[NFBOH-Cleveland] Cleveland April Agenda and January Minutes for 2020

Thu Apr 16 19:13:07 UTC 2020

Cleveland Members,

As you are aware, our April Chapter meeting is tomorrow evening at 5:00 to
7:00 PM. We will use the Ohio Conference line.

(712) 775-7031

Code: 240281423

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Please read the January minutes that are below so we can vote at the meeting
without taking a lot of time at the meeting. 

Also, the April  agenda is below as well! 

///

January Minutes:

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, Cleveland Chapter

January 17, 2020 

The January Chapter monthly meeting was held through a teleconference call
on Friday, January 17, 2020 at 6:00 P.M. The Call number used is
605-313-4834 and the pass Code is 246345. 

The purpose of this teleconference meeting is to provide all members the
opportunity to participate, especially those working. 

Suzanne Turner, President, welcomed everyone and mentioned that Mark
Riccobono, President, said that 2020 is the year for educating the public
and advocating for change. This is the year of Blind Wisdom. Additionally,
she reminded everyone about the one-minute message and, as usually, she
recited it as well: 

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

Good news:

Suzanne turner, President, informed the Board that Maya has been accepted to
an adequate school and asked everyone to congratulate her. The whole Board
congratulated her and wished her all the success. Also, she mentioned Brooke
Dowdy and her powerful video and urged everyone to watch it. Moreover, she
mentioned Owen McCafferty and the success he is making with his art
exhibition all over Ohio. She added that his entry, "Autumn Trees" was
accepted into the Accessible Expressions Ohio 2020 exhibition and tour! He
joins a talented group of artists representing all corners of Ohio.  Owen's
art will be presented at the AEO opening ceremony and travel to diverse
communities across Ohio in the 2020 year. Last but not least, she mentioned
that our friend Regina had a successful surgery and now she is doing great.
The whole Board congratulated all three members about their achievements and
successes and wished them the very best and healthy future.

Members who are healing:

Suzanne Turner, President, asked everyone to keep William, Sarah, Dyvette,
Rosa and Charlette in his/her prayers and thoughts.

Natassha Ricks, Treasurer

Our Treasurer, Natassha presented financial reports for January 2020. They
were voted and carried.

Ali Benmerzouga, Recording Secretary: 

Our recording secretary, Ali, informed the Board that he will report both
November 2019 and January 2020 minutes during February monthly meeting for
approval.

Gloria Conway, Senior Division Committee Chair:

Gloria Conway, Senior Division Committee Chair announced that the monthly
Sharing Solutions for Vision Loss teleconference will be on Sunday, January
19, at 7:00 p.m. EST.  She mentioned that anyone dealing with vision loss is
welcome to join the call, whether they are members of NFB or not.  She added
that this month's topic will be the Senior Retreat and our guest speaker,
Ruth Sager, a member of the NFB Senior Division, will present information
about the retreat.  Further, she mentioned that Ruth will be accompanied by
a past participant of the retreat, who will share her experiences.  She
concluded her announcement by reminding callers that the monthly
teleconference is sponsored by the NFB of Ohio Senior Division.  Callers do
not need to be seniors or members of NFB to participate. The details for
joining the teleconference are: Phone number: (712) 775-7031, the Access
Code, when prompted: 240281423#, the date: Sunday, January 19, 2020, and the
Time:  7:00 p.m.

Presidential Remarks:

Suzanne Turner, president, made the following remarks and reminders:

1.       Adjusting to Blindness Seminar: 

Suzanne Turner announced that The National Federation of the Blind of
Cleveland will offer a seminar called, Adjusting to Blindness, An
Introductory Seminar during the month of February 2020. The exact date will
be given later. The location is Cleveland Public Library, 3096 Scranton
Road, Cleveland Ohio 44113. She added that this is an introductory Seminar
for newly blind individuals that will highlight best practices by Peer
Mentors from the National Federation of the Blind of Cleveland. The
philosophy of the NFB will be presented, along with the "value of
alternative techniques of blindness, and the solid belief that it is okay to
be blind." Further, she mentioned that it is up to the individual to
determine his/her degree of "newly blind." Members are encouraged to attend
as well.  Here are some goals that this one-day introductory seminar would
like to achieve:

*	To introduce the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and its
philosophy.

2.	to introduce Basic Techniques and products for everyday use.
3.	to Identify, explore and recommend community resources to enhance
activities, to become involved in one's residential area, and to increase
peer interaction and support.

She concluded by urging members to get in touch with her for any questions
and to email her if they are interested in attending the seminar. Her phone
number is (216) 990-6199 and her email address
<mailto:SMTurner.234 at gmail.com> SMTurner.234 at gmail.com.

2. Ohio Affiliate Board of Directors:

Suzanne Turner, President, reminded all members that the Ohio Affiliate
Board of Directors meeting is going to be held on Monday, January 27, 2020
at 7:00 P.M. She added that the Ohio Affiliate Board Meeting will be held by
conference call. Furthermore, she urged all members to be on the call. She
concluded by promising to send out a reminder with the conference number one
week prior to the meeting.

3.	February 2020 Meeting Venue for our Chapter:

Suzanne Turner, President, informed the Board that our February 2020 meeting
will be at Cuyahoga Community College, Metro Campus. She added that we are
going to visit an accessible apartment, furnished and equipped with
accessible items and gadgets. Further, she mentioned that only 10 people
will visit the apartment at a time for a better exploration, grasp and
learning. Moreover, she promised to send the list of the items and
technology available in the accessible apartment. She concluded by pointing
out that our February meeting is going to be a short one.

4.	March 2020 Meeting Venue for our Chapter:

Suzanne Turner, President, announced that March 2020 monthly meeting will be
held at the Cleveland Sight Center from 3:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M.

5.	The 2020 Washington Seminar:

Suzanne Turner, President, announced that On February 10th thru 12th, 2020,
Cleveland members, Theresa McKenney, Wilbert Turner and Albert Elia will
attend the Washington Seminar. They will go on the Hill with three
legislative bills, which are described in APPENDIX A.  She urged everyone to
review them to be ready for future calls and emails to Congress and Senate
to support these initiatives. We wish them well and await their return! 

She concluded by reminding all members that we are all supposed to call a
Senator and a Congressman/women on Tuesday, February 11, 2020 about the
three bills.

6.	Yearly Dues:

Suzanne Turner, President, reminded all members that dues are currently due.
She urged everyone to have his/her dues paid as soon as we return to our
face-to-face meeting. She added that the dues are $10.00 with $5.00 for
benevolent and dues are paid once per year. She concluded by giving the
mailing address to those who would like to send them by mail.  The mailing
address is: NFB of Cleveland, PO Box 141077, Cleveland, Ohio 44114.

7.	Ohio Fundraisers: 

Suzanne Turner, President, reminded the board that Ohio Affiliate has two
fundraisers, namely, the Piggest Raffle Ever and the PAC Plan. In what
follows a description and some information about each.

The Piggest Raffle Ever:

It is now open for purchasing tickets. They are $5 each, which is split as
follows between the local Chapter and the State Affiliate:   $2 will be put
into our chapter's treasury and the $3 is given to the Ohio Affiliate. She
added that this is the easiest fundraiser ever. She urged everyone to have
his/her family members, friends, siblings and others go on the website and
purchase tickets. She concluded by providing the name of the website, how to
access it as well as the necessary steps to go through in order to purchase
the tickets. The details are given below: 

The link to the Piggest Raffle Ever website is,

 <http://www.piggestraffle.com/> www.piggestraffle.com.

Just type, National Federation of the Blind of Ohio or the letter N and it
will pop-up. Then choose the quantity of tickets you would like to purchase
and follow the steps. 

PAC Plan:

It is one of the ways we can contribute to the work of the organization at
the National level. She added that a member can have as less as $5 withdrawn
from his/her bank account monthly by using a debit card. Also, she mentioned
that she is the chair for fundraising for the state of Ohio this year.  She
openly said that she wanted her chapter to be the best contributor. She
concluded by promising those contributing that she will remind them in April
- The 10th or the 20th of the month.

8.       Cleveland Fundraiser: 

Suzanne Turner, President, proposed a wine tasting with appetizers event.
She added that this event should raise $900 or more within one night.
Further, she explained that the wine is three tasters for $7.50 and we could
serve strawberries, chocolate, cheese and crackers with cocktail wieners for
$7.50. The cost would be $15 per ticket. Also, she mentioned that there is
music at the winery already and a beautiful atmosphere. Additionally, she
mentioned that the cost of holding the day is $25.00 (day not fixed yet),
and we will be in our Own area. She concluded that we will talk again about
this event in more details in our February meeting when having more
information.

9.       2020 National Convention: 

Suzanne Turner, President, informed the Board that the Hilton
Americas-Houston hotel (1600 Lamar Street, Houston, TX 77010) will serve as
our convention headquarters hotel. The room rate is $105 for singles,
doubles, triples, and quads. In addition, the sales tax rate is 8.25
percent, and the hotel occupancy tax rate is 17 percent. Call,
1-800-236-2905 for reservations. She added that If you use a credit card,
the deposit will be charged against your card immediately. If a reservation
is cancelled before Monday, June 1, 2020, half of the deposit will be
returned. Also, she has provided the information and how to apply for the
Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship for first-timers as described below.
She asked those who need assistance to let her know right away. Finally, she
announced that a Conference call about the 2020 National Convention is going
to be held on Wednesday, January 29, 2020   at 7:00 P.M. to discuss many
important issues, i.e., how to get assisted, first goers, paratransit,
banquet, etc.. She urged everyone planning to go to the 2020 National
Convention to be on the call that night. 

10.	Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship 

Suzanne Turner, President, informed the Board that the Kenneth Jernigan
Convention Scholarship provides funding support to National Federation of
the Blind members who want to attend a national convention for the first
time. She provided the complete information about the scholarship and how to
apply, which is given in APPENDIX B.

11.	The NFB Coin:

Suzanne Turner, President, informed the Board that there is a special chain
for the NFB Coin. The chain can be purchased   for $20.00. She added that
she will send the complete description of the chain later for us to learn
more and decide.

12.	2020 State Convention:

Suzanne Turner, President, informed the Board that the 74th State Convention
will be held at the Crowne Plaza, Dayton Downtown; located at 33 E. Fifth
Street, Dayton, Ohio    45402. Room rates are $109.00 with a 13.50% tax per
night, which includes a hot buffet breakfast. The Crowne Plaza Dayton is in
the heart of downtown Dayton Ohio and offers free Wi-Fi, televisions with
premium HD cable channels, and comfort to help you unwind at the end of your
busy day.

13.	January Presidential Release:

Suzanne Turner, President, informed the Board about the availability of the
January 2020 Presidential Release and provided the link to the website -
<https://www.nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media/presidential-releases>
https://www.nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media/presidential-releases. 

14.	2020 Technology Trainings for our Chapter:

Suzanne Turner, President, announced that there will be many technology
training sessions to those who would like to use their iPhone, JAWS and
maybe other gadget/screen reader software independently and efficiently. She
added that more information and details about the trainings will be given
very soon.

15.	2020 Cleveland Chapter Picnic:

Suzanne Turner, announced that our chapter is going to have a picnic this
year. We will try to find a location and talk more about it during February
and/or March meetings.

16.	Appointments:

Suzanne Turner, President, announced the following three appointments: the
first one, she appointed Cheryl Fields as the Second Vice President due to
the health issue of our First Vice President, William H. Turner, the second
one, she appointed Sandy Krems as chairman of a committee to see how all
committees are doing/performing, and the third one, she appointed Shirley
Patterson as the Chairman of an Advisory Board to deal with any concerns and
make sure that everything is running smoothly in our chapter. The reason for
these last two appointments is that our President, Suzanne Turner, is very
busy and has tons of things on her plate at all levels of the NFB.

17.	Gide dog Committee:

Suzanne Turner, President, mentioned that we have nine guide dog users in
the chapter and it is time to have a committee that takes care of their
specific needs and wants. She appointed Renee Arrington as the Chair of the
newly formed committee. Furthermore, she mentioned that Renee Arrington
wrote an article about guide dog users. She concluded by reminding the newly
formed committee and the Board that the bill of service animals will be in
the agenda for march 2020 meeting in Columbus.

18.   2020 Cleveland Chapter's Committees:

Suzanne turner, President, informed the Board that she will call later about
the formation and composition of the 2020 Cleveland Chapter's committees.

Meeting adjourned at 7:00 P.M.

Please make a note of the action items below:

Voice Box Number:

(641) 715-3900

Code: 582705

New Teleconference Number:

(605) 313-4834

Code: 246345

Ali Benmerzouga, Recording Secretary

440-590-0315 - cell

Natassha Ricks, Treasurer

(216) 376-9863

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Cleveland Chapter April 2020 Meeting

April 17, 2020

5:00 - 7:00 PM

Call: 712-775 - 7031

Code: 240281423

AGENDA

Welcome

Shirley Patterson

Role Call  

Suzanne Turner

Pledge

William Turner

Shut-in Members

Cheryl Fields, 2nd Vice president

Secretary Report: 

 Ali Benmerzouga, Recording Secretary 

Treasury Report: 

Natassha Ricks, Treasurer

New Members

William Turner, Vice President

President's Announcements:

Suzanne Turner, President

National Convention

William Turner, Vice president

Cleveland Shout Out:

Cleveland Members

Senior Report: 

Gloria Conway, Cleveland Senior Committee Chair

Sandra Krems, Ohio Senior Division

Community Outreach:

Cheryl Fields, Community Outreach Chair

Team Building Exercises:

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