[il-talk] chicago minutes draft 4

Sun Nov 25 23:55:53 UTC 2018

Looks great.

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From: IL-Talk [mailto:il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of David Meyer via IL-Talk
Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2018 6:18 PM
To: il-talk at nfbnet.org
Cc: David Meyer <datemeyer at mysero.net>; iabs-talk at nfb.org
Subject: [il-talk] chicago minutes draft 4

NFBI CHICAGO CHAPTER

MEETING OF OCTOBER 13, 2018

At approximately 1:03 P.M. First Vice-President Patti Chang called the meeting to order.

Program: Our guest speaker this month was Anne Scheetz who spoke about why she is advocating for a single payer insurance program. If you would like more information on this topic, you can call her at
773-486-6276 or you may email her at annescheetz at gmail.com. One may also consult the website, www.singlepayer.org.

What’s Happening: Michael Nowicki passed the Illinois Bar exam. Melissa Fuller’s company website is now up and running. There were 23 members present.

Presidential Reports

National Presidential Release: Mark Riccobono, President, National Federation of the Blind reported on the following items. The Marrakesh Treaty Implementation act was passed by the House of Representatives. 
This has been five years in the making. On September 26 we filed a suit against the Ability 1 Commission as they named the American Foundation for the Blind to administer all Ability 1 contracts with no input from anyone. All local chapters are being asked to say the NFB pledge at chapter meetings. President Riccobono went on to explain the meaning of the pledge. The Braille Readers are Leaders contest is currently being administered by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois. This program was made national again last year. We are doing this in collaboration with the Jernigan Institute and the American Action Fund for blind children and adults. Each affiliate may register to this contest for $100. The Baltimore Orioles wore jerseys with braille on them to celebrate 40 years of the National Federation of the Blind being in Baltimore. President Riccobono threw out the first pitch for this game. We will reach out to all of the other major league clubs to duplicate these efforts. Several local chapters were listed as giving to the PAC plan. Several members were also welcomed into the Dream Makers circle. Deloris Smith of Alabama and Sharon Gold of Texas, formally of California passed Away.

State Presidential Report: Patti Chang gave the state report. The NFBI convention will take place October 26-28 at the Sheridan Chicago O’Hare Hotel. This year it will be combined with the Illinois Committee of Blind vendors. Those still wishing to register are encouraged to take advantage of the Saturday lunch for $20. There will be presentations from NFBI as well as the vendors. A number of special guests will be here to help us commemorate 50 years of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois including Rami Rabby, the first affiliate president, and Ramona Walhof, who was on the organizing team back in 1968. 
Washington Seminar will be coming in January of next year. One may apply to attend Washington Seminar. The application can be found on the NFB of Illinois website. Applications must be turned into Denise by December 1. Her email address is davant1958 at gmail.com. Lift and the National federation of the Blind are collaborating in an effort to get more people out to vote. Coupons will be made available which will permit reduced fares to a polling place if Lift is used as the mode of transportation. Please give names to Denise by October 15 of people who might benefit from this program. The Bureau of Blind Services is currently instituting two pilot projects which may well determine the future of services for the blind in Illinois. One of them combines those who are blind along with those who ARE deaf into a single service bureau. The other project is placing services for the blind under general field services. This was all done without consulting the Blind Services Planning Council, something that is required by law. The National Federation of the Blind of Illinois, the Illinois Council of the Blind and the Blind Services Planning Council have all opposed a merger of any kind. We will do what we can to try to stop any merger.

Committee Reports: David Meyer reported on the final two fundraising projects for the calendar year. Our annual read-a-thon will occur on November 10. All were encouraged to take part. The entrance fee is $10. 
However, if one is able to raise $10 or more from others, the admission fee would be waved. The annual Christmas auction will take place following the meeting on December 8. Again, all were encouraged to either bring items or bid on those items to be presented.

Vendors Conference: The vendor’s conference will kick off on Thursday, October 25. The Illinois Committee of Blind Vendors will meet on Friday morning. Friday evening will feature a trade show. All are welcome to stop in and sample available goodies. The training session will take place on Saturday morning, October 27. This will be followed by a joint luncheon with theIllinois Association of Blind Students, (IABS.)

Secretary’s report. The minutes were approved with the following addition. Pam Gillmore encouraged all of us to get a flu shot.

Treasurer’s Report: Marco Giannotti reported on the third quarter of 2018.
Opening Balance July 1, 2018, $6,283.09. Income, $1,901.17. Expenses, $2,980.08. Ending balance, September 30, $5,204.18. The report was approved as presented.

New Business: Melissa Fuller reported that there will be a tour of the station at Washington and Wabash on October 18. From 4:00 to 6:30 P.M. 
Jemal Powell asked for people to give him ideas for chapter programs. 
His email is derek2872 at yahoo.com and his phone number is 708-557-7979. 
David Meyer mentioned that David Flament from the Illinois Council of the Blind contacted him looking for support from us in order to have audible traffic signals installed which would help us when the new system is installed that permits busses to override stoplights. Patti suggested that Melissa and Jemal work with David Flament on this matter.

The meeting adjourned at 2:31 P.M.

Respectfully Submitted,

David Meyer, Secretary
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