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

[Liz Lesperance]

Hello Friends,

Attached and pasted below please find the minutes from our latest At-Large
chapter meeting held on Tuesday, Oct. 10th. Have a nice day!

Best,
Liz

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

The At-Large Chapter met on Tuesday, October 10th. The meeting was called
to order at 7:03PM. Those in attendance included:

Allen Larkin

Brian Langlois

Cullen Gallagher

Debbie Malone

Donna Ramsden

Elizabeth Ann Johnson

Justin Salisbury

Liz Lesperance

Mike Karsok

Sandra Burgess

Shara Winton

Our icebreaker this evening was to decide whether we would prefer to jump
in a pile of leaves this Fall or take a ride on a hayride.

Elizabeth Ann recited the NFB pledge.

We held a moment of silence dedicated to parents with disabilities who are
separated from their children.

Debbie pointed out a correction to last month's minutes. We will be holding
an open discussion at 8:00 following each At-Large Chapter meeting. Thus,
these discussions will be held monthly (and not weekly as stated in the
minutes).

Elizabeth Ann put forth a motion that the revised minutes be approved.
Brian seconded the motion. The minutes were accepted.

Sandy went over the treasurer's report. The current balance is $1,658.13.
Liz put forth a motion to accept the treasurer's report as read, which
Allen seconded. The treasurer's report was approved  unanimously.

Liz went over the presidential release highlights which included:

·       October is Blind Equality Achievement Month with the goal of
raising awareness of the capacity of blind people. You can visit
nfb.org/blind-month to see how other NFB chapters are celebrating

·       With the rise in COVID cases, the white house is producing
accessible COVID tests. Each household can place an order which includes 12
tests. You can visit acl.gov/accessibletests or call 800 232-0233. When
calling, first choose the prompt for your language (English is 1). Next,
press 1 for at-home tests and then press 8 for accessible tests. If you
need help administering the test, you can call 888 677-1199.

·       The President recited the names of the 15 individuals participating
in the Kenneth Jernigan Leadership in Service pilot program.

·       Humanware announced an NFB matching campaign this fall. Every
dollar donated to NFB will be matched up to $50,000.

Legislative Updates

·       On Sept. 28th, the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility
Act was introduced in the House and Senate. There was a special shout out
to the MA affiliate as Senators Warren and Markey were the original
co-sponsors.

·       The Dept of Justice will be making a ruling regarding the revisions
to the ADA including the 7 exceptions put forth all granted towards
governmental websites. NFB opposes all 7 exceptions and will be seeking
support from members in the coming months. NFB of Maryland affiliate
President Ronza Othman testified in Congress on behalf of the Federation.

·       The Access Technology Affordability Act gained 7 new co-sponsors in
September.

·       NFB Newsline recently experienced technical issues due to an
electrical issue where the data is stored. Most systems are now back up and
running

·       Cathy Jackson, the past KY affiliate President, spoke about the
history of the Kentucky affiliate and their future goals

·       A member asked where the Museum of the Blind People's Movement will
be located? A feasibility study showed that the 2nd floor of the Jernigan
Institute building would be a sufficient location.

Shara went over the President's report: The David Ticchi walk last Sunday
is the biggest fundraiser of the year. We are still short on funds. Please
get your donations in. The Convention Committee is working hard on plans
for the 2024 convention which will be held from March 15th - March 17th in
Salem. Registration will open soon, and rooms will fill up quick. Debbie
shared that Carol Maurice is handling the door prizes this year. Please
contact Carol with any donations.  We are also seeking auction items. We
will have both an in-person and online auction this year.  Please contact
Shirley regarding donations for the in-person auction. Please contact Liz
with any donations or questions about the online auction. Debbie is
coordinating the convention exhibitors. She is focusing on organizations
that are blind-centric. The exhibit hall will run from 3:30 - 6:30 on
Friday, March 15th. Each table costs $50 for exhibitors. Justin advised
that we could look into political party exhibitors as the Democratic party
has a Disability Outreach Committee Brian suggested we could have an
exhibitor related to accessible voting   Shara suggested contacting EMERGE
which recruits women into the political arena Please begin thinking of any
ideas for resolutions or presentations.

Upcoming Events

11/7: affiliate board meeting 7pm

12/11: Cambridge Chapter annual holiday party

1/29 - 2/1: Washington Seminar

Debbie encouraged us to contact our local and state representatives
regarding our legislative priorities as every contact helps

Justin is researching introducing existing NFB Parents' Rights' legislation
here in MA. He is working alongside Basil Maurice.

Justin also emphasized the importance of evaluating state-level legislation
regarding abolishing sub-minimum wages for people with disabilities.

Debbie asked us to begin thinking about a fundraiser for the beginning of
next year.

We would like to hold a Secret Santa gift exchange during our meeting in
December. That meeting will take place on Dec. 12th at 7:00PM. We will get
the Secret Santa gift questionnaire out to members before the next meeting.

If there are any questions, Debbie can be reached at 774 786-0177 or
dmalone510 at gmail.com



Our next meeting will be Thursday Nov. 14th at 7PM.

The meeting adjourned at 8:01PM.
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