[Nebraska-Senior-Blind] June Secretary's Report, Pasted in and Attached

[Linda Mentink]

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF NEBRASKA SENIOR DIVISION SECRETARY'S REPORT



Monday, June 8, 2020



The NFBN Senior Division met by telephone conference Monday, May 11, 
2020. President Robert Newman called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM 
CDT. Members present were: President Robert Newman, Vice President 
Barbara Loos, Secretary Linda Mentink, Treasurer Cheryl Livingston, 
Board Member Nancy Oltman, Jo Boshart, Bob Burns, Gina Finnell, Brad 
Loos, Steve Senteney, and Jerry Whitlow. Guests present were: Dianne 
Hemphill from Kansas, Fred Schroeder from Virginia, Warren Bennett 
from Nebraska, and Ruth Sager from Maryland.



Gina recited our NFB Pledge. Cheryl will recite it in August.



Robert introduced our guest speaker, Fred Schroeder. He lived in 
Nebraska for two years, from 1978 to 1980. He had normal sight until 
he was seven years old, and then he had an alergic reaction which 
nearly killed him. The only permanent consequence was that he lost 
some sight. He thought of himself as a sighted person who didn't see 
as well as he did at one time. He lost all of his sight when he was 
16. He shared many experiences he has had over the years, including 
helplessness when he first became blind. He began to learn the 
Federation philosophy when having to walk at a normal rate of speed 
to keep up with a friend with whom he was going bowling. His story is 
why he feels such a deep debt of gratitude to the Federation and a 
real personal obligation to try to share the encouragement that he 
received all of his life. Bob asked about the World Blind Union, and 
Fred explained that it's a union of ten organizations of and for the 
blind. They worked on the Marrakesh Treaty and a group of agencies 
and organizations around the world to put up money to develop a 
low-cost refreshable Braille display, the Orbit Reader. This sends a 
message to a blind kid and his family that their kid can live an 
active, productive life. Individuals can go to the WBU website to see 
projects in which to get involved. The best thing to do is to build 
the Federation right here in the US. Anyone with questions can email 
Fred at president at wbu.ngo. Dianne asked how to find seniors and help 
positively impact them in their lives when funding and transportation 
are not available. Fred said to advocate for those things, pay 
attention to them and try to nudge them forward. Put on a seminar and 
have an Ophthalmologist talk about the latest Macular Degeneration treatments.



Linda read the May Secretary's Report. Minor spelling corrections 
were made. The report will become a part of the permanent record of 
the organization.



Cheryl read the June Treasurer's Report as follows:



Treasurer's Report Senior Division



Monday, June 8, 2020



Beginning Balance $1044.83



Expenses



PAC for June $15.00



Deposits



None



Ending Balance $1029.83



Respectfully submitted,



Cheryl Livingston, Treasurer



There were no questions, so it will be made a part of the permanent 
financial record of the organization.



Robert mentioned that there will be a National Seniors Division 
meeting on Thursday, July 16, from 2:00 to 4:00 EDT. Membership dues 
are $5 per year.



Nancy mentioned that National would like recordings of people's first 
experience at a National Convention, one minute long or less, which 
will be played throughout the convention.



BRAGS AND DRAGS. Steve tested positive for the Corona Virus, but he's 
over it now.



Warren has been trying to figure out how two blind people can ride 
his side by side bicycle. He called a friend, and they FaceTimed. The 
person riding with him held the camera straight ahead at the 
sidewalk. They went around a two-block area without crossing the streets.



We decided that we will not meet in July.



There was no further business, so we adjourned at 8:55 PM.



Respectfully Submitted,



Linda Mentink, Secretary
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 2020 06 SD Secretary's Report.doc
Type: application/msword
Size: 4292 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nebraska-senior-blind_nfbnet.org/attachments/20200810/e25159ef/attachment.doc>