[Nebraska-Senior-Blind] August Secretary's Reported Corrected, Pasted in and Attached

Tue Sep 15 02:30:30 UTC 2020

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

Monday, August 10, 2020

The NFBN Senior Division met by telephone conference on Monday, 
August 10, 2020. President Robert Newman called the meeting to order 
at 7:02 PM CDT. Members present were: President Robert Newman, Vice 
President Barbara Loos, Secretary Linda Mentink, Treasurer Cheryl 
Livingston, Board Member Nancy Oltman, Chris Boone, Jo Boshart, Gina 
Finnell, Brad Loos, and Jerry Whitlow. Guests present were: Sharon 
Wolfe from Oklahoma and Verita Turner from Delaware.

Cheryl recited our NFB Pledge. Jerry will recite it next month.

We discussed the virtual National Convention.

Linda read the June 8 Secretary's Report. The date read was 
corrected, and the report will become a part of the permanent record 
of the organization.

Cheryl read the August Treasurer's Report as follows:

Treasurer's Report Senior Division

Monday, August 10, 2020

Beginning Balance $1029.83

Expenses

PAC for July $15.00

PAC for August $15.00

Deposits

None

Ending Balance $999.83

Respectfully submitted,

Cheryl Livingston, Treasurer

It will be made a part of the permanent financial record of the organization.

Cheryl reported on the National Seniors Division meeting as follows:

NFB Senior Division meeting at virtual National Convention

The NFB Senior Division met over Zoom on June 16, 2020. There were 
approximately 235 people in attendance at the Zoom meeting.

The first item on the agenda was a panel presentation from some 
seniors who had attended a retreat at the Rocky Bottom Camp of the 
Blind in SC. The camp holds 2 retreats each year for seniors.  One 
senior named Darrell said he wanted to learn how to grill. Training 
is done with sleepshades and straight canes. He learned to thread a 
needle and to sew on a button. He would recommend attending the 
retreat and commented that the participants were not babied, that the 
training was not for the faint of heart and that the skills needed 
would be learned. At this point, Shelley Copple from SC interjected 
that the next retreat would be held virtually from Oct. 18-24, 2020. 
The next presenter named Katie discussed her experience. She stated 
that the Senior Division is ahead as far as inclusion is concerned. 
She said that she did not experience anything negative. She reported 
that a typical day started with walking down the mountain to have 
breakfast each morning. Then people broke up into small groups to 
work on skills, such as cane travel, Braille, cooking and technology. 
At the end of the day there was a recap of the day's experiences and 
a time for fellowship. The participants were shown various 
technologies and made their own decisions as to what was best for 
them. There were also outings to various places, such as shopping. 
Participants learned how to request shopping assistance and how to 
work with the assistants.

The next agenda item was a presentation by author Debra Kendrick. She 
has written 2 books that are based on her personal experiences and 
for seniors. Both books are published by the National Braille Press. 
The first book is titled Navigating the Health Care System When all 
They See is That you Can't. The book describes strategies on how to 
get past "how much can you see" to getting the health care that is 
needed. There are several chapters on subjects such as how to find a 
doctor. NBP will provide the book free of charge. The website to get 
the book is nbp.org. The second book is titled When Your Ears Can't 
Help you See. This book deals with general coping strategies with 
hearing loss, decorating and furniture placement to enhance sound and 
chapters on hearing aids and sound amplification products. Debra said 
that the most valuable section is on how to teach your audiologist 
about blindness. This book is available in Braille, in LP, and for 
download from nbp.org.

The next presentation was from Ben Cooper and Mike Tran of Benetech- 
Bookshare. Bookshare is holding a summer read-a-thon for readers of 
all ages. The goal is to read 200,000 books. Bookshare has 2 book 
clubs, one for teens and one for adults. Bookshare has a special 
convention offer that if you sign up by July 31 and use the code 
vet2020, you will get the first year's membership for $50. On the 
Benetech side, they are working on a prototype for smart speakers. 
Information can be found at smartspeakers at benetech.org.

Next was a panel discussion about senior groups in various parts of 
the country. Veronica Smith is the president of the New Mexico senior 
group called Senior Action Group Energy or SAGE. The group started as 
a senior group in 1996. They hold monthly online meetings and have 
guest speakers. The at large group and the senior group have combined 
into 1 group. Stacy (I did not get the last name) is a rehab 
specialist working at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. She does 
outreach to seniors in Louisiana, working with individuals based on 
their individual needs. Senior retreats are held in which 4-6 people 
go to Ruston to the LCB to work on blindness skills. Shelley Copple 
talked about the Rocky Bottom Camp of the Blind in South Carolina. 
The camp holds 2 senior retreats each year, one in May and one in 
September. An announcement was made that the NFB Seniors Division 
meets once a month virtually at 4 pm eastern time. A speaker is 
arranged for each meeting. All are welcome.

The next speaker was Dr. Penny Rosenblum, who is the director of 
research at the American Foundation for the Blind. She discussed 
several surveys that were being conducted. One that was recently 
concluded was the Flatten Inaccessibility survey. Among the items 
addressed in the survey were access to covid testing, access to 
obtaining prescriptions if no online option is available and there is 
not a way to get prescriptions in person, access to hospital care, 
eyecare and eyecare regimens, and access to transportation. A report 
will soon be available on the AFB website, afb.org. Navigate to Dr 
Penny Rosenblum and then click on the link to the Flatten 
Inaccessibility website.

A couple of the presenters for the afternoon were not able to join 
the meeting apparently due to technical difficulties. Following the 
presentations was some general discussion. Robert Newman answered 
questions about the payment of dues and gave information about the 
senior division website. Duncan Larson read the treasurer's report. 
It was decided that elections would be held over until the next 
meeting. Diane McGeorge made some final comments before the meeting 
was adjourned.

We complimented Cheryl, and thanked her for such a thorough report.

We decided to wait until after the state board meeting to plan our 
annual meeting at our upcoming NFBN convention, because we don't know 
whether it will be in person or virtual. Chris and Barbara suggested 
that we ask Cameo Rogers, Corporate Life Enrichment Manager for 
Immannuel, if she would be a guest and

talk about the continuing need for an in-service on handling blind

residents in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Barbara 
also suggested Peggy Chong, the blind history lady.

BRAGS AND DRAGS. Linda shared that two church friends have serious 
physical issues, and asked for prayers for both.

Jo mentioned that the next day would be a year since she had a brain bleed.

We expressed our condolences regarding Della Johnston's passing.

There was no further business, so we adjourned at 8:54 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Mentink, Secretary

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