[Oabs] OABS Update: Budgets, and banking, and money (oh my)!

[Kaiti Shelton]

Lillie and all,

I am addressing your concerns on the list, because I feel they are
important for everyone to hear.

First, I will repeat as I have told several other members that just
because something isn't said over the list, it does not mean that it
isn't happening.  In regards to the cooresponding secretary situation,
it was actually taken care of very quickly.  We elected someone else
to the position quickly after Amber resigned, allowing for the ten day
minimum notice for officers as stated in our constitution, and then we
had it set up.  Ryan tested the new phone service and we began
recording calls in March.  He also began researching web sites at that
time.  I have also recently sent him an email checking in on how that
was going, because that was something that did not need to be stated
over the list for all to see since it was conversation between a
president and an individual officer.  I did allow him some time to
make sure the phone service was running smoothly, and my recent email
was to ask him to take things a step further now that I've seen that
it has been fine.  This issue has happened before, where members think
that just because they don't know work is being done on something that
they assume it is not.  There are certain times where group
communication is appropriate, and where individual communication is
better as well.  I am sure President Duffy employs a similar
communication system, where every message between him and an
individual officer is not aired out over Ohio-Talk.

As the person who has taken sole responsibility for looking into the
IRS and Secretary of State stuff, I personally take offense to what
you have said.  When I was first instructed on how to get things done,
I followed through with what I was told.  I even called the former
bank we were going to use to make sure all the ducks were in a row,
and they said nothing about the secretary of state issue until we got
to our appointment.  With the new election and then final exams
looming and/or happening for several members of this organization,
nothing could have been done with this anyway so I chose to focus on
exams first, then look into the banking issue later since finals were
a higher priority at the time.  I am not saying this to give excuses,
nor is my lack of experience something I point out as an excuse, but
it is just what happened.  None of the research I did showed that we
needed secretary of state registration, and when I found out about it
there were other pressing issues in the organization and academically
that took precedence because we could not proceed with setting up the
bank account until they were taken care of first.  I did the best I
could with the situation, especially considering it isn't an area of
my expertise.  I truly researched as best I knew how and worked with
the information I was given.  Furthermore, we have the support of the
affiliate, who realizes that this is new territory for us and is
willing to lend their help, including in the form of the $45 needed to
set up the bank account.

I am really confused by your statement that we're quickly becoming the
division that can't rather than the division that could.  We've done
more in the past several months than we've been able to do in a long
time.  We finally have a steady membership including a board, and are
planning on circulating membership brochures and possibly having the
first OABS membership retreat.  We are making use of our resources
including the list serve, and we are in the process of setting up
several fundraisers.  I know from talking to a number of affiliate
leaders that, although some are frustrated about the delay with our
current fundraiser, they are excited to see the student division
picking up steam.  They know, possibly even from their own
experiences, that there are going to be mistakes made along the way,
but the important thing is that we are nowhere near as stagnant as we
were before.  No one said it wouldn't be an easy process with no bumps
in the road along the way.  It's a learning and growing process for
everyone, and it's going to be a bit rocky before it gets better, just
like most other things.  I am also confused, because I don't know of
any situations or conversations which have made it seem as if certain
individuals think they deserve special treatment or a free pass, and
our actions of trying to further this organization certainly do not
point to our board thinking the organization deserves a pass either.

I don't know of any open name-calling that has happened in the
division, but if it has happened as Lillie says, please do not let it
continue.  Whether or not there are differences in opinion or not, we
need to constructively work things out.  Calling people liars or
anything else, or even making assumptions about other members when you
don't know what is going on, and assuming that they're being lazy or
something else, is not appropriate for an organization.  If you don't
agree with what someone else has had to say, there are constructive
ways to handle conversations; and if you have a concern about the
division, it is better to ask about it than to assume something is or
is not happening.  And better yet, if you suspect something isn't
done, and have concerns about it, why not ask about the progress, and
then offer to help with it if you feel it would benefit the division?
The issue I see is that, for some reason, there is a lack of teamwork
in the division.  Yes, we need people to carry out assigned jobs, but
as students we all know that things happen.  I know I've stepped in
for others in the past when I saw something needed to get done, and I
know several others in this division have helped where they could as
well here and there.  We need to stop viewing these issues we're
facing always as a single person's fault, and laveling them as lazy or
unreliable, and instead see if we can offer to help.  Animosity will
get us nowhere.  I am sure that a little bit of teamwork would help
the division a lot.

Now, I do not want this thread to turn into what happened over
Ohio-Talk in January.  For those who aven't seen that, look back at
the archives for an example of how this list should not be used.  We
are not on this list to personally attack each other, to call names,
or to bigot about division issues.  This is the other side of
transparency, and what I see starting to happen here is not enough
interpersonal communication between individual members.  I have stated
several times before that anyone is free to contact me with questions
or concerns at any time, and the last time I got a memo of that nature
was in early March or so.  I am unable to address concerns if they are
not brought to my attention, and if there is not an open line of
communication for the concerned person and I to work with after they
have initially stated their frustrations.

On 5/11/14, Lillie Pennington <lilliepennington at fuse.net> wrote:
> If I may say and allowed to. I feel this organization deserved the
> criticisms that it received. This issue with the bank should have been
> researched beforehand. I know that the aphiliate has not had to do this in a
> while but the rules and conditions of setting this up are not just made up
> on the fly. This whole account process should have been done a long time ago
> and it is not completely the former treasurers fault. We need to take
> responsibility for our actions in this organization. Several members of this
> organization seem to believe that the organization and themselves deserve a
> free pass on certain issues. We are rapidly becoming the organization that
> could not instead of the organization that could have been. We have no
> social media or other ways of recruiting new members. It has been two months
> since our correspondence secretary position has been worked out. Yhis should
> have been worked out by now. I write this on a public list because I feel
> that the membership should know. I have spoken to various people in the
> organization about my feelings and have been shot down and called a liar. I
> am sure the meeting I was supposed to go to the last time I dared to speak
> up would have reinforced this philosophy. I am not sorry for what I have
> said here and hope this is a wake up call. Thank you.
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On May 11, 2014, at 7:43 PM, Kaiti Shelton <kaiti.shelton at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hi OABS,
>>
>> It's been a while since I provided an update, but this weekend brought
>> an interesting, and somewhat unfortunate, development.
>>
>> I was doing the paperwork to file our tax ID number with the Ohio
>> Secretary of State in preparation for the meeting to set up our
>> account with Emily, when I got this lovely little email telling me to
>> finalize everything we would need to send in a check or money order
>> for $125.  I canceled that application, because I thought there was no
>> way the state would charge that high of a fee for a non-profit
>> organization---I really thought I just hit the wrong button when
>> filling out the business section of the application, and accidentally
>> listed OABS as an LLC or something.  So, I then called the Secretary
>> of State's office to get some confirmation, and the fee to register
>> with the secretary of state is indeed $125 for non-profit
>> organizations.
>>
>> I've talked to Eric, and he is going to speak to Sherry about getting
>> filed.  We're going to use the $80 from our fundraiser at convention
>> last year, and the affiliate is going to loan us $45 which we can
>> repay at a later date.  It is going to suck us dry and put us in an
>> almost 50 dollar hole, but it is a bullet we are going to have to bite
>> if we're going to get a bank account started.  Half the reason it
>> stings so badly right now is that we're just trying to get started,
>> but this is a one-time hardship we will have to face in order to have
>> easier times fundraising in the future.  It is really going to make
>> what we do with both committees even more important, but especially
>> our bookmark fundraiser and anything we might do at convention this
>> year.
>>
>> Now, this leaves the gray area of this fundraiser we have going on
>> right now.  As some of you might have seen on Ohio-Talk, we are
>> banking vicariously through the generous support of the Cincinnati
>> Chapter, who has allowed us to use their account as our fiscal agent
>> until we have an account of our own.  I have instructed members of the
>> affiliate on how to make out checks, however I have not seen any
>> emails following up on that.  Emily and Deborah, if either of you know
>> anything, would you amend my update?  I know the division was getting
>> quite a bit of backlash on a few calls I attended for things that were
>> largely out of the group's control, but still were nonetheless
>> frustrating for all involved.  I think we need to keep a close eye on
>> this, and if indeed we have not received any checks or purchases
>> towards this fundraiser then we need to discuss how to proceed.
>>
>> Thanks all, and keep up the work.  I know many of you are either
>> preparing for finals, are just catching your breath after finishing
>> them, or are gearing up for summer classes and events.  Feel free to
>> update the group on what your plans are over the summer as well; I'm
>> sure we'd all love to hear what our fellow members are doing.
>> --
>> Kaiti Shelton
>> University of Dayton 2016.
>> Music Therapy, Psychology, Philosophy
>> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students
>> Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma
>>
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-- 
Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton 2016.
Music Therapy, Psychology, Philosophy
President, Ohio Association of Blind Students
Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma