[NFBO-Springfield] April 16, 2022 meeting minutes

[Todd Elzey]

I apologize for getting this out so late this evening. Unfortunately, due
to a technical glitch, the meeting minutes document had to be recreated.
Below are the meeting minutes from April 16, 2022, Springfield chapter
meeting. Remember that tomorrow's meeting is at the Clark County Public
Library  Park Branch Meeting Room is located at 1119 Bechtle Avenue,
Springfield,
Ohio 45504

Springfield Chapter National Federation of the Blind of Ohio

April 16, 2022



Attendees:



Debbie Baker, President

Susan Day, Vice President

Todd Elzey, Secretary

Crystal McClain, Treasurer

Vickie Travis

Aleeha Dudley

Macy McClain

Arlie Ray

Hans Wagner

Mickie Cooper

Eric Duffy



Mickie Cooper moved to accept the minutes from the March 2022 meeting of
the Springfield Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio.
Eric Duffy seconded the motion. The motion was approved without objection.



Treasurer Crystal McClain presented the Treasurer’s Report.  The March
beginning balance was 4316.95.  The chapter incurred expenses of $20 for
its PAC contribution, and $80 for Chapter travel.  This gave the Chapter a
March 2022 ending balance of $4216.95. Mickie Cooper moved to accept the
Treasurer’s Report. The motion was seconded by Susan Day. The motion was
approved without objection.



President Baker asked if there was anyone who has not yet paid their 2022
chapter dues. Treasurer McClain and Macy McClain indicated that they had a
total of 9 previous members who had not paid. 2 of those members have
joined a different chapter, and 1 has moved out of state.  There was 1
former member who President Baker thought had transportation issues. The
Chapter engaged in a conversation about possible ways to get the member to
the meeting. It was unclear whether the remaining 5 previous members are
interested in rejoining.



Eric Duffy reported that he cannot get the Chapter debit card to attach to
Uber/Lyft for Chapter transportation. Consequently, he has used his
personal credit card and will be reimbursed by the chapter.  Treasurer
McClain will check with the bank to determine if there are any restrictions
on the card that prohibit it from being used on Uber/Lyft.



President Baker reported on a chapter member who regularly attends
meetings, but who was absent this month due to an accident.



President Baker indicated that chapter member Dan O’Keefe provided Health
Care Powers of Attorney and Living Will Paperwork for members interested in
completing these documents for their personal use.



The chapter discussed the need for members to subscribe to the NFB of
Springfield listserve List administrator Todd Elzey read the names of
members who had subscribed. He and President Baker encouraged all members
to make sure that they are subscribed to the list and to read list emails
as this is the primary communications medium for the chapter.



President Baker reminded members that the deadline to register for National
Convention is May 31, 2022. This year members have the choice of attending
in person in New Orleans or attending virtually.  Registration for the in
person convention is $25 and the cost to attend the banquet is $75.
Registration for the virtual convention is free, but the virtual convention
will not include all events that will take place at the live convention.
The convention will run from July 5, 2022, through July 10, 2022.  The
closing convention banquet will be held Sunday evening, July 10, 2022.



President Baker spoke about the Hartman Rock Garden. She reminded the
chapter about Kevin Rose’s presentation regarding the venue and how they
are seeking our assistance in ensuring that the facility is accessible to
visitors with disabilities. President Baker spoke of how the facility may
work with See 3D to have them produce 3D models of some of the statues on
display. President Baker also informed the chapter that she had arranged
for the chapter to tour the facility following the May 21, 2022 chapter
meeting.



President Baker discussed the We Are WithU concert to benefit the blind of
Ukraine. The concert is scheduled for 2:00 P.M. Saturday, April 16, 2022.
The performances were submitted by blind performers from all over the
world. The concert was slated to run for about 10 hours. Listeners can
donate via the World Blind Union. President Baker informed members how they
can access the concert stream.



Eric Duffy moved that the chapter donate $200 to the We Are WithU concert.
Crystal McClain seconded the motion. The motion was approved without
objection.



Eric Duffy provided a State legislative update.  He spoke of how NFB of
Ohio members from around the State came together in Columbus to present
testimony before the Ohio House Insurance Committee in support of H.B. 448,
the NFB of Ohio’s accessible prescription labeling bill. Mr. Duffy thought
the hearing went well and does not anticipate any opposition to the bill.
He did not anticipate another hearing on the bill until sometime in May.
Mr. Duffy also indicated that the following day, NFB of Ohio members
attended a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on S.B. 202, the NFB of
Ohio’s parental rights legislation. He anticipated that this bill would be
voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee in May and would then go to the
Senate floor for approval. After the Senate approves the bill, the House
and Senate versions will need to be reconciled and then the bill will
eventually go to the Governor’s desk for signature.



Todd Elzey discussed issues that he had discovered when applying for a job
at Goodwill Easter Seals in Dayton. Mr. Elzey had applied for a writing job
and discovered that the position required a driver's license and that the
position required specific vision related physical characteristics. He
subsequently discovered that the application screened out applicants who do
not possess the required license to drive. He subsequently learned that the
hiring manager felt the license was required because the position required
some fieldwork. In order to get his application accepted, Mr. Elzey had to
disclose that he did not have a driver's license because of his blindness
and inquired about reasonable accommodations. After some back and forth
with Goodwill Easter Seals management, they agreed to consider a reasonable
accommodation for the driving portion of the position. But Mr. Elzey also
discovered that virtually all Goodwill Easter Seals Dayton job descriptions
have the license requirement. Only the organization’s retail positions did
not require a license. But 100% of the job descriptions had inappropriate
visual physical characteristic requirements.



Susan Day raised an issue regarding transportation services being provided
through the Area Agency on Aging. She indicated that agencies have stopped
providing transportation on Sundays. We discussed that this could be
because of staffing or usage issues. It was suggested that the issue be
brought to the attention of the Miami Valley Chapter to see if they are
aware/interested in this issue. President Baker will follow up with the
Miami Valley Chapter President Sheila Hardy-Wilson regarding this issue.



See 3D is doing a fundraiser at Town Hall restaurant in Columbus on May 4,
2022.  See 3D produces 3d models for individuals who are blind.  The
organization was founded by Caroline Karbowski from Ohio State University.
Eric also spoke about how Ms. Karbowski’s group is working on developing a
less expensive braille display. They were just awarded a $50,000 grant for
the project.  Todd Elzey moved to donate $200 to the See 3D fundraiser.
Macy McClain seconded the motion. The motion was approved without objection.



Todd Elzey told the chapter about the Piggest Raffle fundraiser being
conducted by the NFB of Ohio. Tickets are $5 apiece and the entire cost of
each ticket goes to the NFB of Ohio. The fundraiser is run by the Flying
Pig Marathon in Cincinnati to benefit area charities. Ticket purchasers can
win 3 large prizes of $5,000, $2,500, or a $1,500 weekend getaway to
Cincinnati. The organization that sells the winning tickets for the $5,000
and $2,500 prizes also will win an equivalent amount.



President Baker discussed the possibility of having another fundraiser at
Mother Stewart in Springfield. Hans Wagner agreed to check with Mother
Stewart to see if they would be willing to host another chapter fundraiser.
We also discussed the possibility of hosting other education events such as
a tech fair.



President Baker also gave the chapter an update on her efforts to make
presentations to local authorities regarding the rights of guide dog users
to access Ohio businesses.



President Baker discussed the National Association of Guide Dog Users
(NAGDU) app, which provides information regarding the legal rights of guide
dog users. President Baker told members about how to obtain the app through
the Apple app store.



President Baker also discussed the article A Definition of Blindness by
Kenneth Jernigan. President Baker stated that the article hypothesized a
functional definition of blindness instead of the traditionally used
medical model. Members generally agreed with Dr. Jernigan’s premise that
the functional model of blindness because of its more practical impact.
Ultimately, the article hypothesized that a mixture of both models would
meet the widest possible situations.



President Baker also briefly spoke about the NFB’s Teachers of Tomorrow
program, which is designed to train future teachers who will be working
with blind children.



Eric Duffy also told the chapter about the recent success of the Blind
Driver Challenge where a blind man broke the Guinness Book of World Records
mark for the fastest driver of a car while being blindfolded. Dan Parker,
an NFB member, broke the previous record of approximately 201 mph by
driving a car at approximately 211 mph. Mr. Parker along with NFB Public
Affairs Director Chris Danielsen will appear on the Capitol Chapter’s Voice
Corps radio show on Wednesday, April 25, 2022.



The chapter’s next meeting will be Saturday, May 21, 2022.


Respectfully submitted by Todd Elzey, Secretary
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