[Iabs-talk] chicago minutes january 2018

[David Meyer]

NFBI CHICAGO CHAPTER MINUTES

 

MEETING OF JANUARY 13, 2018

 

President Steve Hastalis called the meeting to order at 1:05 P.M. There were
20 members present.

 

Program: Our speaker for the month was Linda Lamb, from Legal and Identity
Shield. She told us that it is likely that all of us will be victims of
identity theft at some time during our lives.  She went on to define
identity theft as an act when someone gets ahold of your personal
information and uses it to their benefit. Medical cards, credit cards and
social security numbers are especially useful tools for identity thieves.
The cost of one's identity being stolen may include but is not limited to
additional taxes on salaries you did not earn, your credit worthiness, your
employment, or even the possibility of a criminal record. We need a
monitoring system in order to track what happens to us on such places as the
dark web. Linda went on to say that Legal Identity Shield is the largest
monitoring service of its kind in the country, and that one can purchase
monitoring from them for $9.95 a month.

 

Secretary's report: It was moved and seconded to accept the minutes as
amended for the December 2017 meeting. The motion carried unanimously.

 

Treasurers Report: Marco Giannotti gave the treasurers report for the fourth
quarter of 2017. Opening Balance, October 1 was $5,223.09. The ending
balance, December 31 was $4,113.09. Following several questions concerning
the report, it was moved and seconded to table the report until the February
2018 meeting. The motion carried.

 

Presidential Reports

 

State Presidential Report: NFBI President Denise Avant reported on the
following items. Denise and Steve Hastalis had a meeting with Congresswoman
Jan Schakowsky on January 12. It was an engaging meeting and she was very
aware of our issues. The Washington Seminar will occur January 29 through
February 1. The issues for this year are as follows. HR1772 accessible
Materials for Students in Higher Education. This bill will create a set of
voluntary guidelines which may be used by colleges and universities in order
to insure that their materials will be accessible for blind students. HR1734
the access Technology Affordability Act will create a $2,500 tax credit
which may be taken over three years. Finally, we are opposing HR620 the ADA
Education and Reform act. Our final initiative is for the Senate to ratify
the Marrakesh Treaty, which would permit braille materials to be distributed
throughout the world without copyright restrictions. Both the NFB of
Illinois and the NFB are accepting applications for scholarships. The
deadline for both state and National scholarship applications is March 31.
We were all encouraged to tell anyone we knew who may be seeking a higher
education degree to apply for both scholarships. Those applying for a
National Scholarship will find the application at www.nfb.org/scholarships.
Those wishing to apply for a state scholarship should go to
www.nfbofillinois.org. Our National Convention will occur on July 3-8 at the
Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando Florida. One may reserve a room by
calling the hotel. If you need financial assistance for the National
Convention, you may apply for Chappell-Dennis assistance. Applications must
be received by Denise on or before May 1. One may apply for Jernigan
assistance if he/she is attending convention for the first time. If
applying, you must send a letter to Denise stating your involvement in the
chapter, and why attendance at the National may benefit you. Letters must be
received by March 31. The student division is busy planning for the Spring
Seminar. This year, it will be a Midwest seminar. The National student
division is also assisting in the planning of this seminar. It will be held
at the Holiday Inn O'Hare, April 20-22. The keynote speaker is Maurice Paret
from the National organization. 

 

National Presidential Release: Mark Riccobono, President, National
Federation of the Blind reported on the following items. The Washington
Seminar will soon be happening. We will focus on four issues this year. John
Pare was introduced to talk on the various issues. Our first issue is the
Accessible Instructional Materials for students in Higher Education. Why the
need? Too many materials are now inaccessible for blind college students,
and Universities say they do not know what to do to make these materials
accessible. Under this legislation, a set of guidelines crafted by a
commission will be made available to assist universities in making their
materials accessible. The Access Technology Affordability Act would provide
a refundable tax credit of up to $2,500 which would be provided to anyone
who has purchased a specialized item of technology, whether the person is
employed or not. This credit may be used over a 3-year period. Anyone making
less than $75,000 is eligible for this credit. We are opposing HR620, the
ADA Education and Reform act. If passed, this act would significantly erode
the Americans with Disabilities Act. Finally, we are asking that the Senate
ratify the Marrakesh treaty. This treaty would allow materials to flow from
country to country without copyright restriction. We were able to keep the
blind exemption in the new tax bill recently passed by Congress. We will
hold a Congressional reception during the Washington Seminar. It will take
place at the Nuseum, where we have a tactile exhibit commemorating the Tet
Offensive which took place 50 years ago. It will take place on January 30.
Other priorities for us this year include building membership and
leadership, advocate strongly for parents of blind children, blind parents
and newly blinded individuals. Finally, we need to show through our
individual actions the capacity of those who are blind. Substantial
remodeling of the NFB headquarters will take place this year. Plans are to
create more meeting space, new sleeping rooms and other facilities. We were
all encouraged to read President Riccobono's article stating the need to
eliminate accreditation without input from the blind themselves. The
Association of Rehabilitation and Education has taken over the National
Accreditation Council. Everyone was encouraged to send an email to
aerbvi.org Let them know in a respectable but forceful way that the time for
NAC has passed. Linda Ripley passed away on December 12. Janette McAlister
of Virginia also passed away in December. 

 

Denise Avant mentioned several ways to get the Braille Monitor, and
encouraged all of us to read it. The program next month will include the
Washington Seminar as well as a segment on the National Accreditation
Council for Agencies serving the Blind (NAC.) Those wishing to learn about
what NAC is and why it has not worked well for blind people may consult the
Braille Monitor, or a summary of our experiences with NAC in Building the
Lives We Want, our 75th anniversary publication. Patti Chang volunteered to
cover the NAC item in next month's program. David Meyer mentioned that those
interested in learning a lot about NAC should consult issues of the Braille
Monitor from the 1970's, 80's and 90's. 

 

Fundraising Committee: Melissa Fuller mentioned that the cost for the Zanies
fundraiser will be $20 per person plus a two drink minimum at Zanies.
President Hastalis will keep a list of those going to zanies and the number
of tickets each person orders. Ken Borst presented Bakers Square as a
possible fundraising activity. If we were to do this, we would pick a date
to do the fundraiser, which would include a meal at any Bakers Square
location. We would present a flyer which Bakers Square would originate. We
would then receive 20% of the cost of a meal, excluding tax and gratuity.
Following several questions, it was decided to discuss this opportunity in a
Fundraising Committee meeting. The fundraising committee would then bring
its recommendation back to the chapter. 

 

Melissa Fuller announced that she is being featured in a publication from
Second Sense which goes out to donors.

 

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 3:25 P.M.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

David Meyer, Secretary