[NFBF-Tampa] Tampa Bay Chapter special meeting minutes august 8, 2026

[Sherrill O'Brien]

Hello again,

 

And here are the minutes for our Zoom meeting from August 8.

Also, be on the lookout for  information about the Amtrak bus/train
transportation we may want to consider for our trip to Jacksonville for
State convention.

 

I hope to see lots of you tomorrow at the greatest Beef O'Brady's in the
USA!

 

Sherrill

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbf-tampa_nfbnet.org/attachments/20260821/57f71b2a/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
 Tampa Bay Chapter 
National Federation of the Blind of Florida
Chapter Meeting Minutes
August 8, 2026
A special meeting, held via Zoom only,was called to order by President Debby Malone at 12:02pm.
Everyone introduced themselves. There were twelve members in attendance, and a guest, Sheri Albers, from Sun City.

State Convention
Dan needs to get an exact count of chapter members who plan to attend state convention so he knows how much our chapter owes the state for their registration and banquet tickets. We will need to have this information by the close of our next regular chapter meeting on August 22. 
Debby said that at our regular August meeting we will call for volunteers to help in the state convention's hospitality suite.
Debby reminded us to look for items to bring to our state fundraising auction. Sherri asked that we look for the email she sent out as State secretary reminding everyone to submit names of persons in their chapters who are deserving of NFBF's annual awards.
Sherrill will check on the possible convention transportation involving Amtrak's bus to Orlando which then connects to the train going on to Jacksonville. While more involved, this way of getting there puts us into Jacksonville at a much earlier hour than the direct train from Tampa. 
Updated Treasurer's Report
Dan reported that our current balance is $7,007.79. The Total net amount raised  from our Pancake Breakfast fundraiser is $1,476.79.

debby said she will continue to work on figuring out the accessibility of the NfB portal.
She wants to make sure our newer members receive their nFB membership packets.

Thank You to Beef O'Brady's
We agreed that we need to thank Beef O'Brady's in a meaningful way, both for their generosity to us over the years, and especially for their assistance with the Pancake Breakfast. Debby will look into getting a plaque made for them so it can be displayed in the restaurant. We agreed it should include the NFB logo. It was suggested that we look into having Braille on the plaque.     Yvonne suggested that we ask Tampa ADA coordinator Raquel Pancho where the city purchases their plaques.

The main purpose of the meeting was to finalize plans for our Blindness Equality Achievement Month (BEAM) activities in October, especially for White Cane Awareness Day on October 15.
After much discussion, we narrowed our choices for our White Cane Awareness Day street crossing to either the intersection at Bush and Himes, which is next to our Beef O'Brady's, or the one at the downtown library at Ashley and Cass. We will try to arrange a Spirit Night (or afternoon) no matter which area we choose. Jorge Lugo will speak with Dianne Luce, the O. and M. instructor at the Lighthouse, to get her advice on this matter. We will need to decide at our upcoming August 22 meeting.
Debby reminded us that it is important that we talk with Gregg about the media contacts he has who can hopefully help us with our White Cane Awareness Day publicity.

Yvonne said the date for our self defense class will be changed from August 15 to Saturday, August 29.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:20pm.

Respectfully submitted
Sherrill O’Brien, Secretary
Tampa Bay Chapter
National Federation of the Blind of Florida

Phone 813-935-0474, cell 813-767-1890
email Sherrill.obrien at verizon.net

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise expectations because low expectations create barriers between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want! Blindness is not what holds you back.