[Ohio-talk] Follow-up Report on the Summit County Chapter Community Meeting

[Everett Gavel]

Hello,

 

As a follow-up to the Informational Community Meeting
the NFB of Greater Summit County had this past
Saturday, I want to share with each of you who were
involved in any way, how it went. I'm also sharing it
with the list to try to help inspire chapters around
the state. 

 

I believe the meeting was a success, looking back upon
it. The only real hitch wasn't even really a problem,
just a surprise. Live and learn - and boy, did I learn.
The room was not what I expected, though it was exactly
what they said we'd be getting. I made the mistake of
not going and checking out the facility in person
beforehand, so was surprised when we walked into it.
The size of the room and the layout of all they had in
it was rather cramped.  We couldn't really set up any
other tables, such as a literature table or beverage
table.  But we juggled things and of course it all
worked out fine. Bruce asked me to check on the
possibility of us having our regular monthly meetings
there now, too. It'll be fine for that.  It just seemed
cramped for 30-35 people (which was the maximum
capacity for the room), and that's what we had.
Everyone except 1 person that said they'd be there
through their RSVP, showed up.  And that one woman was
nice enough to call that morning to apologize and let
us know she wouldn't be making it. On top of that we
had 1 guy show up who didn't RSVP. So all in all, the
more than 25 people that said they'd be there, were. 

 

We had speakers from 4 organizations speak for about 15
minutes each. There was representation from BSVI in
Akron, a Low Vision specialist, Akron Metro SCAT /
Paratransit service, and a technology specialist from
the Cleveland Sight Center. Dr. Smith spoke about the
NFB of Ohio & its divisions, membership, & history.
Eric Duffy spoke on some points of interest to the
attendees, including Newsline. We wrapped it up with a
bit of a plea for anyone interested in helping our
community in regards to changing what it means to be
blind, to join us in doing exactly that. We had a few
interested responses who asked us to call them to let
them know about future chapter meetings. And as of last
night, Cheryl said she'd gotten 2 calls to sign-up for
Newsline, from people who attended our meeting. The
meeting wrapped up with a bit of a technology tryout,
or demonstration & Q&A session, with the CSC Tech Guy
letting people check out equipment and have one-on-one
time with him. That was after the speakers, and anyone
that wasn't interested in the technology could consider
the meeting over at that point. That demonstration
session went on for about 30-45 minutes afterward, as
people were leaving, or talking, or whatever. During
that whole time William Turner was manning the
literature table just outside the door, in the hallway.
He did a great job and I believe handed out a ton of
Kernel books, too. 

 

We had it set up so that the deli would provide
muffins, bagels, coffee & OJ to attendees, and we
brought bottled water as well. The deli service was
great, and we may actually be having them provide
coffee and muffins for each of our monthly meetings as
well. Not sure yet. But they really were extraordinary
in today's business climate. They ... and in all
honesty I'll say she, because the manager, Allie, went
above and beyond the norm, all with a constant smile
and joy that was catchy. 

 

It was fun, and we need to do such things on a more
regular basis, definitely, if we truly want to change
what it means to be blind. Because we got a 3.5%
response with a direct-mail postcard, hearing from more
than 25 people who were blind and newly blind, and who
I'd never heard of yet in the so-called blindness
community. It worked exactly as it was supposed to. So
thanks to all, and I recommend having such a meeting in
your chapter's area as well. Barbara shared the
one-page flyer mailout they used for the Lake County
chapter event. We changed very little of the info, but
formatted it into a 5-1/2 by 8-1/2 postcard, which cost
less than getting the one-page printed and
ready-to-mail. I will gladly share the MS Word doc that
the FedEx Print Shop used to print the postcards, if
anyone asks for it. Again, I would recommend such an
informational community meeting in your area, to help
the community and gain new members. 

 

 

Strive On!

Everett