[MD-AtLarge] Meeting Reminder and Minutes

[nfbmd]

Hello All,

 

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, October 20.  The National President's
Message will start at 7:30, followed by the meeting at 8pm.  Below are the
minutes of the September meeting:

 

Minutes for the At large chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of
Maryland

Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2015

 

The meeting was called to order at 8:00 P.M. via conference call by
Marguerite Woods. There were around 15 people on the call. 

 

Marguerite reminded everyone about muting their phones to reduce background
noise by pressing star 6. You can unmute your phone by pressing star 6
again.

 

Dana Diaz, one of our board members for the at large chapter, recently
suffered a stroke. Marguerite spoke with her and said she did not ask for
specifics on what was affected but noted she sounded good. She is currently
undergoing rehabilitation.

 

We were joined on the call by Jeannie Massay, who is the treasurer of the
NFB, the president of the Oklahoma affiliate, and will be the keynote
speaker at our state convention. Jeannie said that with all her roles in the
NFB, she feels her most important one is that of a member because she knows
that her voice, and everyone else's, is heard equally. Speaking about state
conventions, she shared that she attended her first in 2008 after applying
for a scholarship which she did not win. She said she heard Gary Wunder
speak at the convention who said that the people of the NFB are not just
resources but are more like family. He also spoke about how it is great to
be part of something that is so much greater than you are. Jeannie said she
found this energizing and wanted to learn more. She also now considers Gary
Wunder among her good friends. She said she went in only wanting the
scholarship but got a "fantastic result". She said it is great to be with a
group of blind people that understands and supports you in every way
possible because they believe in you.

 

Jeannie told us she lost her sight as an adult. She shared that she took
graduate courses to be a therapist and had 3000 hours with a supervisor.
However, when she went to take a test she needed to take, she found it was
inaccessible. She did all she knew to do, but nobody wanted to help her. She
then contacted the NFB, who threatened to take legal action. She said the
accessibility of the test was "no longer an issue" once the NFB got
involved. She is now a licensed mental health therapist with her own
practice. She specializes in working with children and adults with
behavioral disorders such as AD/HD and also does a lot of work with people
suffering from anxiety.

 

Ron related to Jeannie's issues with inaccessibility and said he is having
issues with books at the community college he is attending. He is looking
into getting e-books. Sharon said that the library for the blind will help
him get e-books.

 

Judy commented that the NFB of Oklahoma has greatly increased their
membership. Jeannie said that in 2008, there was only 1 chapter, but there
are now 5, and there are plans for more. She said Maryland has done a great
job by getting an at large chapter together, and she would like to see the
same thing happen in Oklahoma.

 

Marguerite asked if Jeannie had any suggestions for increasing membership,
especially for an at large chapter. Jeannie stressed the importance of
conversations with people and said a personal touch can mean a lot. She said
this allows people to hear the conviction in your voice. She said that we
have lost the ability to talk to people because of technology, and the great
thing about the at large chapter meeting by conference call is that there
are "real people" on the other end of the line.

 

Marguerite asked about ideas for Meet the Blind month, which will be in
October. Jeannie said one of the chapters in Oklahoma is planning a White
Cane walk and an open house where they will display technology and other
useful things for the blind. She said another chapter did a similar thing in
the past and had 52 people come, 10 of whom later attended the state
convention. 

 

Judy shared a story about calling an alternate winner of a state scholarship
because the original winner was unable to attend convention. She said the
alternate had never been to a meeting and had no experience with the NFB, so
Judy was not sure she would come, but she immediately said "yes". Judy said
she was amazed at how easy it was to get her to come. Jeannie said they will
not all be that easy but, "If you don't ask, you won't know".

 

Many members shared their plans for Meet the Blind month. Marguerite will be
speaking at the senior center she attends on the first Friday of October and
plans to share information about the NFB. Anyone who wants more information
about this can contact Marguerite. Ron is participating in an art show on
September 25 for people with various disabilities. It was suggested that we
see about having someone there to hand out information. Judy and her husband
will have a booth at their church's fall festival, and she is brainstorming
ideas for activities she could do that would be different from things she
has done in past years. A couple people talked about how they have had
stations where they brailled people's names and agreed this is always
well-received. Several people plan to distribute NFB literature in various
places and asked Sharon to send them what they need.

 

The question was asked how one would go about setting up events for Meet the
Blind month, such as the white cane walk Jeannie spoke about. Jeanie said
that the mayor of the town gives an official proclamation, and there is an
article in the local paper which tells about the event and invites anyone
who wants to attend.

 

Sharon reminded us of a few upcoming events. On September 30, the author of
the book "The Boys in the Boat" will be at the NFB center at 7:00. This
event is co-sponsored by the library for the blind and the Baltimore rowing
club. There will also be a seminar on September 26 for those who are blind
and also dealing with hearing loss. Registration will be a 12:30, and the
seminar will be from 1:00-4:00 at the NFB center.

 

The call ended at 9:00 P.M.

 

Submitted by Danielle Shives

 

 

Sharon Maneki, President

National Federation of the Blind of Maryland

410-715-9596

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/md-atlarge_nfbnet.org/attachments/20151012/1e5e0b27/attachment.html>