[Massachusetts-NFB] Resending March Meeting Minutes

[Cullen Gallagher]

Hi Everyone,
Here are the minutes from the March Meeting. I look forward to seeing you on Zoom tomorrow.
Thanks,
Cullen
Cambridge Chapter Minutes, March 13, 2023
The March meeting of the Cambridge Chapter was held as a hybrid meeting at Citywide Senior Center and on Zoom. It was called to order at 6:01 PM. 
In attendance:
Angey Manerson
ElizabethAnn Johnson
Shirley Dorris
Christine Diaz
Liam Flanagan
Stephanie Valdes
Cullen Gallagher
David Ticchi
Sengil Inkiala
Al Sten-Clanton
Jenn Bose
Rachel Kobierecki
Justin Heard
Tammy Febbi
Tracy Carvalho
Masha Sten-Clanton
Rashad Saadieh
ElizabethAnn led the NFB Pledge.
Mika was unavailable to present the Treasurer's Report. Angey moved that we table the Treasurer's Report for March until next month. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. 
The February minutes were accepted as written. 
Members shared what they liked and didn't like at our state convention. Some of the points made include:
Banquet food was cold.
The Mad Libs could have been organized better.
The presentations were good.
The dancing on Friday night was fun.
T-shirts sold well.
Lunches were very good.
Philosophy discussion was thought provoking. 
National convention will be in Houston July 1 to July 6. A few members indicated that they plan to attend:
Cullen Gallagher
Shirley Dorris
ElizabethAnn Johnson
Sengil Inkiala
The affiliate typically provides financial assistance to those who want to attend the convention. Stay tuned for details. 
First time attendees can apply for the Kenneth Jernigan convention scholarship. The deadline is April 15. Shirley received the scholarship last year and explained the process. You fill out the online application, and let Shara know that you applied. Shara needs to send a letter of recommendation, and you find out in may if you get the scholarship. Your money is given to you at convention, so you will need to book your flight and hotel in advance. 
Convention registration is now open. Registration is $25 a person, and banquet tickets are $70. Both go up by $5 if you register on sight in Houston. 
Link to all convention info: https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention
We need to hold an election for Vice President, and we discussed how to go about voting. Zoom voting can be a challenge. Noise cancellation makes voice votes harder to hear, and if the votes are close, we would need to use raised hands which would not provide anonymity. The two options considered were using the Zoom option despite its issues, or encouraging members to come and have voting in-person only. There was a strong preference for in-person voting, but there was the concern of leaving members out. Jenn moved that we have hybrid voting, the motion was seconded and did not pass. Voting will be in-person only.
The April meeting date was discussed. Due to Orthodox Easter services, Justin is unable to attend a meeting on the second Monday of April. A few options were discussed. Moving the meeting to either April 3rd or 24th, as the 17th is Patriots Day and the center would likely be closed. A few members indicated that they would not be able to attend on the 3rd or 24th. Another suggestion was to hold a virtual Zoom meeting on April 17. There were no objections to this option. April's meeting will be on Zoom on April 17, and our May meeting will be in-person as scheduled on May 8. We will hold the Vice President election at the May meeting. Justin will send out email reminders about these dates. 
We would like to grow our in-person meeting attendance; we discussed what motivates us to attend in-person. Some of the points raised.
Several members said that the camaraderie and social aspect of coming together is important. 
Easier access to food would be helpful.
Members would also like more discussions of blindness topics and issues. 
The meeting was adjourned at 7:36 PM. 
Date of next meeting, Monday, April 17 via Zoom.





Cullen Gallagher
Affiliate Secretary and Cambridge Chapter Secretary: National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

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