[NAGDU] NAGDU Board Meeting Minutes for August 28, 2016

Thu Sep 29 11:39:34 UTC 2016

I think one of the issues is that people bring their comfort/"service" turkeys, pigs, or turtles and what have you animals..
I have witnessed a situation where a lady insisted her chicken HAD to be allowed on the plane, cause it was a "service chicken".
I was stunned by how helpless and clueless the employees of the airline were and how forceful and assertive this lady. She kept threatening them to sue them.
She ended up taking her chicken on the plane.

Besides that, of course, the issue of untrained dogs, which are too stressed and show aggressive behavior, release themselves on the plane, bark or bother people, and and and.

I'm attaching a link here - hope it's readable.

http://qz.com/788461/new-rules-for-emotional-support-animals-on-flights/

Hope we'll all find a good solution so everyone can be safe, especially our dogs.

Best,
Sonja and Chief :)

On Sep 29, 2016, at 1:03 AM, NAGDU President via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org<mailto:nagdu at nfbnet.org>> wrote:

Marianne,

   The Americans with Disabilities Act does not apply to air carriers,
though it does apply to the terminals. Once one leaves the terminal and
boards the airplane, the law that governs the aircraft is the Air Carrier
Access Act (ACAA). The regulations are a little different under the ACAA, as
it allows a broader range of animals and does not require training, as does
the ADA. We believe this is problematic, as there have been a number of
incidents in which an untrained comfort animal has become out of control on
an airplane, causing problems for other passengers and service animals. We
believe the regulations need to be amended so that a definition more
congruent with the ADA's implementing regulations are created. It is very
challenging, to say the least, to have an out-of-control animal in the cabin
of a plane at 30,000feet!

Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Marianne Denning
via NAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2016 9:37 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Marianne Denning
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] NAGDU Board Meeting Minutes for August 28, 2016

I just read through these minutes. They are great minutes. I read the part
about proposed changes to the air carriers act. Would this be a violation of
ADA? What type of documents are they talking about?

On Wed, Sep 28, 2016 at 2:32 PM, Sherrill O'Brien via NAGDU <
nagdu at nfbnet.org<mailto:nagdu at nfbnet.org>> wrote:

Hello to all,

As NAGDU's secretary, starting this month, Marion has asked me to pass
along the monthly Board meeting minutes to both the NAGDU Leaders and
NAGDU mailing lists. You'll note that these are August minutes. No,
they're not hot off the press, since they first need to be approved by
the Board. But from now on, you'll receive the minutes following the
meeting at which they are approved. We hope that reading these will
help you stay informed about what's going on with our organization,
and nudge you to participate in our monthly teleconference Board
meetings. Who knows, maybe they'll inspire you to become a member of
NAGDU, get more active in your division, or even start the process of
forming a NAGDU division in your state!

The minutes are pasted below my signature, and also attached.

Warm regards

Sherrill O'
Brien, Secretary

National Association of Guide Dog Users

National Federation of the Blind

National Association of Guide Dog Users

Board Meeting Minutes

August 28, 2016

Those Present:

Marion Gwizdala, President

Michael Hingson, Vice President

Sherrill O'Brien, Secretary

Toni Whaley, Treasurer

Jimmy Boehm, Boared Member

Aleeha Dudley, Board Member

Jessica Snyder, Board Member

The meeting was held via teleconference, and was called to order by
President Marion Gwizdala at 8:00pmEDT. As usual, this was an open
meeting, and we welcomed the following guests: Liz Campbell, Texas;
Lucy Marr, New York; Holly McKnight, Texas.

Secretary and Treasurer's Reports

A motion was made by Aleeha, seconded by Mike to approve the August
meeting minutes as emailed. The motion passed.

Toni did not yet have a treasurer's report. She said there had been no
activity during August. We have fully paid all those to whom we owed
money for fundraising products.

Committee Reports

Social Media

We currently have 112 followers on Twitter. Marion wants to have 150
by October. Jessica reported that we have 404 Facebook members.

NAGDU Website

Mike said that, in order to keep our website updated, we are now
paying our web developer Dave Schroeder the monthly $100 fee which the
Board approved.
Mike will make sure Dave sends an invoice to Toni, and that he copies
Marion and Mike. Marion said we need to send Dave a PDF copy of our
new brochure to download on our website. It will need to come from our
national office.
Marion is taking an online course from CAVI involving up-to-date
technical knowledge geared to blind people. This includes web
development, and audio essentials such as creating podcasts.

NAGDU Information and Advocacy Hotline and Mobile App

Sherrill volunteered to help Aleeha update the state access laws which
will eventually be downloaded on our NAGDU app. Marion said most of
our hotline calls are now being connected through the app.

Old Business

NAGDU SEMINAR

James is the chair of the committee which is making plans for a
national seminar. Serving on the committee are Board members Mike and
Aleeha, as well as NYAGDU president Lucy Marr. James will resend the
minutes from their meeting.

Convention Relief Area

Aleeha said that Seeing Eye trainer Doug Bohl did not have any
suggestions for us regarding improvement of the relief area at our
national conventions.
We discussed having a variety of surfaces. There is a material which
can be put down which is permeable, thus preventing water from
accumulating. James suggested we consider a voluntary button on the
convention registration form, giving attendees the opportunity to
contribute to relief area supplies and cleanup.

New Business

Marion said our new Texas affiliate will hold a seminar just prior to
the NFB of Texas convention. TEXAGDU president liz Campbell then spoke
about their plans for the seminar, which will focus on rights and
responsibilities of guide dog handlers as well as education of local
business owners. She commended Norma Crosby, president of NFB's Texas
affiliate, for championing this seminar. It is hoped that it can serve
as a model for other NAGDU affiliates.

New NAGDU Division

Marion announced that Virginia will be chartering  a NAGDU division at
their upcoming convention in November. Marion has been invited to
attend.
Michigan
also has a formal charter in place and will meet in November.

D O T Proposing Changes to the Air Carrier Access Act

Marion informed us that the Department of Transportation has formed an
accessibility committee to study several proposed changes which would
affect
those with disabilities who are traveling by air. One change would
impact
those with service animals. The proposal involves the necessity for
the presenting of documentation and/or answering a series of questions
when booking a flight. NFB's representative on this committee, and
thus NAGDU's as well, is NFB Board member Parnell Diggs. Parnell would
initially like to hear from NAGDU leaders, so  a teleconference
dealing with this subject has been scheduled for Thursday, September 1
at 7pmEDT. Sherrill will send out an announcement about this meeting to
the leadership list.

Marion encouraged everyone to order a supply of our new brochures from
the Independence Market, especially with Meet the Blind month coming
up in October.

Our next meeting will be held on Sept. 25.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:18pm.

Respectfully  submitted

Sherrill O'Brien, Secretary

National Association of Guide Dog Users

National Federation of the Blind

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--
Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
(513) 607-6053
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