[Iabs-talk] chicago minutes draft 2

Tue Jan 9 20:07:35 UTC 2018

Please disregard the first draft of the minutes, as this draft has several
corrections from the first one.

David Meyer, NFB of Illinois

Coordinator and Channel Administrator, NFB-NewsLine

NFBI CHICAGO CHAPTER MEETING

DECEMBER 9, 2017

President Steve Hastalis called to order the December 2017 meeting of the
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois Chicago Chapter at 12:14 P.M.

What's Happening: David Meyer reported that Teresa Meyer is still in
remission. Denise Avant has been appointed to the National Scholarship
committee. Howard Wilson placed third in an International Judo tournament in
Japan. There were 31 people present.

Secretary's Report: It was moved and seconded to approve the minutes of the
October 2017 meeting. The motion carried unanimously.

Marco reported that we have approximately $4,500 in the treasury.

Presidential Reports

State Presidential Report: State President Denise Avant reported on the
following items. Washington Seminar will occur on January 29-February 1.
Those representing the Chicago Chapter are Steve Hastalis, Marilyn Green,
Mary Grunwald, Patti Chang and Melissa Fuller. The next state board meeting
will occur on Monday, December 11 at 7:00 P.M. The call-in number is
641-715-3273 and the code is NFBI, (6324.) Applications are currently being
taken for both the state and national scholarships. The period to apply for
both scholarships began on November 1 and runs through March 31, 2018. The
national scholarship application can be found at www.nfb.org/scholarships.
The state application can be found at www.nfbofillinois.org. For 2018 the
spring seminar will be a Midwest student seminar. Dates for the seminar are
April 20-22, and the place will be the Holiday Inn O'Hare. The National
convention will occur in Orlando Florida at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel,
July 3-8. One can make reservations with the hotel beginning January 1.
Preregistration for the convention will begin on March 1, 2018. The closing
date is May 31. A committee is being formed to recognize the 50th
anniversary of NFBI. Those on the committee are Steve Hastalis, Mary
Grunwald, Ken Schad, Gina Falvo and Jemal Powell. Though we do not have a
date for the 2018 state convention, it will be held concurrently with the
Illinois Association of Blind Merchants.

National Presidential Release: NFB President Mark Riccobono reported on the
following items. The Washington Seminar for 2018 will be scheduled from
January 28 through February 1 at the Holiday Inn Capital in Washington DC.
The Great Gathering In meeting will occur on January 29 at 5:00 P.M. Eastern
time. The Independence Market will be closed during the week between
Christmas and New years. It will reopen on January 2, 2018. The Dare to be
Remarkable conference occurred earlier in November at the Jernigan
Institute. What makes our programs unique is that our programs meant to
teach the blind are designed by the blind. Mentoring is at the core of who
we are and what we do. A new program called the National Federation of the
Blind career mentoring program will begin in 2018. We need energetic
successful federationists to take part in this effort. Mentees will be
assigned to several mentors in order to gain the best experience possible.
We are all encouraged to apply as mentors for this program. The application
can be found at www.nfb.org/mentoringapplication. Those who apply for this
program will also be helped in raising their own expectations and through
the passing of knowledge to mentees. Several federationists passed away,
including Al Hicks of Utah. He was the father of Dan Hicks, a leader in
Florida. Two key members in Louisiana also passed away in November. They are
Jerry Whittle, who taught braille for 30 years at the Louisiana Center for
the Blind, and Arlene Hill, who worked as a travel instructor for the
majority of her tenure at the Louisiana Center. We were encouraged to keep
the Hicks, Hill and Whittle families in our thoughts and prayers. Pam Allen
first vice-president and director of the Louisiana Center for the Blind
thanked all of those who reached out with cards, calls and contributions.
She also asked that we do what we can to carry on the legacies of both Jerry
and Arlene. Stephanie and Bryan Baldwin of Nebraska were married on October
31. The release closed with Christmas greetings and songs from the Riccobono
family.

Fundraising: Melissa Fuller reported on a new fundraising effort that we
will be doing next year. The place will be Zanies Comedy Club, located at
Wells and North Avenue in Chicago. As we are a not for profit organization,
Zanies will donate tickets to us in lots of 50. They recommend that we
charge $25 per ticket. Each participant is also required to purchase two
food items, two drinks or a combination of at least two food items-drinks.
We must design fliers to advertise the event and the fliers must be approved
by Zanies. The actual address is 1548 North Wells. It was moved and seconded
to schedule a Zanies Fundraiser for Thursday, March 1. The motion carried.
Glenn Moore will assist Melissa with the flyer. Announcements for this event
will also be posted on NewsLine. David Meyer announced that Games Night, a
recurring fundraiser will happen following the January 2018 meeting at
Exchequer. The cost for this event is $25 per person. Participants are
entitled to pizza, salad and soda. Each $25 contribution will yield $10 for
the chapter. We were encouraged to bring games for the event.

The next face-to-face board meeting will occur at 11:30 A.M. on Saturday,
February 10. Which is immediately prior to the chapter meeting. The next CTA
ADA Advisory committee meeting will occur on Monday, January 8 at CTA
headquarters. Public comments will now occur at the beginning of the meeting
rather than at the end. 

Following some discussion, it was moved and seconded to dispense with the
April 2018 meeting. The motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 1:35 P.M.

Respectfully Submitted,

David Meyer, Secretary