[NFBA-Phoenix] June 3, 2023 NFB of AZ Phoenix Chapter Business Meeting Minutes

Sat Jul 15 15:00:06 UTC 2023

NFB of AZ Phoenix Chapter Business Meeting Minutes
Sat., June 3, 2023 9:30 AM
Location- Hybrid
In-Person - SAAVI Services for the Blind, Phoenix
Virtual over Zoom
MEETING Minutes
Call to Order-Jordan Moon, President
Roll Call 21 members and 5 guests attended.
Attendees participated in the Pledge of Allegiance, NFB Pledge, and the NFB One-Minute Message. A moment of silence was taken, and prayers were offered  by meeting participants.
Jordan asked that we do things a little out of order to enable a couple people to join the chapter who had some time constraints. Five people took a few moments to introduce themselves.
Rachel Kuntz moved to accept new member, Jenny Kasl  to the chapter. Monica Nunez seconded. The motion carried.
Sharonda Goode moved to accept new member, Kristopher Crawley to the chapter. Joe Goode seconded. The motion carried.
Rachel moved to accept two new members, Diane Cottenden and Donald Cozby to the chapter. Rodney Fletcher seconded. The motion carried.
Welcome to the chapter each of you. We are fortunate to have you as part of our community and look forward to your participation.
Presidential Report: Jordan acknowledged the guests in attendance and gave them an enthusiastic welcome. He talked about how to join the chapter. Dues are $5 and we vote new members in. Dues cover one year. He is proud of our ability to get things done. Jordan challenged us to get new members involved.
Secretary's Report Rachel Kuntz, Secretary, - Business Meeting Minutes, May 2023.
Jenny moved to accept the Secretary's report with Monica's corrections. Monica seconded. The motion carried.
Jordan acknowledged Mike Smith for his great work covering the chapter meeting in May.
Treasurer's Report - Donna Silba, Treasurer, June 2023
Rachel moved to accept the Treasurer's report as read. Monica seconded. The motion carried.
Guest Speaker: Marci Duty, Computers for the Blind Customer Service Rep. Marci shared details about how to purchase a laptop or desktop with screen reading and/or zoom text software at a steep discount from there nationwide non-profit. It will also include office software and a one-year warranty. They provide tech support. Marci is licensed in Jaws. She is an experienced teacher. There are opportunities to volunteer. Set-up videos are available from a phone number and online. They mark the connections for desktops with bump dots and other tactile methods. They have a 6-week training course in Jaws.
Presidential Release 528 May 31,  2023
The release was live from New Zealand. President Mark A. Riccobono  asked everyone to be aware of what the members of the LGBTQ community are facing across the country. Some members may choose not to come to the convention as a result of the discriminatory policies adopted in Texas. He encouraged members to continue to support and respect each other. Join the meetings that the NFB LGBTQ group has, and the discussion group's list serv. Use the national convention as a way to show how to treat each other with respect. National convention announcements were given. Monica mentioned that the President will throw out the first pitch at the Houston Astros game on Fri. July 7. Jordan encouraged chapter members not traveling to Houston to get together for the banquet.
Lori Kirsop expressed a willingness to plan a chapter get together for the banquet.
Legislative Report National/affiliate
Jordan reported that our national initiatives are having some progress in congress with bi-partisan support. The Access Technology Affordability Act was introduced  in the house. We need sponsors from AZ. Take action by reaching out to our representatives. This may get passed in the fall. Another bill that was introduced is the Medical Device Accessibility Act. Betty Love mentioned to check email from the NFB legislative team for the full details on how to communicate with our representatives. Jordan mentioned to look forward to the state convention for a very good Legislative Seminar.
Membership Committee -New Member Welcome -Vicki Farley and Monica, Co-
Chairs. Monica thanked the new members and asked that they send their contact information to the committee. Donna talked about all the ways to pay dues including Zell, check, and cash. Betty mentioned that the committee has been reaching out to current members to get information up to date.
White Cane Event Report: Jordan thanked Vicki for an excellent presentation. The event was very well received. Rachel asked if we could place the presentation out in a space that it can be kept and shared anytime outside of zoom. Jordan mentioned that he will work with the tech committee to get this done.
BELL Program Lunch Report: Joy Haris spoke about how much fun it was to take part in the lunch. Monica said they served Taco Bell and gave them ice cream. Vicki dropped off games. There were thirteen kids. Kim Fetterman mentioned that the children loved having everyone visit and thanked the chapter. Kim worked with the kids in the kitchen during BELL. They made lots of fun foods including cutting veggies. Students made homemade pasta and meatballs. They practiced grooming. She mentioned Saavi donated grooming supplies to practice with. Students will be making chicken wings. Kim invited people to attend the BELL graduation. Jordan mentioned that now he knows where the random toothbrush came from that Liberty Moon brought home. Kim noted that the children in BELL range from 4 to 13 and the program is divided into age-appropriate groups. Jordan congratulated the chapter for having a big presence at the lunch.
Fundraising Committee -Betty, Chair-no report given. Rodney mentioned that the plan is in process to sell popcorn at the state convention.
Outreach Committee: Rachel, Chair-no report given.
Social Committee: Joy, chair no report given. Rachel mentioned that we will be put to work soon when we learn what chapter is part of the state convention host committee.
Technology Committee-Joe, Chair They are planning the tech seminar for state convention and is thinking about presenting on Mastodon. The other topic area may be web accessibility. Sharonda would like to set up a way to listen to minutes for people who don't have email. They want to use a conference call line but perhaps there is a better way for people to call in to listen to meeting minutes on their own time. The chapter has a conference call line. Committee meetings are the first Monday of every month. Jordan asked Joe to share the link to the meetings with the chapter.
State Division and committee updates-Rachel mentioned the Muslim Division webinar that is coming up to learn more about networking  and using digital business cards. Kris C. is part of this group and is involved in the webinar. Register for the Career Fair if attending the convention.
Jordan let us know to look forward to the new state website to be available very soon.
New Business
Rachel mentioned that the Maricopa Co. Public Health CHNA survey is not just helpful to us individually but will help Saavi get funding to support programs that don't receive funding like working with young children. Our community has been responding well to the survey, but the county wants additional respondents, so they extended it for two more weeks.
Jordan held a discussion about the July business meeting.
Rachel moved to hold our meeting on July 15 at 9:30 AM over Zoom. Rodney Seconded. The motion carried.
Donna spoke about supporting the tenBroek, Jernigan,and the White Cane Fund along with contributing to door prizes at the national convention. She described the work that each of the fund's support.
Rachel moved to contribute $160 divided evenly among the three funds and the door prize for national convention. Monica seconded. The motion carried.
President Donald Porterfield spoke about requesting affiliate support to attend national convention. the deadline has passed for the national convention, but the opportunity will arise in a few weeks to request assistance with state convention. he suggests starting with the local chapter when requesting assistance. The affiliate would like to be able to get as many people as possible to the convention. communicate by email with Donald when requesting support. In the case of national convention requests, he will want to know how much is being requested and for what purpose. And, if money is being provided from other resources. The affiliate is here to help but will not cover everything. Volunteering is expected during national convention.
Assistance for the state convention is different and the affiliate generally provides partial financial assistance for the hotel rooms. the expectation is that the person will have a roommate. Chapters typically help with assistance purchasing meals.
Rachel moved to set aside $400 to provide financial assistance to chapter members going to national convention to be allocated at the discretion of President Moon. Donna seconded. The motion carried.
Jordan asked that people email or call him requesting the assistance for national convention by June 15.
State convention will be Aug. 24 to 27 at the Hyatt downtown.
Joy volunteered to be the auction and door prize liaison for the chapter and will work with Mark Feliz, Affiliate Auction Chair.
President Porterfield . reported the room rate is $109 per night for doubles not including taxes and fees. The room block is technically open now and ends August 3. Hyatt is requesting that we use the link to reserve the room and not to call the hotel to book the room.
Discussion Why is it important to mentor blind children? Define a good mentor. by Monica, Board Member
Monica spoke about the importance of blind children having blind people they can look up to so they will understand that they can do things too. Children ask lots of questions, and it is good to have someone in their lives who can share positive information about blindness. Demonstrating that using tools like a cane is good education for children. Betty shared that a good mentor is someone that can answer questions. If they are feeling sad, we can relate to them and help them realize that things will be okay. It's Important to show them we can do things. Jordan said we may be the first blind people the children have met who have a positive attitude about blindness. Once they get introduced to the NFB philosophy they will want more of it. When someone is impacted by our positive attitude it alters their expectations. They want more for themselves than they once thought possible. Be true to who you are and don't be afraid to express blindness in a positive light.
Announcements
Tom Johnson raised the point that work must begin on locating a location for the holiday party. This is urgent to firm up. Jordan said he would get the social committee working on this.
Betty suggested holding a webinar every few months since the White Cane presentation went so well.
The chapter celebrated the birthday of Barbara Jones with a lovely zoom version of the birthday song. A happy Father's Day was wished to all the Dads. Tom mentioned that it will be the one-year anniversary of the loss of a long-time member, Carrie Taylor. Scott Tokunaga mentioned that it is the one-year anniversary of receiving a kidney transplant.
Several people moved to adjourn. The motion carried.

Submitted by
Rachel R. Kuntz
Secretary, NFB Phoenix Chapter
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