can be done
to involve chapter members. Positions such as a Social Media coordinator, a
Refreshments coordinator and a New Members coordinator should be a part of
every chapter. There is a listing of 40 possible jobs for chapter members
currently on the website.

 

Jack Hemphill, a federationist in Kansas passed away during the month of
November. Please keep the Hemphill family in your thoughts and prayers. The
presidential released closed with a stirring rendition of Rudolph the Red
Nosed Reindeer by the Riccobono family.

 

State Presidential Report: Denise Avant, NFBI President reported on the
following items. The Washington Seminar will take place at the Holiday Inn
Capital in Washington DC January 24 through 28. There will be 8 people from
Illinois attending this year. Of those, four will be from Chicago. They are
Melissa Fuller, Steve Hastalis, Jemal Powell and Syed Yousafudden. Thanks to
the efforts of Melissa Fuller, Congressman Danny Davis has signed onto the
Time act as a cosponsor. The NFB National convention will take place June 30
through July 5. It will be scheduled at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel. The
hotel is now accepting room reservations. Please call 866-996-6338. The
state convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois will
take place at the Naperville Marriott Hotel October 29-31, 2015. The Spring
seminar will take place at the Midway Marriott Hotel on April 15-16. The
Teacher seminar will take place on April 15 with the Parent-student seminars
scheduled for April 16. The report concluded with Patti Chang drawing for
the NFBI Raffle prize of $1,000. The winner was Gary Johnson from
Springfield. He was informed via phone call of his receiving the winning
prize.

 

Committee Reports:

 

Fundraising Committee: Ken Staley thanked all those who participated in the
read-a-thon held in November. He also mentioned that he raised approximately
$700 for this event. David Meyer mentioned that Games Night will occur at
the Exchequer Pub and Restaurant immediately following the January 9
meeting. Cost for this event is $25. Participants were encouraged to bring
games to play. Also, those taking part will enjoy pizza, salad and soda
provided by Exchequer. We will again have a fundraiser for the chapter in
March at Dicks Last Resort. The cost for this event will be $50 per ticket.
Membership committee chairman Robert Hansen encouraged all members to make
their fan out calls between meetings. It was mentioned that the Membership
list needs updating.

 

There was no old or new business.

 

The meeting adjourned at 12:50 P.M. The Christmas auction followed the
meeting.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

David Meyer, Secretary.

 

 

David Meyer, NFB of Illinois

Coordinator and Channel Administrator, NFB-NewsLine