[Nfb-or] Minutes from Student Meeting

[Haben Girma]

Oregon Association of Blind Students
Meeting Minutes
May 1, 2009
11:30 AM to 2 PM
Multnomah County Central Library
801 SW 10^th Ave.
Portland, OR 97205

During the board meeting, Affiliate President Art Stevenson joined us 
over the phone as student board members got down to business. Renee 
stepped down from the position of Secretary and now holds the growing 
position of Treasurer of the Oregon Association of Blind Students. To 
date, we have $30. Haben was elected to take up the position of secretary.

Joseph updated the group on the current situation surrounding the Oregon 
School for the Blind, and it was decided that the best thing our 
organization can do at this point is to recruit more members. We 
currently have six official members, including four officers. In 
addition, we have three supporting nonofficial members. Haben is 
organizing the outreach effort, with the aid of material gathered from 
the NABSLINK website. Our plan is to send out letters to high schools, 
colleges, and agencies for the blind around Oregon so that we can reach 
more blind students in Oregon.

Joseph reported that the Oregon student division now has a website, but 
the website has very little on it. He’s working on the site and it 
should be a great resource for Oregon students some time in the future. 
Joseph’s plans for the site include a way for new members to sign up and 
pay their dues right there on the site.

While Haben was attending the NABS Leadership Seminar, she met with 
student division leaders from Idaho and Washington to plan a regional 
event. The event would include educational information such as advice 
from blind leaders with successful careers, strategies for succeeding in 
college, and discussion of NFB philosophy. We discussed the location and 
date for the event. The Washington School for the Blind and a college in 
Southeastern Washington were mentioned as possible locations. It was 
also suggested that early fall, around September, would be an ideal time 
for the regional event. The student division would apply for a grant 
from the Imagination Fund to cover the costs of such an event.

Have a great weekend all,

Haben