[NAGDU] Important FYI 2022 NAGDU Annual Business Meeting Minutes

[Stacie Gallegos]

Hello Everyone,

Please find attached and also pasted below my signature the minutes from last year’s NAGDU Annual Meeting; held in New Orleans, LA. Looking forward to seeing many of you in Houston. Safe travels.



—
Stacie Gallegos / Secretary
National Association of Guide Dog Users
Https://www.nagdu.org
(346) 439-7444  |  SGallegos at nagdu.org
“You can live the life you want. Blindness is not what holds you back.”

National Association of Guide Dog Users

Annual Business Meeting Minutes

Thursday, July 7, 2022

New Orleans, Louisiana

 

 

Meeting called to order at 6 Pm Central

 

Roll Call: Secretary, Scott Wilson

Present: President, Raul Gallegos, Vice President, Paul Sandoval, Secretary, Scott Wilson, Treasurer, Jessica Snyder, Board Member, Cindy Ray, Board Member, Al Elia, and Board Member, Jodie Witthaus

 

President Raul Gallegos opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to the meeting, reviewed the Covid protocols, and the Code of Conduct.

 

Secretary’s Report: Scott Wilson

The minutes from the 2021 Annual Business Meeting were approved as emailed. (Al Elia and Ryan Falcon)

 

Treasurer’s Report: Jessica Snyder

Jessica read the Annual Treasurer’s Report. The report was approved as read. (Tina and Jodie)

 

Announcements

NAGDU Goodie Bags: Raul discussed NAGDU’s prominent role with the dog relief area at the hotel. He also gave information about the 50/50 Raffle to raise funds for the dog relief area. 

NAGDU Events: Raul shared information about the various membership-building and awareness events that NAGDU holds throughout the year. These include Yappy Hour, Guide Dog Matters, and various seminars.

Social Media: Raul shared that NAGDU can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and the NFB Net email list. The Facebook participant numbers have grown from 1200 in 2021 to a little over 1400 in 2022. Twitter followers have also increased from 450 in 2021 to 485 in 2022. He encouraged that people participate as much as possible. Whether a person is a NAGDU member or not, everyone is welcome to participate.

NAGDU Participation with Other States: Raul shared that he and other NAGDU board members have participated in meetings and seminars held by certain states to raise awareness about guide dog and have assisted with supporting other states who have a guide dog user group, committee, or division. He specifically mentioned South Carolina, congratulating them for forming the South Carolina Association of Guide Dog Users, SCAGDU.

Donations: Raul shared that thanks to the various donations that NAGDU has received, the division has been able to donate some of those funds to the National Organization, to assist NAGDU board members with convention costs, and to sponsor two guide dog users to assist with convention costs. He hopes that this will continue to be possible in the years to come.

Website: Raul reported that NAGDU has migrated to the new unified website design that matches what other NFB websites are doing. He shared details of what he would like for the website going forward.

 

Guest Speaker: Marco from Lyft shared information with NAGDU members regarding steps Lyft is taking to reduce denials of guide dog users. His presentation was followed-up by members asking questions related to their own individual experiences when using Lyft.

 

Legal Updates

Tim Elder, TRE Legal Practice, provided an update on legal matters pertaining to guide dog users.

Resolutions: Tim explained why NAGDU submitted two resolutions this year, one for Lyft and one for Uber. Because each company has its own policies and procedures, they need to be treated as separate issues even though both are ride-share companies.

Uber: Tim gave a brief history about Uber and accessibility, and whether the company had to follow the ADA. He explained about the Uber settlement agreement, whose term was set for 3.5 years. The settlement expired in July 2021. Since then, amendments to the settlement were proposed. Therefore, further advocacy still needs to happen. To help the strategy, individuals should continue to report all problems surrounding denials. Specifically, users who do not have an Uber account, yet get denied should report their experiences. An explanation of how a person who does not have an uber account can still be denied was given. It could be someone using Uber through a third-party service like Go Go-Grandparent, or someone who gets a ride through their health plan, or through their local paratransit. It could even be a nondisabled person who gets a denial because they are traveling with someone with a guide dog. Tim encouraged everyone to continue submitting the rideshare surveys and speak to either himself or to Valerie Yingling.

Lyft: Tim shared the ongoing issues with Lyft, stating that denials happen with Lyft as well. Tim shared that he is optimistic about Lyft and the changes we hope they make going forward.

Department of Transportation: Tim shared updates concerning the Air Carrier Access Act and the recent changes to the regulations. He is concerned about the new regulation and how the policy can affect other areas. For example, hotels are starting to ask people to fill out a form to attest that their dog is a service animal, and this is not allowable under the ADA. He explained that comments about the proposed regulation were submitted but none of them from blind people were listened to. General comments from the meeting participants were made concerning their feelings about the new travel regulations. Tim acknowledged that since there is a form already due to the regulation, we have to accept this for now. However, he also explained that there could be solutions to minimize the issues surrounding the form itself. A general discussion ensued.

 

2022 NAGDU Elections

The positions up for re-election are president, currently held by Raul Gallegos from TX, Secretary, currently held by Scott Wilson from FL, and two Board positions, currently held by Jodie Witthaus from CO and Cindy Ray from IA. 

Jessica Snyder presented the Nomination Committee Report. The committee recommended the following:

President: Raul Gallegos from TX

Secretary, Stacie Gallegos from TX

Board Position, Brianna Murray from NJ

Board Position: Steve Cook from SC

The results of the elections are as follows:

President:  Raul Gallegos from TX

Secretary: Stacie Gallegos from TX

Board Position: Steve Cook from SC

Board Position: Brianna Murray from NJ

Note: These are 2-year terms and will be up for re-election in 2024. 

 

Division Updates

Raul invited each state affiliate guide dog user division to provide updates for 2022.

CO: Developing training that will be shared with media professionals to prevent denials of guide dog users.

NJ: Increasing the membership in their guide dog user committee. 

NY: Currently holding a T-shirt fund raiser. Contact Heather Bird if interested. 

SC: Shared information about what their newly formed division, SCAGDU, is doing since their establishment. 

OH: Ohio is working on legislative issues, specifically trying to change state law to remove the term, assistance animal, to define a guide dog or service dog. 

TN: Focusing on building their membership. 

TX: Hoping to host a training for first responders. TXAGDU was also one of the sponsors of this year’s NAGDU Seminar. 

UT: Building membership.

 

Finally, the drawing for the 50/50 raffle took place. Ryan Falcon from TX was the lucky winner. 

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:06 PM Central Time.