[il-talk] September 26, 2016 Board Minutes

Thu Dec 8 07:23:34 UTC 2016

NFBI State Board Teleconference Minutes

Sep. 26, 2016, 7pm. 641-715-3273 code NFBI

[TO DO LIST (in rough order of agenda):

              ALL: BUY RAFFLE TICKETS AND TALK TO FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, WORK
COLLEAGUES ETC. ABOUT BUYING TICKETS:

http://nfbofillinois.org/2015-nfbi-raffle/

              Moore: send amended minutes to Avant

              Chang: gift Oktoberfest DJ $100 restaurant certificate/s.

              Chang: review investment prospectuses

              Randall, Hamric and Jemal Powell, please deliver instant
raffle money to treasurer.

              Randall: consider a Giving Tuesday event or campaign for 2017

              Chang: add donation language to case statement

              Reif: confer with Falvo about case statement and State
Brochure

              All: forward Audio or Website leads to Avant

              Stein: setup intern promotion activities/events with Diane
Costas and Joan Allison

              PR: promote upcoming events (and remember perennials like
Internships)

              Stein: get 2017 scholarship info documents to Lee.

              Stein: submit BRAL flyer

              Moore: continue soliciting guest public-figures to attend
convention

              All: get door prizes to Marco Giannotti

              All: if you wish to volunteer at State Convention, contact
Chang.

              All: Challenge the How Eye See It Challenge

              All: make arrangements for convention before deadlines

              All: find your elected leaders contacts and support
legislative initiatives

              All: apply for Washington Seminar if interested and monitor
deadlines and communications from NFB as they come:
http://nfbofillinois.org/washington-seminar/

              Pittman: send Square info to Avant and Chang

              Ferris Wheel Chapter: look at ways to recruit membership from
community

              Moore: plan with IABS about getting Jacksonville students
involved in NFBI and Ferris Wheel Chapter.

]

              7PM: Call to Order; Roll Call of Board Present:

Denise Avant (President)

Debbie Stein (First VP)

Leslie Hamric (Second VP)

Glenn Moore (Secretary)

Patti Chang (Treasurer)

Dave Meyer

Bill Reif

Brian Sumner

Debbie Pittman

              Board not present:

Adrienne Falconer

Mary Grunwald

              Guests present:

Cathy Randall

Bob Widman

Linda Hendle

              *SECRETARY'S MINUTES (8/27 MEETING; DISTRIBUTED 9/21):

              Pittman moves to approve

              Sumner Seconds

              Moore: scholarship winners' names have been corrected and
corrections emailed by Chang (including that Washington Seminar has its own
form people are to fill and submit to Avant, not the Chappell-Dennis form).

              Motion carries.

              Moore will send amended minutes to Avant by Thursday.

              *TREASURY UPDATE (INFORMAL, BEFORE 3RD QUARTER REPORT):

              Chang: balance remains about 175k. I deposited about 4k today;
some Oktoberfest and convention registrations, laptop revenue (which is
nearly all in). Linden has been spent down and we expect an intern soon.
Noon lions, outstanding, is $ 1500, not 3k, since there was not Heart this
year. Stein got many families to convention this year. I will review
Vollintine and know scholarship figures before convention.

              Oktoberfest netted $1150 (expenses under $400). The DJ (who
professionally charges $1500) volunteered his time and played to 10pm (and
lent lawn furnishings).

              Reif moves to gift the DJ $100 worth restaurant gift
certificates.

              Moore seconds.

              The motion carries. Chang will arrange the gift.

              *INVESTMENT:

              Chang: received prospectuses and will look them over in
detail.

              Moore moves to table vote on investment until Treasurer has
had chance to detail options or at Budget meeting.

              Meyer seconds.

              Motion carries.

              *INSTANT RAFFLE:

              Chang: All 10 envelopes with tickets were distributed before
National Convention, and most revenues have come in. Only outstanding are
from Randall, Hamric and Jemal Powell. Randall did not receive a "bank"
[seed money for making change etc.].

              Randall: will write $50 check to NFBI-"Instant Raffle" in
memo.

              *GRAND PRIZE RAFFLE:

              Avant: there's not much time, we need to sell tickets. Get
busy at convention, there's only a month afterward to sell. Tickets are only
$5, with three prizes ($500, $300, $200) to be drawn Dec 10 at the Chicago
Chapter Auction. People can buy tickets via the website (and deliver payment
to NFBI board members or Treasurer directly). NFBI members can make the
order as a "vendor" on behalf of someone they know (will need name, phone
and email), and then are responsible to deliver that person's payment to our
Treasurer. Need not be present to win, the electronic random drawing is from
the online registrations:

http://nfbofillinois.org/2015-nfbi-raffle/

              *CROWDSOURCING FUNDRAISING:

              Chang: looked into Randall's idea brought to the board prior
and found that The organization would keep our contacts. We could try a
Giving Tuesday social media campaign.

              Moore: about Giving Tuesday: after Black Friday (the day after
Thanksgiving) became a major spending holiday, and Cyber Monday (the day
after Black Friday) became a popular online-shopping day, Charities have
rallied around the idea of "Giving Tuesday" (day after Cyber Monday) as a
similar informal holiday when people everywhere participate in charity,
volunteering or especially holiday giving-as they already plan to spend
money. Non-profits build campaigns around that date.

              Chang: suggests we plan an event for next year (it will take
time and our website where we'd receive giving, is in flux).

              *AMENDED CASE STATEMENT:

              Reif moves to adopt the shortened statement for social media.

              Hamric seconds.

              Randall: Stein did a great job distilling the message into a
smaller form, and would like to add wording to include credit card, check
and paypall info.

              Moore: since crowdsourcing, payment method, and website are in
flux, can we use it as is and edit later.

              Chang: would like, at least, wording to donate from
NFBofIllinois.org (which can be clicked as a link from any social media we
paste the statement into).

              Motion carries to approve (as amended per Chang's request).

              Chang: can add language and post to Facebook (in lieu of Rob
Hansen).

              Reif: will talk with Gina Falvo [Membership Chair] about
brochure.

              *CHICAGO CHAPTER CONSTITUTION AMMENDMENT RATIFICATION:

              Board expresses all have read provisions.

              Chang moves to ratify; Moore seconds; Motion carries
unanimously.

              *WEBSITE AND AUDIO:

              Avant: we'd like to congratulate Byron Lee, who had taken a
job with the state agency in Minnesota teaching accessible technology to
seniors. He will also be taking 5 weeks of training at B.L.I.N.D. Inc. under
sleep-shades. Byron has for years taken care of audio at IL conventions and
events plus hosted our website (on his server) and maintained the site
content. He will run audio at this year's convention, but going forward, we
will need to plan how to fill these needs.

              Byron Harden may be able to take up some of audio needs (and
will attend convention this year). Our state seems one of the better
maintained or laid out websites. 

              Moore: would be interested in learning what needs to be done
to host/maintain the site.

              Reif: Marco Giannotti has audio engineering training and done
audio for the vendors. I don't know if he's done something like IDOL where
he pulls audio to play per request.

              Randall: whoever does site or audio, needs to stay current
with content and event planning coordination.

              Reif: Does Rob Hansen know how to edit website content?

              Avant: we may have to pay to have the site managed (as other
affiliates do). The website needs to be dealt with sooner than audio.

              Meyer: if an in-state person isn't found, Milton Ota
(webmaster for affiliates beside his own) may be an option.

              Avant: please contact me with audio or website leads.

              *INTERNSHIPS:

              Stein: We chose 2 applicants, but one didn't find an
internship and the other found a job instead. I've had an inquiry this week,
a contact of Mary Watkins. We need to get more word out.

              Avant: we were to contact Dianne Costas and do talks with high
schools.

              Stein: will set up a time with her and Joan Allison (with
SASed [DuPage Co. School Association for Special Education]).

              *2017 IL SCHOLARSHIPS:

              Stein: will have the 2017 (revision to 2016) info ready for
Byron to put to the website if he is able before convention.

              *WASHINGTON SEMINAR 2017:

              Avant: I've been contacted by Kimmie Beverly (NV) now on
National Legislative Team, who I'll get in contact with Annette Grove.
National wants us to keep contacting congress about initiatives: I've
forwarded the bill for AIM-He (HR 6122, which was introduced by congressmen
Phil Roe and Courtney, CT) which we need to urge congressmen to sign on to
before this congress ends; Space Available is in conference; and we need to
contact senators to ratify Marrikesh. If anyone doesn't know who their
legislator is to contact, then contact Annete Grove, Bob Gardner, Jemal
Powell or Dave Meyer.

              Meyer: they will need their complete 9 digit zip code.

              *GREAT LAKES BRAL CONTEST:

              Stein: Bob Gardner has contacted MI, OH, WI, MN and IN
presidents who will participate (contributing $25 per contestant of their
state). Bob has written the contest rules which he sent today. We are
polishing the draft flyer. Registration begins Nov. 1. Two families new to
NFBI took part in BRAL last year and are coming to convention this year.

              Avant: this will go on the website too. I will talk-up BRAL at
the MN convention this week.

              Reif: talked with Serena Preston [ISVI] who will promote the
contest. We also talked about the Ferris Wheel Chapter and about meeting
transitional living center kids; Daryl is retiring, and she conveys her
thanks again for the Braille printer, and asked about convention details.
Jesse Rogers [PR cochair, FW Chapter, and ISVI Advisory Board] donated out
of pocket for ISVI's Student Luncheon.

              *"#HOWEYESEEIT" CHALLENGE
[https://nfb.org/national-federation-blind-comments-foundation-fighting-blin
dness-howeyeseeit-campaign]

              Avant: forwarded President Riccobono's letter last week. The
Foundation Fighting Blindness began a fundraising campaign in August called
the How Eye See It Challenge which asks people to don blindfolds and attempt
daily activities (emphasizing child-raising tasks). The harm is it may
reinforce assumptions that struggle or failure at the challenge by people
untrained in blindness skills is a kind of accurate portrayal of blind
peoples' (especially parents') skills and lives; that blindness is a tragic,
frightening, insurmountable challenge. This can undo much of our 76 years of
work, factual knowledge and education about how blindness actually is. There
are 3 things to do:

              1) don't participate in the campaign for fundraising and urge
your contacts not to either

              2) don't donate

              3) educate. For instance, at convention, I might mention
things people with blindness training have done and achieved.

              We are not challenging the funding of research into blindness
related conditions, but challenging the How Eye See It Challenge's portrayal
of blindness as something horrible that you can't make it with. Focus on
training techniques, use the hashtag #howeyeseeit and let people know you're
with the Federation. We need to make as much noise as they are-it doesn't
appear they consulted blind people or organizations about the campaign.

              Chang: FFB has been blocking our members from their site. We
can make our own videos of blind-skilled achievement over a challenge, but
avoid using images of program participants.

              Avant: tweet and retweet.

              *NFBI STATE CONVENTION

              Moore: can we include a field on the registration form for
someone to say they are available to volunteer?

              Avant: would we then group-email everyone?

              Chang: It would be impractical, it will add to the list of
things to do and require database dumps and sorting through the information.
We need volunteers for the Info table, Registration (I have Carol Sloan and
Francisco Chang), PAC, Mic runners, door prize runners. Kid Kamp may be set,

              Avant: Cathy Stepp may be available for Kid Kamp. Blachhawk
Chapter people are coming whom we can ask.

              Randall: can run mic.

              *IABS IDOL SONG

              Avant: Chicago chapter chose "sports songs" as Idol's Battle
of the Chapters theme. Chicago is singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", At
Large is not yet decided, what will the Affilliate board sing?

              After discussion, the board selects "Go Cubs Go".

              *DOOR PRIZES:

              Avant: get them to Marco Giannotti before or during
convention. If you need a door-prize letter [to request tax-deductable
prizes from employers etc.], ask me.

              *PUBLICITY AND PUBLIC-FIGURE GUESTS:            

              Moore (recaps PR efforts): I've contacted politicians in
recent months, with one reply from a state rep to say she couldn't come;
contacted agencies and will be contacting media and former Mayor.

              Avant: for next year, even before we have our flyer and
agenda-type details, just keep reminding media of details available.

              *CONVENTION ATTENDEE ARRANGEMENTS:

              Avant: Oct. 7 is the deadline for the roomblock.

              Chang: people have said they were told the block is full, but
this is false. If staff tells you it is, hand up and call back. Our code is
NFBI (in case they somehow cannot locate the block).

              Avant: Oct. 14 is the deadline for preregistration (NFBI, not
Hotel), meal requests and resolutions (deliver to Chang). We really do a
good job with preregistration and the hotel, many states limit to 60 days
out to finalize arrangements.

              *OLD BUSINESS:

              *SQUARE:

              Pittman: talked with Square about the credit card procedure.
They have a link that can be put on a website. It's accessible on iPad and
iPhone (though I couldn't test the link without being able to place it on a
website). The first $1000 transactions have no fee then 2.9% thereafter (vs
paypal's 8% for donation transaction). They will not block us from running a
raffle on the site like Paypal. One card reader/swiper is included free (and
a chip-card reader is $40). You don't pay the credit card fee, only Square's
transaction percent (2.9% if swiped, or 3.7% if the transaction is via the
website link). They do not say there is a different rate for
not-for-profits.

              Avant: email me the info and can consider this once we know
what to do with the website.

              *NEW BUSINESS:

              *FERRIS WHEEL CHAPTER:

              Sumner: we are having trouble getting young people to take
interested in the chapter and older people have said they have
transportation obstacles. 

              Avant: consider combining in-person with conference-call
meetings. Some calls from your area have come in asking where the nearest
chapter is.

              Reif: talked with Charlene Elder, we want a meeting in Nov.
maybe pertainint to an initiative with ISVI. Modesto called me.

              Avant: will call him about chapter provisions and have copied
him on all messages distributed.

              Moore: will bring up at an IABS meeting to think of ways to
get students together and link students with the chapter.

              END OF NEW BUSINESS

              8:34pm: Moore moves to adjourn; Sumner seconds; motion
carries.

Denise R. Avant, President

National Federation Of The Blind Of Illinois

Live the life you want.