[NFBNJ] NFBNJ: Minutes for the New Jersey State Caucus Meeting at National Convention on Friday, July 8, 2021

[Ellen Sullivan]

>From the Desk of Linda Melendez, President, National Federation of the Blind
of New Jersey

Submitted by Ellen Sullivan, Affiliate Secretary

 

Minutes: NFBNJ State Affiliate Caucus

NFB 2021 National Convention

Friday, July 9, 2021

11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

 

1. Roll Call: There were approximately 70 participants at the NFBNJ State
Caucus Meeting. Officers and special guests in attendance included:

 

Officers:

Linda Melendez, President

Joe Ruffalo, 1st Vice President

Mary Jo Partyka, 2nd Vice President

Ellen Sullivan, Secretary

Annemarie Cooke, Treasurer

 

Board Members:

Linda DeBerardinis

Jane Degenshein

Zoraida Krell

Lia Stone

 

Special Guests: Dr. Bernice Davis, Executive Director, NJ CBVI and Pamela
Gaston, Executive Assistant, NJ CBVI

 

2. Welcome to all and opening remarks from President Melendez:

President Melendez welcomed all to the NFBNJ State Caucus and thanked
everyone for being here and at our National Convention that represents the
supreme authority of our organization.

3. Review of the procedure with the Zoom platform: Linda Melendez

All members (with the exception of Board Members and speakers) were muted
and some brief Zoom instructions were provided on how to raise your hand and
unmute yourself to be called upon.

4. Welcome CBVI Staff:

President Melendez introduced Dr. Bernice Davis, Executive Director of
NJCBVI. Dr. Davis talked about the virtual platform they have been living in
due to the pandemic and all the services that continued to be provided to
clients. In May 2021, the Commission began providing in-person services and
have been able to assist people who want in-person engagement. These
services continue to come on board and the JKTC has been upgrading its
facility both inside and outside and staff and clients are looking forward
to resuming in-person training. Dr. Davis said she is very proud of the CBVI
Staff for their dedication and is happy to be partners with our consumers
who have worked so collaboratively together. She is grateful for the
partnership she continues to have  with the NFBNJ under the new leadership
of Linda Melendez and the creative programs they have worked on i.e.,
Townhall Meetings, Senior and DeafBlind Resource Fair.

President Melendez thanked Dr. Davis, the CBVI Staff and special thanks to
Pamela Gaston for joining us at the National Convention and at the NFBNJ
State Caucus Meeting.

5. Welcoming first time convention attendees: Linda Melendez

President Melendez welcomed first time convention attendees with a special
shout out  to Treasa Marie Praino who not only attended her first National
Convention she was also a National Scholarship Finalist. 

6. Overview of the NFB National Scholarship application process: Evangelia
Stone

Lia shared how it is an honor for her to participate with President Melendez
on the State Scholarship Committee and to meet so many talented NFB Leaders
of Tomorrow!. She said this is an ongoing process and the next scholarship
round opens November 1, 2021 and closes on March 31, 2022. Winners receive
between $3,000 to $12,000 in scholarship money as well as a lot of "extras".
She briefly described the process including the interview. Lia commended
this years' winners Kaleigh Brendle and Treasa Marie Praino and encouraged
all students to continue to apply. Selection is difficult because there is
so much talent out there and if you did not win this year you may win in the
coming year.

7. Welcome NFB National Scholarship winners: Kaleigh Brendle and Treasa
Marie Praino

President Melendez congratulated our New Jersey National Scholarship
finalist and said there were 30 finalists, and we are so proud of our two
from New Jersey! She asked the scholarship winners to speak.

Kaleigh Brendle shouted out to the Student Division and said she is so proud
to be the Secretary and Treasurer for NJ Association of Blind Students. She
said she is so grateful to be a National Scholarship Finalist and has been
"loving" the National Convention and Zooming in and out of a broad variety
of meetings. Kaleigh aspires to be a Civil Rights Attorney and will be
attending Villa Nova University in the Fall.

Treasa Marie Praino shared that she is working on her Ph.D. at Syracuse
University and has had the opportunity (before the pandemic)  to spend time
in South Africa and advise the government, human rights commissions and the
United Nations of accommodations that are needed for the blind and disabled
populations. She will continue her studies addressing the intersectionality
of persons with disability and the impact of poverty and domestic violence.
She thanked Lia for chairing the NFBNJ Scholarship Committee.

8. Legislation: Linda Melendez and Ryan Stevens

a. NFB National Resolutions: Ryan Stevens

 

There are 16 National Resolutions to be voted on this Saturday, and the
NFBNJ will select from these resolutions those to be pursued at the state
level. The Resolution Committee will present these at our State Convention.

 

President Melendez said that there is a special resolution from the National
Board calling for a "Safe Fund" to be established to help provide counseling
and mental health services for victims of sexual abuse within the NFB.
President Melendez has sent out a link to the National Resolutions in her
daily convention updates as well as the telephone number for voting. All
people who registered for the convention by May 31 and were dues paying
members of the NFB or NFBNJ by June 10 as well as completing the voting
registration form are eligible to vote.

 

First Vice President, Joe Ruffalo emphasized the importance of our votes and
the need to have our voices heard.

 

b. Virtual Washington Seminar and issues: Ryan Stevens

 

Ryan shared about our very successful 2021 Washington Seminar held virtually
this year. He described the process of breaking into six geographical teams
with a leader and four other team members to address the issues to our House
of Representative Members and the strategy to address issues to our
Senators.  He described the four legislative initiatives:

 

1.	The Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA) (HR431) (S212): Makes
access technology more affordable so that blind Americans can procure these
items for themselves. It establishes a refundable tax credit for blind
Americans in the amount of $2,000 to be used over a three-year period to
offset the cost of access technology. 

 

Ryan was pleased to let us know that as of "today" we have eight out of 12
of our House Representatives who have signed on as co-sponsors. This is our
highest success rate to date! President Melendez commented that more "New
Jersey" strong advocacy will come after the convention!

 

2.	The Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act: Calls on the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) to promulgate nonvisual accessibility
standards for home-use medical devices, and to consult with stakeholders
with disabilities and manufacturers. It also requires manufacturers to make
their devices non-visually accessible within three years after passage of
the act. 

 

3.	The Twenty-First Century Mobile App and Website Accessibility Act:
Directs the US Access Board to promulgate access regulations regarding
mobile apps and websites that will harmonize with Section 508 accessibility
standards. It also empowers the US Department of Justice to investigate the
accessibility of mobile apps and websites. 

 

4.	The Americans with Disabilities Voting Rights Act: 

This Act has been merged with the For the People and the John Lewis Voting
Rights Acts to ensure that in-person voting is accessible to all voters, in
a manner that provides for access and participation (including privacy and
independence). The NFB is also supporting electronic voting for the blind
and print disabled to ensure equal access in the voting process.

 

Ryan said that an NFBNJ Legislative Committee has been established and has a
liaison from each chapter. Ryan will be sharing information with the
liaisons so they can share with the chapter members. We make friends within
our chapter and when a "friend" asks you to make a call to support an
initiative you may be more inclined to do so.

 

c. New Jersey Parental Rights Bill: Linda Melendez

 

President Melendez said this bill dropped in the state legislature and in
June she was contacted by Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez Legislative Assistant,
Juan Carlos and asked to testify on the floor. She was given "one day"
advanced notice. Linda spoke from her heart and the bill passed unanimously
in the Judiciary Committee and will now move into the Assembly for final
approval. She also said, ARC (Adult Rehabilitation Community) is behind the
bill, and she is also hoping to get the NJ DeafBlind Community to stand with
us to support the bill. More to come! Ryan Stevens said 18 states have
passed this bill and we intend to join them! Joe Ruffalo thanked Linda and
Ryan for the advocacy leadership and said we won't stop till the bill
passes.

 

9. Donations to National : Annemarie Cooke  

The NFBNJ made a total donation of $1750 to National to support the various
funds and DOOR Prizes. Ellen Sullivan gave a shout out of thanks to Rick Fox
and the Northern Chapter for their donation of $500 in addition to the above
amount.

a. BELL Academy: Linda Melendez said that we received a $1500 grant from the
Chester Lions Club and a $100 donation from the At Large Chapter and all
$1600 was donated to National to support the BELL Academy. Linda shared a
special thanks from President Riccobono for this generous contribution from
the NFBNJ membership.

 

b. Gifts to various NFB National Funds:

The NFBNJ Board Approved the following donations from the Affiliate:

Door prizes:                        $250

JTB (Jacobus tenBroek ):   $250

SUN:                                   $250

White cane:                        $500

Jernigan:                            $500

Total:                                  $1750 

 

c. Give $20 Campaign: This campaign will be open until 2:00 p.m. on Saturday
and you may choose the fund you want to donate to. Monies raised will go to
support first timers at the National Convention and the winner will receive
two round trip air tickets to the 2022 National Convention in New Orleans,
hotel accommodations, registration, and banquet tickets for two and $1000
spending money. Also, you may opt to collect $2000 cash instead. We are all
winners here!

 

10. PAC  Plan: Mac Biggers

Mac Biggers said that National needs money to support the myriad of programs
it has including legal and legislative support, scholarships, free white
canes to the blind and training future leaders of our organization. The PAC
Plan (Pre-authorized Contribution) is a way for each of us to help here. For
as little as $5/month (taken from your bank account, credit, or debit card)
you can participate. Mac said you may sign up by calling 877 NFB 2PAC or
online at  <http://www.nfb.org/pac> www.nfb.org/pac . At last count the
NFBNJ was #17 in PAC contributions, and we want to move up to the ranks of
the top 10 affiliates.

11. NFBNJ State Convention Update: Linda Melendez

President Melendez shared that the Board approved the State Convention theme
for our 45th State Convention: "We are More Than the Sum of One". Our
convention will be virtual again this year from November 10 through 13 and
will have a similar format as last year with regard to a Tech Seminar,
Division Meetings, Resolutions, Business Meeting, Opening Ceremony, General
Sessions and Banquet. Some format changes will be made, based on feedback
Linda received from the 2020 State Convention and this will involve our
exhibitors. Linda will start assigning committees in August so please do let
her know if you want to participate here. We need member participation to be
successful.

Joe Ruffalo commented that we will have our usual "Rookie Round-up" and
meeting with our National Rep before the convention. Jane Degenshein said
the Tech Sect will be jammed packed with information.

12. Town Hall Meetings, Resource Fairs  and Technology Training Seminars:
Linda Melendez and Jane Degenshein

President Melendez said that in January, Ryan Stevens led a Town Hall
Meeting to discuss the Washington Seminar. In June we had a Senior and
DeafBlind Resource Fair that had 83 registrants and over 70 attendees. We
partnered with CBVI and the NFB Senior Division for this very successful
virtual event.

On June 26, the Technology Division held a "Tech Workshop" with close to 90
attendees. Folks learned about Zoom, iOS Devices, accessibility Apps,
podcasts, websites, and other valuable resources. Jane Degenshein, President
of the NFBNJ Technology Division thanked the wonderful Tech Team who
exceeded all expectations! Tony Santiago, Vice President of the Technology
Division further commented on the great teamwork and our plans to have round
two at our State Convention.

President Melendez gave a shout out of thanks to Brian Mackey for all his
work and dedication in preparing the online registration forms for the
events.

13. Membership: Linda Melendez 

 

a. Discuss initiatives of the Membership Committee

 

President Melendez said that Mary Fernandez is co-chairing this committee
and another co-chair will be appointed in the near future. The Committee is
looking to reach out to our partners and encourage them to join the NFBNJ.

 

b. Discuss the Membership Form and PayPal initiatives

 

President Melendez talked about our online Membership Form to help keep
membership information updated for the National Connection Database and
enable members to have another option for paying dues i.e., PayPal
(including credit and debit cards). These forms and PayPal have been
developed for the Senior Division, the Sports and Rec Division, the Student
Division, the Technology Division, and the At Large Chapter. Other chapters
will come on board in August through November so that this is available to
all members by the time of our State Convention. Another shout out of thanks
to our Webmaster Brian Mackey for all his hard work and dedication to make
this happen.

 

c. Discuss Membership Rosters (Excel) being available in DropBox and
accessible to NFBNJ Leadership (Board Members and Chapter/Division
Presidents)

 

President Melendez shared about putting the Membership Rosters (Excel) into
the DropBox for access by NFBNJ leadership (Board Members and Chapter and
Division Presidents). Implementing this technology will make our affiliate
more productive as we reach out to our membership. Linda commented that if
anyone has any concerns about their membership information and its security
please reach out to her at  <mailto:president at nfbnj.org> president at nfbnj.org
or by calling her at 732  421 7063.

 

President Melendez asked Ellen Sullivan to talk briefly about the Boscov's
Friends Helping Friends Fund Raiser the Affiliate will participate in. Ellen
said this will be our fourth year participating here and it has helped
chapters and divisions fund raise and also raised money for the Washington
Seminar as 20% of the revenues raised are donated to support this critical
initiative. This year's program will be in-person vs. virtual (as in 2020)
so we expect to have another great success. Meetings to address this fund
raiser will be held after convention. The NFBNJ hopes to register at all
eight Boscov's locations in New Jersey (we have completed four to date!).

 

14. BELL Academy Updates: Mary Jo Partyka 

Mary Jo shared that this year BELL is divided into beginning, intermediate
and advanced sessions. There are three sessions. The June session is
complete, and the next session will begin July 19 and the application
process is closed for this session. New Jersey has five students enrolled in
the July session. National sent students a "Big Box" of Braille materials
relevant to their Braille reading level. There are two sessions a day (11 am
and 6 pm ET) for two weeks and the children seem to be enjoying themselves.
Next year we hope to return to an "in person" BELL Academy. The last session
begins on August 9 and enrollment is open until July 9. Ellen Sullivan said
the NFBNJ BELL Team had a great "Meet the Parents Meeting" prior to the
first session and is planning to do this again for the next two sessions.
Additionally, President Melendez and Mary Jo are assigning "local" mentors
to the students so that they can develop a relationship with the NFBNJ and
accompany their mentor to local chapter meetings and other activities. Linda
said she is speaking to chapter presidents to identify people who will make
good mentors. President Melendez also said that Sarah Scapardine an NFB
Teacher of Tomorrow is participating with the NFBNJ BELL Team.

Carol Castellano, Founder, Parents of Blind Children, NFBNJ commented that
one of our National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) Board
Members is a parent whose child participated in the NFBNJ BELL Academy.

15. NFBNJ Plans for October "Meet the Blind Month": Linda Melendez

President Melendez reminded us that October 15 is Louis Braille Day and
October is Blindness Awareness Month. She asked Chapter Presidents to reach
out to members and get ideas on what they would like to do to bring
awareness of the blind community and all the things we do.

Linda said at the Affiliate level she would like to plan something to
highlight Blind Veterans. Possibly a virtual information fair. She is hoping
that at some point we will start a Blind Veterans Committee.

16. NFBNJ Technology Initiatives: Tony Santiago and Linda Melendez

Linda welcomed Tony Santiago as our Affiliate Technology Advisor who will be
heading DropBox Training and addressing the affiliate's technology needs, be
a resource and provide continuous training for new technology initiatives.
Tony said we need to become more engaged in technology especially now when
so many of us use it for our work and as a key means of engagement. He
expects to continue to have lots of information sharing and exchange.

17. Round the Room with several comments highlighting the National
Convention experiences: All

Ilire Goca shared that she is part of the NFB Student Division and found the
student track so interesting with so many great topics.

Joe Ruffalo said every year he attends convention and learns something new
about the organization and himself. He also thanked everyone for their
thoughts and prayers while he was going through a very long stretch of
health issues. He is doing great now.

Kaleigh Brendle shared that this year she is fully emersed in the convention
activities and enjoying them immensely. 

Laura Ramos who is blind and has other disabilities is very happy that
technology was available to enable her to participate. She also commented
that she has a 20 minute meeting scheduled with the NFB Legal Team.

Tony Santiago said he is so proud of what we do for the youth and
congratulated our two NJ Scholarship Finalists.

Monique Coleman, Educator, said this was her first National Convention and
shared that she was involved with the NFBNJ in the 2020 BELL Academy and
also, as head of the Braille Challenge and it is all about partnership and
collaboration. (Monique will speak at Friday evenings General Session). 

Linda DeBerardinis said she is thoroughly enjoying the many, many meetings
she has attended and the special tours the Maryland Affiliate staged.

Pamela Gaston thanked President Melendez for inviting her to our state
caucus "you know how I feel about the NFB". She said the virtual workshops
are wonderful however she still remembers the Dallas convention when Rick
Fox started playing Motown on the piano in the lobby and EVERYONE engaged in
singing!

18. Adjournment: Chris Franz motioned to adjourn the meeting, and this was
seconded by Andy Smith. The meeting was adjourned by President Melendez at
12:56 p.m.

Minutes respectfully submitted by Ellen Sullivan, Affiliate Secretary and
reviewed by Linda Melendez, President, NFBNJ

 

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