[Massachusetts-NFB] At-Large Chapter November Meeting Minutes

[Liz Lesperance]

Good Evening and Happy Early 82nd Birthday to the NFB!

Pasted below and attached please find the minutes from the At-Large
Chapter's November meeting held this past Sunday, Nov. 13th. I have also
included a copy of the NFB pledge.

Warmly,
Liz

***************************

The NFB of MA At-Large Chapter held its November monthly meeting on Sunday,
Nov. 13th. Those in attendance included:

Allen Larkin

Amalia Alexandre

Brian Langlois

Cullen Gallagher

Debbie Malone

Liz Lesperance

Mike Karsok

Sandra Burgess

Shara Winton



Debbie called the meeting to order at 7:08PM.

Amalia recited the pledge of allegiance.

Cullen recited the NFB pledge. Please note – to assist us all in learning
the pledge I have pasted it at the bottom of these minutes. I have also
saved the pledge in a word document which is attached to this email.

We conducted a roll call.

Debbie put forth a motion to approve the October meeting minutes as they
stand. The motion was seconded by Liz. The minutes were approved.

Amalia was voted in as our official newest member.

2023 dues should be paid by January of 2023 as long as Sandy can get
clarity on our treasury account. We will confirm next month when dues
should be paid. The dues will be paid to the Massachusetts state affiliate
account via PayPal under the donation section. Be sure to put in the notes
that the payment is for annual dues. Dues are $10.  The affiliate will soon
be able to accept payment via Zelle as well, but this process is not in
place yet. Again, be sure to specify what the payment is for.
Unfortunately, other apps such as Apple Pay and Cash App are not accepted.
We will confirm the process for paying 2023 dues at next months’ chapter
meeting.

Sandra will contact previous chapter treasurer Kyra to have the funds
transferred from the previous at-large PayPal account to the state
affiliate account.

For anyone who voted this past Tuesday, please complete the NFB national
office’s 2022 Blind and Low-Vision Voter Experience Survey which can be
found at https://nfb.org/resources/voting-resources

Cullen went over highlights of the presidential report. The highlights are
as follows:

·       Vispero is matching up to $50k in charitable donations to the NFB

·       Nov. 16th is the NFB's 82nd birthday. Shara encouraged everyone to
read Floyd Matson’s book *Walking Alone, Marching Together. *This book
details the profound history of the organized blind movement in the U.S.

·       Uber has been working with the NFB to enhance driver training
regarding service animals. If someone reports a denial the driver will be
suspended. If the case is found to be true, the driver will be terminated.
There is a survey to complete on the NFB site regarding Uber and Lyft
denials.

We then held a lively discussion regarding Uber and Lyft denials faced by
all members of the blindness community and strongly encouraged all members
to report any denials to the ridesharing vendor and the NFB.

The “Braille Readers are Leaders” contest is starting Dec. 5th ending
January 23rd. There are contests at all reading levels as well as K-12.

Letters from Santa as well as winter letters are starting to be distributed
in English and Spanish

Please continue contacting your MA U.S. representatives to support the
Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act (HR 9021). Our two
state senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey along with Rep. Lori Trahan
have already agreed to cosponsor this legislation.

Washington Seminar begins Jan. 30th.

We discussed our individual and group efforts during October's Blind
Equality Achievement Month.

The greatly anticipated popcorn fundraiser will be held Dec. 2nd through
Dec. 5th. Each participant will have their own store and there will be a
monetary prize for the person who sells the most in their store. Debbie
encouraged all MA affiliate members to participate in the fundraiser.
Debbie emphasized the importance of contacting individuals outside of the
NFB. This will also help spread awareness and emphasize our cause.

An email will be going out to chapter members very soon regarding next
month’s chapter meeting which will include a Secret Santa exchange. Details
to follow.

We would like to meet as a chapter during the state convention

Youme Nguyen Ly will be presenting this Thursday night during the Thursday
night hangout.

The meeting adjourned at 8:50PM.

Our next meeting will be held on Sunday, Dec. 11th at 6:30PM via zoom.
Please note, this is 30 minutes earlier than usual.



NFB Pledge:

I pledge to participate actively in the effort of the National Federation
of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind;
to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its
constitution.
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