[il-talk] At Large chapter minutes-August 5

[Marilyn Green]

Present:  Chapter President Marilyn Green, Danny Mandrel, Dave Meyer,
Chapter president emeritus Linda Hendle, Leslie Hamric, Yvonne Agyarko,
Ryan Wilms, Lewis Wood and , Debbie Pittman. The meeting was called to order
at 7:03 p.m.



Absent:  Charlene Elder.





THINGS TO DO



1.    Provide minutes a  week before meeting so they can be put on
Newsline and Il-talk.
2.    .  Everyone:  Think of  a  theme for IABS idols.



SECRETARY'S MINUTES



MOTION



Meyer moved to approve the June minutes.  It was seconded by Pittman and
carried with one correction that Green did not move to approve the May
minutes because at the time she was President and she could not make a
motion as president.





The June minutes were put on Newsline and people were able to listen to it
via the phone.



Presidential release 473

July 16, 2018

Late due to National convention in Orlando.

President Riccobono reported that the banquet speech  and the presidential
report are already on line.  Soon the audio files will be available.

Public service announcements:  National has plans of getting audio public
announcements played over radio stations across the country.  They are
available at NFB.ORG/PSAS TO listen to the new PSA's.



2019 National Convention:

Sunday July 7  to Friday July 12 2019 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Los
Vegas, Nevada.



Greyhound update:  President Riccobono reported a settlement agreement with
Greyhound.  The discussion was around the inaccessible website and their
mobile app.  They have made commitments to the NFB to correct the problem.
There was an executive from Greyhound at the board meeting during the
convention.



Greyhound Secret shopper program:  NFB will be working with Greyhound to
test their secret shopper program for evaluating their customer service and
accessibility going forward.



Dream Maker Circle:  President Riccobono reported that this is our program
that allows people to express a commitment to leave a gift to the NFB upon
their passing away.  It serves as a way of leaving behind a legacy in the
National federation of the Blind. Patti Chang is Director of Outreach and is
in chare of the Dream Maker Circle program. There is an extensive list of
people who are part of the Dream Maker Circle.  A number of those members
are from Illinois.



Independence Market:  The online store has been taken down and will be
reestablished after the redesign  of NFB.org which will take place at the
end of this year and into early 2019.  People will be able to continue to
call in and place orders with the Independence market at 410-659-9314.



Career Opportunities in Rehabilitation:  President Riccobono reported that
there has been a push to get blind people in rehab positions.  Some of those
opportunities come through the Professional Development and Research
Institute on Blindness at Louisiana Tech.  They are offering scholarships
for individuals who wish to pursue a master's degree in either orientation
and mobility or rehabilitation teaching.  President Riccobono reported that
the Louisiana Tech program  is the primary program in the country that
prepares people to teach using structured discovery cane travel or
structured discovery rehabilitation teaching.  People should reach out to
Dr. Edward Bell at ebell at latech.edu  or call

318-257-4554 for more information about the program. The professional
Development Research Institute website is  <http://www.pdrib.com/>
www.pdrib.com.



Job Fair at National: President Riccobono reported that there were over 30
employers at the job fair at convention. There are a number of jobs
available at the national office.  People can go to NFB.org to look at the
jobs.



FEDERATION FAMILY UPDATE

Sad News:

Nathaniel and Trace Whales of Connecticut lost their three year old son
David in May.

Don Jordon from Alabama who was a member for 44 years.  Note:  This is our
Don Jordon who was a member of the Chicago chapter.

Rebecca Irving Ryan from New Jersey who was 67 passed away on July 5.  She
also served on the state board.



Joyous News:

Cathy McKinney of New Hampshire gave birth to Timothy on May 19.



Alison and Dale Hillicar announced the birth of their daughter Arabela
Alicia Michelle Hillicar born on May 28.



Rex  shuttler and Cammy Louer's were married on May 26 in Oklahoma.
Congratulations to those federation family members.



ACTIVITIES



National Federation of the Blind Engineering quotient Program (NFBEQ), BELL
program in a couple of weeks,  and the remodeling of the dorm area at the
national office. Construction will start in early 2019. There will be a
couple of conferences  and many fall conventions.



STATE REPORT



Face-to-face Board Meeting:  Meyer gave the state report.  The upcoming
face-to-face board meeting will be on August 25, 2018 from 9:00 to
approximately 3:00.  If someone can't be there, they can call in to
641-715-3273 code 6324 to participate.  Anyone planning to attend in person
needs to let Chang know about lunch choices.  There is a turkey or a veggie
wrap that cost approximately $20.  The meeting will be held at the Sheridan
O'Hare  Hotel located at 5501 N. Manheim road in Rosemont. To reserve a room
call 888-628-8127.   Reservations need to be made by August 10. Room rates
are $99 per night.



Oktoberfest:  The Changs will be hosting Oktoberfest at their home on
September 8, 2018, immediately following the Chicago Chapter meeting.  The
cost is $25 and reservations need to be made by September 1.  Cancellations
have to be made by September 1. Anyone who does not cancel before September
1 will still be responsible for that $25 commitment. They will have the
typical foods of burgers, brocks, salads, desserts.  Bottled water and soft
drinks are $2 each.  Beer and wine are $3 each.



State convention:  State convention will be held at the Sheridan O'Hare
hotel where the face-to-face board meeting will be held.  Meyer is not sure
of the time-line for making reservations.  The convention will be a
collaborative event with the Illinois Committee of Blind Vendors.  There
will be a bulletin coming out soon. The bulletin and the agenda  will be
available on Newsline and on the NFB of Illinois website. The NFB portion of
the convention will be October 26 through the 28 and the Vendor's portion of
the convention will go from October 25 through October 28. The national rep
will be Jean Masse, the Treasurer of NFB and President of the NFB of
Oklahoma.  She is big on membership.   Meyer added that resolutions will
probably begin at 4:00 on the 26th.  Convention will end at noon on October
28.



PROGRAM

NEWSLINE



Meyer gave a presentation on Newsline.  He explained for those who were not
familiar that Newsline is an electronic newspaper and magazine service that
we are able to access via the phone.  There are approximately 450 newspapers
across the country. There six newspapers in Illinois.  Meyer added that they
are about 70 magazines on all different subjects as well as breaking news
items.  Target and Wal-Mart ads are available from any locality within the
country. It has to be set up by zip code and people will get the 10 closest
stores to them, and the sales appropriate to their area.  Meyer believes
Walgreens is consistently there between Thanksgiving and Christmas and
sometimes Coles. Meyer explained that automatic qualifiers for Newsline are:
If one has an open case with rehab, If someone has attended a school for the
blind, If someone is a member of the library program and have a talking book
machine.  Other than that proof of blindness is required or a NFB chapter
president can certify someone as blind.  There is no cost for individual
subscribers.  Newsline can be accessed via  standard phones, the I-phone,
the new Victor Reader Stream,  the old victor through the PC, the PC,
through software for downloading books through talking book machines.  If
someone has the I-phone app, weather reports  are local wherever that person
is.  Meyer continued by saying that other listings on Newsline include TV
listing, job listings from career builder, federal job announcements,
weather alerts,  election information and information in the blindness
information channel.   There are articles from NFB of Illinois, Illinois
Council of the Blind, Illinois Committee of Blind Vendors, Blind Service
Association, Second Sense, and The Chicago Lighthouse.  In the past there
have been announcements from The DuPage Center for Independent Living,  and
the course catalog from Hadley School for the Blind.   There is also a NFB
national channel as well as an article Building The Life you Want 75 years,
by Debbie Stein, presidential releases, blindness magazines such as Braille
Monitor, Future Reflections  and the Illinois Council for the Blind's
magazine.  It is possible to have periodic updates e-mailed to you. In
Illinois featured are the National Federation of the Blind and the Illinois
Council of the Blind.  Chicago meeting announcements are featured and At
Large meeting announcements are there.  Meyer added that for about the last
6 years Chicago chapter has put minutes on Newsline and it has worked pretty
well. Also in the past treasury reports were being put on Newsline.  Meyer
will be talking to Marko about that again.  National and state scholarship
announcements have also been featured on Newsline. The NFB code of conduct
is also on Newsline.  There is also a listing of the phone numbers available
to call in to for Newsline. Meyer continued by saying  there is also a toll
free number 888-882-1629 which will give people their local number to call
the first time they call in.  Where possible it's recommended for people to
use their local number.  Meyer can sign people up.  He would need  people's
names, address, phone number and an e-mail address. Various people talked
about how much they like Newsline. Meyer recommended that people wanting an
android app for Newsline should contact Scott White at swhite at nfb.org.



Green explained that she would like to see At Large Chapter move to Newsline
for our minutes.  It would be good for streamlining the meeting as well as
being able to refer back for information.  It would also be a great way to
introduce new people to Newsline.



MOTION



Pittman moved to have the At Large minutes put on Newsline as well as
Il-talk.  It was seconded by Meyer and unanimously carried.



If there are any corrections to be made to the minutes, they are to be
discussed after the motion has been made and seconded for the approval of
the minutes where the discussion is to take place. Meyer recommended the
minutes being given a week prior to the meeting to allow time for people to
read them. Green usually tries to send out he agenda a week before the
meeting and so this will help to keep her on point with the  minutes going
on Il-talk.  Meyer reported that the At Large chapter has it's own
subsection on Newsline.  It is under the NFB of Illinois sub channel and
"your state's information channel", which is option 2 from the main menu.
If people are using a computer, it will be under "information specific to
Illinois".





OLD BUSINESS



NEW BUSINESS



IABS IDOLS: Meyer reminded the group that last year during state convention,
At Large won the battle of the chapters.  So we get to choose the song topic
that will be used for the battle of the chapters.  This needs to be
discussed next month.  Meyer has a suggestion that he will hold until then.




Birthday:  Lewis Wood celebrated a birthday on August 3.



Miscellaneous: Wood reported that he will be attending a  meeting on
Thursday to talk about fitness , how to be  healthy and blind, to other
blind people  who are not currently NFB members.



Health concerns:  Hamric reported that she has to have more testing since
they found a faint nodule in her breast. She has to under go a diagnostic
mammogram plus an ultrasound. We will be praying for Hamric.



Hendle thank the group for having a moment of silence in deference to the
loss of her husband Tom. People clearly expressed that "federation family"
really does mean something to NFB.



Next meeting:   September 2 which is the day before Labor Day.



ADJOURNMENT



MOTION



Meyer moved to adjourn.  It was second by Hamric with an honorary third from
Woods and unanimously carried.



The meeting adjourned at 8:33 p.m.



Respectfully submitted by



Debbie Pittman on behalf of Charlene Elder

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