[Ohio-talk] Fw: BUCKEYE Update for August 28th, 2009

[Dr. Smith]

Dr. J. Webster Smith
President National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
P.O.BOX 458 Athens, Ohio, 45701-0458
Phone Number - 740-592-6326 
"Changing What it Means to be Blind"
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Dr. Smith 
To: jwsmithnfb at verizon.net 
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 5:06 PM
Subject: BUCKEYE Update for August 28th, 2009


It is clear that the summer is winding down because next week will be September. Outside the rain, the rain has just begun, but it's nice and dry inside my office. 

 

September Board Meeting

Our September board meeting will be held on Saturday the 19th, and will begin at 10am.  The location for the meeting will be the Gethsemane Lutheran Church, which is located at 35 East Stanton in Columbus, OH. Remember to contact Cindy Conley at Cconley at fuse.net if you will be having lunch with us. We will be having a variety of subway sandwiches so you should make your preference known to Cindy so that she will know how much and what particular sandwiches to have available. Please be prepared to pay at least $5.00 for your lunch. 

 

Committee chairs should be prepared to make a brief report although I will not go through each committee this time as we have before. It would be helpful to submit your reports in writing if they are particularly lengthy and/or complex. We will have two major items of discussion at this meeting; specifically, our financial status and making preparations for our state convention.  

 

State Convention

Our 63rd state convention will be held at the Columbus Ramada Plaza located at 4900 Sinclair Road, the phone number for information and room reservations is 614-846-0300. Our room rates are $72.00 per night and our block of rooms will be held until October 8th at this rate. By now you should have preregistration and convention assistance information, so please fill these out as soon as possible. Remember that our ability to provide financial assistance will be very different this year. It will be very important that individuals and chapters be prepared to contribute as much as possible toward all aspects of our convention. I will do everything in my power to help those who want to attend the meeting, but the reality is we do not have as many funds this year, for this purpose, as we have had in past years.

 

The convention will begin with our board meeting at 9am on Friday October 30th, and once again we will have philosophy and membership seminars, as well as our usual parent's seminar.  Dan Frye, the associate editor of the Brail Monitor, will be our national representative this year and it is my hope that we will be able to utilize his skill and knowledge in the area of advocacy as much as possible.  Two additional highlights this year will be:  a student seminar/party on Friday night, October 30th and a leadership breakfast on Sunday November 1st, at 7am. The agenda is shaping up nicely but we should talk some more about specific items at the September board meeting.

 

Selling the Coin

You should have received a copy of some documents as a follow up to a conference call that was held with affiliate leaders and a representative from Baltimore concerning strategies for selling the remaining Louis Braille Coins. In addition to getting White Cane Safety Day proclamations this year and in reference to Meet the Blind Month activities, we should be doing all that we can to sell these coins. We have a daunting task (i.e. to sell 5,000 of them in Ohio alone) but we should do all that we can to make sure that we sell as many as possible before the end of the year. Please let me know if and when you have made either a significant sale or secured an opportunity that could result in positive progress in this area. It will require that we each do our part, both at the chapter/division and individual levels. Remember that part of the funds that will be raised from these coin sales will be used for the promotion of and education in, Braille literacy. But I think we should talk about this in more detail at the September board meeting as well.

 

Chapter Activities

I visited the Lorraine County chapter picnic on August 9th, and it was the healthiest picnic I have ever attended. It was so hot outside that day, I was very glad that the gathering was held inside and the Cole slaw with the raisins and peanuts was a hit with me, I loved that. It was great to hear the chapter discuss the article by Dr. Jernigan entitled, The Nature of Independence. Remember this will be the theme of our convention this year as well. On August 22, we had a great meeting at the Columbus library and I believe that we took a big step toward revitalizing the Columbus chapter. Eric Duffy is still the chapter president but it was good to see that others in attendance were willing to serve in other leadership positions. It is safe to say that this has been a busy year for the membership committee and with Springfield and Lake County looming ahead, their work continues. The goal this year is for us to have the strongest chapters and divisions possible and to increase our membership at every level. I think our efforts will ensure that we will have several new faces at this year's state convention, so let's be prepared to welcome our new members and to make this convention one of the best we have ever had!