[NFBSF] Meeting Minutes for August 2023

[Monica Wegner]

National Federation of the Blind
San Francisco Chapter
Meeting Minutes
Meeting held on: Tuesday, August 8th, 2023, 6:30 PM
Location: Zoom

  1.  Call to Order and Introductions
Bobbi invited members to share their name, pronouns, any identities they would like to share, and a highlight from their summer. Members present:
Bobbi Pompey, Laura Millar, Monica Wegner, Christina Daniels, Sara Hadsell, Serena Olsen;
Marco Salsiccia, Carlos
Sheri Albers, Cindy Fassler, Taryn Morris, Jeff Buckwalter, Steven Sanith
  2.  Reports
     *   Secretary's Report
Monica reported that she emailed the minutes of the April 2023 meeting to the listserv.
Motion was made and carried to approve the Secretary's report.
     *   Treasurer's report

*  Sara delivered the treasurers report. Reported bank balance is $816.60 and there is $150 in Venmo totaling $$966.60. Sara uses our Venmo balance to periodically deposit into our bank account to avoid a monthly fee. Sara informed the chapter that our Bank (Bank of the West) was recently acquired by BMO and that we may not have online access for a part of September. A motion was made and carried to approve the Treasurer's report.

*  Annual dues are $10 and are payable in January. If anyone wants to pay dues and is using PayPal or Venmo please use this information to pay:
Sara Hadsell, 510-387-0766, SaraAHadsell at gmail.com<mailto:SaraAHadsell at gmail.com>.
The address for payment of checks is 585 9th St, Oakland, CA 94607. If paying by PayPal, you must do it on a computer, which is where you can select that you are paying a friend, rather than purchasing an item. The PayPal phone app is set up for commercial purchases.

*  Bobbi will investigate the national member registry and having new members added.

     *   Presidential release recap

*  Monica summarized President Riccobono's monthly presidential release. A transcript of the release can be found at https://nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media/presidential-releases/transcripts/presidential-release-529-august.

*  Monica shared that both Lyft and Uber offer a way for disabled individuals to waive future wait charges on Lyft and Uber.
Lyft: https://help.lyft.com/hc/e/rider/articles/1035319342-Wait-time-fees-waiver
Uber: https://help.uber.com/riders/article/i-have-a-disability-or-i-am-traveling-with-a-person-with-a-disability-can-i-request-a-refund-of-the-waiting-time-fee?nodeId=35a69d9b-9619-44ce-b8e1-fc918ff0af5f

*  Marco informed the chapter that Lyft will not impose late fees if accessibility options are enabled on an iPhone such as Voiceover or Zoom.

     *   Legislative report

*  Monica shared that the Public Utilities Commission will be taking public comments on autonomous vehicles in San Francisco at 11 AM on August 10th. The NFB is seeking people to comment in person or by phone.

  1.  Chapter announcements
     *   Social gathering

*  Bobbi is leading the effort to organize a social gathering for the chapter in September. Her proposal is that we bring our own lunch and go to a local beach.

*  The Chapter agreed that we would go to South Beach in Alameda on September 23rd. Time and other logistics to be determined.

     *   State Convention

*  We will likely have a Zoom seminar in October or November.

*  The state Convention will be held on March 14th through 17th, 2024 in Sacramento.

  1.  Discussions
     *   National Convention: Chapter members were invited to share their 2023 National Convention experiences, either in person or virtual.

*  Many attendees went to the Blind Goat, a restaurant owned by a blind person.

*  Marco shared that he had an opportunity to meet with the CEO of accessiBe.

*  Jeff noted that many of the classes and seminars were not available as part of the virtual experience.

*  Several members shared their thoughts about the 2024 convention location in Florida and the impact on LGBTQ+ people.

     *   airline accessibility: United Airlines is the first US airline to announce that they will be installing braille signage at seat locations. For more information, see: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/united-becomes-first-us-airline-to-add-braille-to-aircraft-cabin-interiors-301887306.html
  1.  Bell Ringers
  2.  Adjourn: A motion was made and carried to adjourn the meeting.