[NFBV-Announce] Minutes for the 8/3/2024 NFB Board Meeting and 11/5/2023 NFBV Business meeting

[jackibruce6 at gmail.com]

>From Christine Grassman, Recording Secretary, NFB of Virginia

cfgrassman at icloud.com <mailto:cfgrassman at icloud.com> 

During Sunday's (11/3) Business meeting, we will be reading both the minutes
from our Saturday, August 3 Board Meeting and the 11/5/2023 Business Meeting
.

 

The minutes from these meetings are below.

 

National Federation of the Blind of Virginia (NFBV) Business Meeting Minutes


November 5, 2023

President Tracy Soforenko called the meeting to order at approximately 10:50
AM. 

Recording Secretary Christine Grassman read the minutes from the August 5,
2023, affiliate board meeting which was conducted via the affiliate Zoom.

It was moved and seconded that the report of the minutes be accepted. The
motion carried. 

Sean McMahon presented the Audit Committee report in delightful and creative
verse. 

Mark Roane presented the Treasurer's report, which covered the period from
September 30, 2022, through September 30, 2023. 

General Checking ending balance as of 9/30/2023: $104,482.47.

The report also contained comprehensive information regarding credits,
disbursements, restricted funds, and our Endowment Fund.

There was a question regarding when our $5000 per annum payments toward the
Museum of the Blind People's Movement would begin; Mark indicated that the
first payment would be issued in December 2023.

It was moved and seconded to accept the Treasurer's report; the motion
carried.

Resolutions, presented by Deepa Goraya and Stewart Prost:

Resolution 2023-1: 

Prescription Medication Labeling: Ask the VA General Assembly to pass laws
requiring prescription labeling in the format/medium of the patient's
choice.

A question was asked regarding whether we had any position on multiple means
of labeling; the answer was that no, we want labeling to be accessible, and
we do not specify. It was moved and seconded that the resolution be adopted,
and the motion carried.

Resolution 2023-2: Electronic Return of Mail-In Ballots 

The discussion of this resolution focused on legislation to cover both
Uniform & Overseas Citizen Voters along with blind and print disabled
voters.

It was moved and seconded that the resolution be adopted, and the motion
carried. 

Resolution 2023-3: Expediting Eligibility for Seniors for DBVI Services: 

Urge DBVI to streamline process between referral and service delivery to
seniors. 

Rehab teachers should be encouraged to refer to NFBV for networking with
other blind seniors throughout the commonwealth. 

It was moved and seconded that the resolution be adopted; the motion
carried. 

 

Resolution 2023-4: Accessible Traffic Signals: 

Demand that local governments work with NFBV to ensure that traffic signals
meet the needs of blind people, who want the same information as our sighted
peers, such as street name where it is safe to cross, and countdown
information. 

Also, government entities should work with NFBV on all decisions regarding
crosswalk safety for blind and low vision individuals, including
consideration of both current and emerging technologies. 

It was moved and seconded to adopt the resolution; the motion carried. 

Resolution 2023-5:  Accessibility of DBVI's Application and Documentation
Process

  

call upon the DBVI to take immediate steps to make its application process,
documentation, and materials accessible to blind, deaf-blind, and low vision
individuals, including for its blind staff. Staff should be trained in how
to make documentation accessible. 

 Materials should be accessible in multiple formats and assistive technology
should be provided to facilitate the application process and access to
documentation and other resources.

  

It was moved and seconded to adopt; the motion carried. 

President Soforenko thanked the Resolutions Committee.

Due to the time constraints, President Soforenko reminded attendees to be on
the lookout for information related to both Richmond and Washington
seminars. 

President Soforenko indicated that due to time constraints, committee
reports could not be presented, and would have to be sent after the meeting.


It was announced that our auction raised $8,885. 

If individuals were not already on our Virginia Affiliate Announce list,
they could subscribe at NFBNET.org.

 

  national representative Donald Porterfield offered concluding remarks, 

 

President Soforenko thanked Bob Meter, President of the host chapter, and
all attendees.

The 2024 state convention will occur in Portsmouth. 

There was a motion and second to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at
approximately noon.

Respectfully submitted,

Christine Faltz Grassman, Recording Secretary

  

 

National Federation of the Blind of Virginia

August 3, 2024, Board Meeting Minutes

President Tracy Soforenko called the meeting to order just after 1:00 PM ET.


 

Recording Secretary Christine Grassman read both the January 15, 2024, and
the May 11, 2024, affiliate board meeting minutes. 

The January 15, 2024, minutes were adopted, and the May 11, 2024, affiliate
board minutes were adopted as amended: Sandy Halverson indicated that the
affiliate had pledged $15,000 to the White Cane Fund and $2000 each to the
Jacobus ten-Broek, SUN, and Kenneth Jernigan Funds. Tracy Soforenko is not a
member of the national Scholarship Committee, as was inadvertently
misstated. 

 

Treasurer Mark Roane gave the Treasurer's report. The General Fund beginning
balance was $89,210.64. The ending balance was $47,505.78. 

 

The treasurer's report was adopted.

 

Policy and Administrative Matters:

The Blue Ridge Chapter has not met since 2019 and has no funds. There was a
motion to approve dissolution of the Blue Ridge Chapter. The motion was
seconded. The Blue Ridge Chapter was thereby dissolved. 

 

Blind Prisoners Lawsuit:

The systemic changes we hoped to achieve have been achieved and this is a
major success. Attorney's fees for this litigation were $1 Million.

Unfortunately, as part of the settlement, the Commonwealth of Virginia only
agreed to pay $250,000 in legal fees.

As a result, our national organization must cover the remaining $750,000
which will not be recouped. 

  The impact of this case on blind prisoners will be discussed at the state
convention. 

Mark Roane made a motion (seconded by Sandy Halverson) to grant $50,000 from
our endowment fund to our national organization. Since this was a new
motion, we agreed to take up the motion at the business meeting of the state
convention so our members could ask questions in the interim.

 

James Nelson Scholarship Committee: 

Patrick Johnson indicated that their first meeting would take place Tuesday,
August 6. 

Applications are available for the scholarships, and chapter Presidents
should have received scholarship application information. If not, Jimmy
Morris or Patrick should be contacted. 

Tracy encouraged applying because all eligible applicants are invited to
attend the convention with support from our Virginia affiliate. 

 

NFB Bell Academy:

Louise Walsh reported on the Bell Academy, which took place in June in
Virginia Beach. There were six children. they visited a state park, toured
the Battleship Wisconsin, where they had a scavenger hunt, worked on
improving or gaining cane and Braille skills, and had some science lessons.


The total cost from the Virginia affiliate to run the 2024 BELL Academy
program in Virginia Beach was $7100.

Louise thanked Rusty and Steve Thomas for their donation of $700; they are
repeat donors. She also thanked the Virginia Beach Town Center Blind Lions,
who provided food for the Bell Academy kickoff party, as well as the
Virginia Beach Christian Church for donating their facility; they indicated
that they would be pleased to provide it in the future. 

 Both children and adults made new friends and connections. 

One young man started out knowing only a, b, and C in Braille, and knew the
whole alphabet by the end and could slate his first and last name.

Louise also thanked the dozen or so volunteers who made the Bell Academy's
fantastic program possible. 

 

At the 2024 NFBV state Convention, there will be Friday night and Saturday
enrichment activities for children and families, targeting students ages
7-13. Students ages six and under can participate if accompanied by a parent
or guardian.

These activities are geared toward blind children and their siblings, and
the children of blind parents.

 

Jessica reed asked regarding the minimum age for participation, and Louise
responded that Bell was a national program geared toward 4- to 12-year-olds,
but there was some flexibility. 

 

Silver Bells:

Sandy Halverson reported that on June 26, DBVI granted $103,000 for Silver
Bells. 

 Since then, Silver Bells coordinators have met with Daniel Ashman, project
management specialist to strengthen Silver Bells. 

 

The Virginia affiliate applied for a Changing Aging 2024 grant, and if
selected, there is a longer process for the second phase. 

There will be a second Silver Bells reunion dinner at state convention on
Thursday, and a Possibilities Fair on Friday.

It is hoped that in addition to convention attendees, we can recruit local
seniors to attend, and that we will have volunteers to demonstrate
technology, and are hoping to have participants share during general
session.

 

Project RISE:

 

Joe Orozco reported that Project Rise held its Season finale at the National
Center; students went on a boating trip, and participated in challenge
activities, such as using a chainsaw with President Riccobono. 

 

One attendee moved to George Mason, was pumped to attend the NABS
Mid-Atlantic seminar, and had a wonderful first-time national convention. 

 

Project RISE is conducting planning for the upcoming academic year with a
kickoff cookout event at the home of John and Sandy Halverson in September. 

 

Project RISE is also working with Dan Ashman to tap more potential for
recruitment and expansion. 

 

 

State convention discussion: 

 

The convention will take place from October 31, through November 3 at the
Portsmouth Renaissance. This will be an in-person convention with limited
virtual access to the general sessions and the banquet. 

We are working on the agenda to pull together a variety of exciting and
helpful items. 

There was frustration last year regarding the audio. 

Joe Orozco and Jacob Hamm discussed equipment for improvement of audio. 

We can purchase our own equipment, do our own set-up, and handle all of the
audio ourselves.

For $8000, we can purchase audio equipment. 

At a state convention, audio rental through the hotel ranges between $1,500
- $3,000. We also pay for audio rental at Silver Bells weekends. Due to the
DBVI renovation of the Library and Resource Center, we will also need to
rent equipment for our quarterly board meetings. We anticipate a 3-year
payback for the equipment purchase.

                 

Michael Casey moved that we authorize up to $8000 for the sound system based
on final approval and review by Tracy. 

Uricka asked if the equipment would be used only at the state convention or
for our other events such as board meetings going forward.

The equipment would be used repeatedly for our events, including our
quarterly board meetings. DBVI's renovations have not begun, and therefore
we are not likely to be able to use their space for our meetings for some
time. 

Christine Grassman asked about whether the $8000 covered maintenance. 

Jacob responded that the purchase included a two-year warranty, and the
$8000 covered purchase. 

Sandy asked about what equipment we would receive for $8000. 

Jacob said two wireless microphones, nine wired microphones, power cables,
two twelve-inch speakers, a board into which everything would be plugged,
and the case for transporting all the equipment safely and efficiently.

 

Patty Droppers asked if assisted listening devices would work with the
equipment.

Tracy responded that our assisted listening equipment would work with the
system. 

 

Christine Grassman suggested authorizing an additional $1,000 to cover
long-term maintenance contracts.

Renee Valdez concurred. 

 

Tracy asked Michael Casey if he would accept a friendly amendment. 

 

Tracy stated that he would have the ability to approve additional expenses
if needed for maintenance. 

Joe Orozco indicated that he felt putting a cap of $8000 on the
authorization was financially prudent. 

 

Patty Droppers asked about specific hearing aids which use a T-coil. 

Jacob indicated he would discuss further after the meeting. 

Tracy asked if anyone was opposed to going forward with the vote. 

There were two opposed. 

 

The authorization was successfully adopted. 

 

State convention ideas:

There is a form at nfbv.org/presentations which members were asked to fill
out with convention ideas via email announcements. Tracy indicated that he
was receiving a significant volley of responses, but not via the form, and
he asked that individuals please use the form. 

 

Joe Orozco indicated that fees would be like last year. Registration fees
would be lower prior to the standard registration deadline of October 7. 

 

Boxed lunches would be approximately $18, and the banquet and Silver Bells
dinner would be approximately $32. 

Hotel rates would be $95, with a $3 occupancy fee and 14 percent tax. This
was secured at the height of the pandemic, and we are not going to see hotel
rates like this in the future.

The landing page for the convention is up, including the number for making
reservations with the hotel. 

 

Programming: 

 

Anil Lewis will be our national representative, and Tracy has requested a
representative from the National Association of Blind Students. 

Some general ideas: 

a welcoming event

the Silver Bells reunion dinner

an exhibit hall and sponsors

Consumer Certified Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Training for DBVI VR
Counselors 

Patty Droppers mentioned that the seniors might have an outing, such as
audio-described show, visiting a museum, or something similar. 

 

Louise mentioned that there is a $5 ferry which provides some history of the
area as an outing. 

The Youth Track is planning a scavenger hunt Saturday afternoon. 

 

There were some discussions regarding offerings for the 14-and-over crowd,
such as self-defense, 

 

Jessica Reed described blind tennis, which had been featured at the national
convention, and which we might have at the state convention, depending on
the space available, for either a game or practicing against a wall. 

Blind tennis involves a child-sized racket and a mesh ball with bells
inside.

Blind cricket was mentioned, including that there was a demonstration taking
place in Washington, D.C. on August 14. 

A representative from the National Blind Tennis Association could also
discuss the sport during one of the general session slots.

Tracy mentioned that artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a reality
in the workplace, and those who were afraid to learn about it would be left
behind. It was suggested that we might have a session dealing with Chat GPT,
Microsoft CoPilot, and similar models. 

Renee Valdez mentioned that the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Committee would be working with convention coordinators to arrange a
fantastic event. 

Jacki announced that Annette had offered a presentation on Schedule A and
federal job applications, as well as a word scavenger hunt that would
provide the opportunity for chapters to work together on finding clues.

Instructions for this contest will be rolled out during registration. 

 

 

For general sessions, there will be discussion of the blind prisoner's
settlement, the impact of the overturning of the Chevron Doctrine on
disability rights law, a discussion of accessible prescription labels.

Furthermore, there will be breakout sessions for Parents of blind children,
Blind Parents, and a hands-on session on accessible video gaming. 

Joe Orozco mentioned that we might consider fewer items with more time for
Q&A.

Tracy Soforenko mentioned that there would be a Town Hall where attendees
could ask him and Anil Lewis questions.

If the local chapters want to include some aspects of local history in the
opening ceremonies, this might be of interest.

 

Marketing the Convention: 

Teisha Gillespie, Communications Committee: 

The Communications committee is seeking additional members to join the
Communications team including contributing to the web blog, promotion
through social media, and a marketing specialist. 

We have six sponsors for the convention so far, three which have submitted
payments. 

 

We are offering four packages, with different discounts for repeat sponsors
and new sponsors. 

 See the form at nfbv.org/sponsors!

social media promotions, thank you to Michael Kitchens for assisting with
the creation of an Event Page on Facebook.

National convention recently offered the opportunity for Federations to
share their memories of convention in writing, via video, or through
voicemail. We want to do the same for state convention. 

You can text your video clips to Teisha, or leave a voicemail: (301)
979-5666, or send a one or two-sentence memory to

sponsorship at nfbv.org

We could create a collage video for YouTube. 

We are considering a random giveaway for testimonial participants. 

Joe asked about which social media platforms required content.

Teisha said that Facebook was the most utilized, but we are seeking to do
more with Instagram. 

 

 

Fundraising: 

Renee Valdez reported that at national convention, we sold 38 neck wallets,
four membership coin holders, and many pieces of jewelry donated by Sharon
Soforenko enabling us to achieve over $1,000 in proceeds. 

Information about our Action Auction will be distributed on the Virginia
Announce list and details and submission instructions can be found at 

nfbv.org/auction

 

Jackie Brown and Dominique Lawless will serve as our auctioneers.

Convention Operations:

 

Michael Kitchens asked about the site of the 2025 State Convention. Joe
Orozco stated we are considering two properties but until we have a signed
contract, we will wait to share details. 

Committees:

Chris Walker has agreed to chair the Nominating Committee. 

Christine Grassman is not standing for reelection for Recording Secretary. 

Audit committee: Sean McMahon, Michael Kitchens, and Michael Casey will
serve as the 2024 NFBV Audit Committee. 

 

The 2024 NFBV Resolutions Committee will be led by committee chair Deepa
Goraya Matthews.

Membership report: 

Jacki Bruce reported that our membership committee is hard at work updating
members' contact information and collecting contact preferences. 

 

Though the process is moving more slowly than anticipated, it is nearing the
end, and if you have not heard from a Membership Committee rep, you will
soon. 

There is a new Social Subcommittee, which will be sending out an invitation
to members. 

 

The Membership Committee will run a first timer welcome event at NFBV24.

The May 11, 2024, board of Directors meeting included sessions on engaging
programming, effective communications, and integrating community-building
into chapter and division activities. 

 

We gathered some great ideas after frank discussions of victories and
challenges. 

 

Beginning in September, the Membership Committee will begin to conduct
trainings based on the information and ideas gathered.

Ideas can be shared with the committee by emailing membership at nfbv.org

 

Legislative committee: Bonnie O'Day. 

Bonnie thanked tracy and Stuart for their support over the summer months
attending meetings and developing strategies,

Accessible Prescription Labeling bill passed and was signed by the Governor.

The bill required the Virginia Board of Pharmacy to promulgate regulations
and include advocates in the process. We are working with the board of
Pharmacy to ensure the regulations help pharmacies and citizens achieve
results.

Stewart will attend the meeting on August 16 in Richmond. 

Information Technology Access Act (ITAA) was referred to the Procurement
Working Group, which is composed of procurement staff from many state and
local government agencies. Bonnie attended the July meeting. From the
testimony and public comment, participants are not familiar with obligations
under the law, and we will need to educate.

We have signed a pro bono agreement with the law firm Reed Smith to obtain
legal services from long time Virginia Federationist and attorney Angie
Matney. 

 

We are working with the Disability Law Center to modernize the Virginia
Human Rights Act and the Virginians with Disabilities Act, with concerns
regarding state and local web access. 

When a blind person applies for a State identification card with the
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, the agency directs staff to not
require blind people to sign their name which means that the blind person's
signature is not presented on the back of the card making it less effective
as an ID and causing other challenges. Our outreach to the head of the DMV
has not yet yielded results to change the policy.

The driverless car company Waymo worked with the NFB of Maryland to
eliminate a requirement that at least one person in a driverless car had to
have a driver's license. We need to protect our rights to use these
innovative technologies in Virginia. 

We will meet with Waymo on August 8. 

 

We have been asked to attend a meeting with Delegate Hope regarding
electronic absentee ballot return. We are aware that any legislation on
absentee ballot return will require partnership with advocates for overseas
military voters. Currently, both voters with print disabilities and overseas
personnel can mark their ballot with the electronic ballot marking tool but
must print and send the printed ballot to their local registrar.

If interested in assisting with our legislative items, contact Bonnie.

We are especially interested in someone in Richmond to attend some of these
meetings, many of which are in the morning, which makes it difficult to
attend from Northern Virginia or the Norfolk area. 

Public Outreach and Blind Equality Achievement Month Team: Chris Walker and
Uricka Harrison: 

 

October is Blindness Equality Achievement Month, and October 15 is White
Cane Awareness Day, formerly White Cane Safety Day. 

Chapters are encouraged to obtain proclamations from local government
officials recognizing White Cane Awareness Day. Alternatively, chapters can
participate in community events for outreach and education on blindness. 

For example, our Northern Virginia chapters are partnering with Arlington
County and Conchita Hernandez Legorreta to organize a screening of the
documentary film Unseen. 

 

McDonald Fellowship and Jernigan Scholarship programs. 

Mary Durbin thanked Michael Kitchens, Charles McLeod, Jacki Bruce, and
Evelyn Valdez for their help on the 2024 McDonald Fellowship program.

Nine first timers joined us at national convention this summer, and some
will share their experiences with us at state convention. 

Mary thanked her national convention mentors. 

 

Divisions:

Virginia Association of Blind Students: No report was shared. 

 Seniors: Patty Droppers indicated that the updates from the senior's
division had been outlined in the discussion of state convention
programming.

The Merchants Division: No report was shared at the meeting. 

  

 

Parents of Blind Children: No report was shared at the meeting. 

Tracy thanked Wayne Williams for serving as Zoom host. Tracy thanked all for
working to plan the state convention, for growing our movement, and for
delivering for blind Virginians.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:52 PM. 

 

Respectfully submitted,

Christine Faltz Grassman

Recording Secretary

 

 

Peace,

 

Jacki Bruce

 

Corresponding Secretary NFBV

mailto:jackibruce6 at gmail.com

tel:(757)291-1789

 

Find us on Facebook @NationalFederationoftheBlindofVirginia

Find us on Instragram @nfbofvirginia

Subscribe to our Youtube: NFB Virginia

www.nfbv.org <http://www.nfbv.org> 

STRONGER TOGETHER!

 

 

 

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