[Ohio-talk] FW: Board meeting minutes

[J.W. Smith]

Dr. J. Webster Smith

President, National Federation of the Blind of Ohio

PO Box 458 Athens, OH 45701

740-592-6326

 

"Changing what it means to be blind"

For more information go to nfbohio.org

 

From: Smith, JW [mailto:smithj at ohio.edu] 
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 3:46 PM
To: jwsmithnfb at frontier.com
Subject: Board meeting minutes

 

Colleagues, 

Attached and cut and pasted below, are the minutes from our fall board
meeting. Once again, Shelbi Hindel, Eric Duffy and Barbara Pierce have done
a wonderful job and gotten them to me very early. I will say it one more
time, it has been a joy to work with them in terms of getting these minutes
to you in a timely and professional manner, we are so blessed! 

 

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio

                                        Meeting Minutes of the Board of
Directors

September 22, 2012

 

1. The meeting was called to order at 10:10 a.m. by the president, J.W.
Smith. Board members Barb Fohl, Sherry Ruth, and Susan Day were absent. Two
fines were assessed for people not being clad with NFB insignia. We did not
get a count for those present who were not on the board of directors. 

2. Eric Duffy moved the acceptance of the agenda for the meeting. Richard
Payne seconded the motion. It passed.

3. Debbie Baker made the motion to accept the minutes from the April 21st,
2012, meeting. Crystal McClain seconded the motion and it carried.

4. Secretary Shelbi Hindel read the treasurer's report. Eric moved the
acceptance of this report. It was seconded by Debbie Baker. After discussion
the motion carried. 

5. Convention Assistance--J.W. passed out print convention assistance forms.
Board members' rooms will be covered for just two nights. The president
urged board members who were able to do so to cover their own room costs and
other expenses. We must do all we can to cut costs and save money. Bruce
Peters moved, at Treasurer Sherry Ruth's recommendation, that $2,000 be used
for convention assistance. Motion was seconded by Debbie Baker. J.W.
announced that the state would help with rooms, registration, and banquet
only. Bruce suggested we look into getting sponsors such as UPS on the local
level because they are very involved on the national level. J.W. told us
that this is being looked into, but there are no guarantees. Barbara Pierce
urged chapters to support their members in attending the state convention.
Businesses like to support people from their own areas. We can provide a
list of costs for sponsoring an individual to the convention. When this
discussion ended, the motion carried. 

6. At the close of the financial discussion, J.W. said with great enthusiasm
that he has enjoyed working with Sherry Ruth. Her skill, consideration, and
thoughtfulness toward the organization are greatly appreciated. 

   7. NFB NEWSLINER Barbara Pierce reported that we would soon be receiving
money from the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland on behalf of the blind
parishioners of St. Augustine parish to put the Catholic Universe Bulletin
on the sponsor channel. This is a biweekly publication, and we will charge
$50 per issue to prepare and code the publication. Deborah Kendrick
described some of the new features of NEWSLINE : AccuWeather, my paper, and
Target ads.

8. Debbie Baker reported on the Braille teaching project. Our teachers in
the Cleveland area are Sue Ott and Cheryl Fischer. They want to know if
money from Ohio's Imagination Fund grant could be used for transportation
for teachers or students. J.W. will check with Sherry to see how much money
remains in this line item. The decision about how to spend this money will
be made by Debbie. He cautioned her to be sure that most of the money goes
for Braille and not transportation. Teachers in the Cincinnati area are Paul
and Bernie Dressell and Deborah Kendrick. The Dressells are covering the
Dayton area. Colleen Roth is teaching in the Toledo area. Debbie Baker is
teaching in Springfield. At the end of September Debbie will be attending a
Braille Symposium in Baltimore.

9. J.W. announced with regret that Anne Marble had to resign as president of
the Lake County chapter and as secretary of Ohio Association of Guide Dog
Users.

10. J.W. then introduced Annette Lutz as the newly elected president of the
Ohio Association of Blind Merchants. Congratulations to her and thanks to
Steve Vincke for his years of service. 

11. The Buckeye Bulletin is now available on NEWSLINE and on our website.
Please encourage people to read it using one of these formats to save money.
Currently it is still available on CD and in print. The CD may not be
available for much longer because of cost, but it will continue in print and
by email.

12. J.W. reminded everyone that chapter dues, which consist of $10 as a flat
fee plus $1 per member, should be sent to Sherry Ruth. Corrected chapter
lists should be sent to Barbara Pierce and please use the list that you are
sent to make corrections. Each chapter is required by the constitution to
submit an annual report. Those that have not submitted Gavel Award reports
must submit a brief written report to the president before the convention.
Remember that dues, corrected membership lists, and annual reports are due
by October 26th. A fine of $25 will be levied if these are late. Members of
chapters that do not submit their documents by convention will not be able
to vote in affiliate elections.

13. Chapters and divisions reported on Meet the Blind Month activities as
follows:

Sheri Albers reported that Cincinnati will conduct a White Cane walk on
October 15th, White Cane Safety Day. It will start at City Hall and go to
Fountain Square, where they will have a literature table. The walk will
start at 11:00 a.m.

Bruce Peters announced that Summit County will be having their 15th annual
walk on October 13th. 

Barbara Pierce said that Lorain County will be holding its White Cane Walk
on October 6th. They have been holding this event since 1978. 

Paul Dressell reported that the Senior Division is holding a drawing for a
$75 Visa gift card during the convention banquet. Tickets cost $1 each or 6
tickets for $5. You do not need to be present to win. 

Richard Payne reported that Miami Valley will be having a children's reading
time at Barnes and Noble on October 13th. There will be a literature table.
Vouchers will be available for people to present at the time of checkout
which would give a percentage of their bill to the organization. 

Capital Chapter will be doing a fundraiser at Applebee's in Graceland. The
restaurant will donate a percentage of the bill to the chapter when a
voucher is presented with the check. It will be October 13th, reported Beth
Debus.

The Springfield chapter will be attending a church meeting of a member. They
are also selling Whozit Christmas ornaments for $5 each, reported Debbie
Baker.

William Turner said that Cleveland would be doing a walk on October 3rd.
They will walk around Public Square, ending up at the Horseshoe Casino. He
also announced that the chapter is sending a 55-passenger bus to the
convention. It will leave Friday morning, November 2nd, from the Cleveland
Sight Center. 

14. Eric Duffy then presented the idea of establishing an NFB training
center here in Ohio. There is a need for good, serious training in a
residential center. It will take a lot of money and work to start. We have
talked about this idea for a number of years, and BSVI has expressed
interest in such a resource in the state. The center would be located in
Columbus and would have its own board of directors. 

15. Carol Akers explained an idea for a fundraiser that is being headed by
the Parents of Blind Children Division. It is Community Days. Coupon books
for Elder-Beerman's will be sold for $5 each. The NFB will keep all
proceeds. We are registered at the Zanesville store to set up and sell
inside the store. That store will present us with a bonus check. People in
other areas can set up tables in any mall with a Elder-Beerman's, outside
the store to sell these booklets. Carol suggested combining this activity
with other Meet the Blind Month activities. Community Days are November 9th
and 10th. The coupons can be used in the store on those days or online.
Members of the Capital Chapter will be going to the Zanesville Mall on
October 12th to work with members of the Muskingum County chapter on selling
the coupon booklets. The money from this project is to go to the state
affiliate.

16. After lunch Jim Debus made a presentation about CampAbilities. It is a
developmental, recreational sports camp for kids with sensory disabilities.
It is based on learning and recreational enjoyment of sports, not
competition. The ratio of workers to campers would be one to one. The
Recreation Physical Activity Center, RPAC, at OSU, is looking for a unique
event to sponsor. If the camp works with RPAC, the cost would be
approximately $330 per child to attend a week-long residential camp. There
is a video on YouTube that interested people can listen to. Barbara
suggested that Jim write an article for the winter/spring issue of the
Buckeye Bulletin. The website for more information is www.campabilities.org.


17. The state convention will be held November 2-4, 2012, at the Wyndham
Garden Dayton South Hotel, 31 Prestige Plaza Drive, Miamisburg, Ohio 45342.
Telephone (937) 434-8030. We discussed a lot of convention logistics. See
the convention agenda for details. The text of the agenda has been
circulated. Corrections are due by October 1st. Send them to J.W.

18. Deborah Kendrick proposed that we devise a method for conducting our
elections secretly. Several possible systems were discussed, but we could
not arrive at consensus about secret ballots, much less one method. This
idea may be brought up again at a later board meeting.

19. J.W. reported with regret that the Delta Gamma Run-Walk will not be
taking place in October. The students lost momentum over the summer, but he
hopes that it can take place in the spring of 2013. 

20. J.W. has been approached by a company that does grant writing for
non-profit organizations. Their minimum fee is $3,000, which would be
returned if they do not fulfill the terms of the contract. We would be
required to provide the company with information about our organization and
programs so that they can put together a package to secure grants on our
behalf. J.W. has spoken with a satisfied customer in Michigan, but no
decision was made about this proposal at this time. 

21. The meeting adjourned at 2:50 p.m. 

 

Respectfully submitted,

Shelbi Hindel 

 

 

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