[Ohio-talk] Buckeye Update

Fri Aug 29 17:38:02 UTC 2014

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio Buckeye Update
Friday August 29, 2014


We had a good conference call last night concerning our fund raising efforts that will take place at the upcoming convention. We have a lot of work to do and many challenges before us. Overall, the tone of the call was positive. I thank everyone who participated. 
	Fund raising is hard. For the most part it is not fun. Mostly we don't like to do it. We have a short window of time in which to make this fund raiser a success. We have never done anything like this before. I can think of several reasons why this could fail. I can think of even better reasons why failure is not an option. We must keep in mind that the National Federation of the blind was not founded on can't. It was founded despite can't. For far too long blind people were told why they couldn't work, why they couldn't live independently, and why they couldn't have families. The blind were told that they shouldn't organize.
	Facing tremendous negativity and discouragement we have built an organization unlike any other I know. Without question the National Federation of the Blind is the strongest force in the affairs of the blind today. Despite the struggles we face in Ohio, we remain a strong and vital organization. 
	We have accomplished what we have, because we know we can!!  The National Federation of the Blind is built on a foundation of belief in ourselves and in each other. We have made the decision to march together rather than to walk alone.
	Collectively we must commit to making this fund raiser a success. We must redouble our efforts and strengthen our resolve each and every time a door is closed or a phone is hung up as we reach out for support.
	But that is who we are. That is what we do in the National Federation of the Blind. I am counting on you to help make this fund raiser a success. The next generation of the blind discounting on all of us, and I know we won't let them down.
	 Because I have not heard anything to the contrary, I am operating on the notion that all members of the Board except Sheri Albers will be present for our September 20 meeting in Columbus. If you are not on the board but plan to attend the meeting, I need to know that as well. I must give the hotel a lunch count by Wednesday, September 17. If you need a vegetarian meal I need to know that too. We will have an assortment of box lunches which will include choices of ham, turkey, or roast beef sandwiches. I will announce the cost of the lunch next week.
	Please start making your hotel reservations for the convention. Except for scholarship winners and anyone that I make special arrangements with, everyone must make his or her own reservation. Room Rates are $76 per night plus 17.5 percent tax. our block of rooms will be gone after October 4. If rooms are available after that, you can still get them at our convention rate, but you then run the risk that there will be no room at the Inn.
	I am pleased to announce that Elli Kalas will be one of the teachers working in the STEM2You program taking place at COSI in Columbus in May of 2015. Elli was a volunteer in our most recent BELL Program, and is a teacher of blind students in Newark. 
	I am attaching as a PDF file the flier intended for businesses. Additional material is being developed and will be forthcoming soon.
	I am pasting in the body of this message and attaching the minutes from the July Board of Directors meeting. We will vote on these minutes at the September 20 meeting.

Board of Directors Meeting
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
July 17, 2014

	1. President Eric Duffy called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. Conference line 605-475-4875 access code 201909# was used. 

	2. Seven members of the board were present: Eric Duffy, Richard Payne, Shelbi Hindel, Sherry Ruth, Debbie Baker, Deborah Kendrick, and Barbara Pierce. A few nonboard members also participated. Barbara expressed gratitude to them for their participation. 

	3. Eric will be sending out a memo to chapter presidents regarding chapter membership lists. This year the affiliate will be using Constant Contacts for the data base. Read the memo and follow the instructions given to provide as much of the information requested as you are able. This information is due August 17. The reason for the urgency is the upcoming convention issue of the newsletter. 

	4. Lake county chapter has disbanded. Anne Marble was president, and Barb Fohl was secretary of the chapter. One person is the primary cause of the trouble within the chapter and should have been asked to leave. Presidents of chapters were urged to  consult their state officers when difficulties arise within the chapter. 

	5. J.W. Smith emailed the gavel award questionnaire and information about writing letters to nominate individuals for the various awards. If you have questions about this process, ask a member of the awards committee, which J.W. chairs. 

	6. This year is the fiftieth anniversary of the Beatles' first tour in America. Art Schreiber, an NFB member from New Mexico, covered two weeks of that tour as a reporter. He spoke on a program, Thru Our Eyes, last night, and our president urged us to listen to the program. A good number of people on the call did so. Fred Schroeder of Virginia told Eric that Art spoke at their state convention, and this brought in a lot of people. Fred said their state did not use this as a fundraiser, but he wishes they had done so, Art is from East Liverpool, Ohio. Richard suggested to Eric that we have a not-so-silent auction fundraiser. Eric said we’d have to find a way to bring in people from the outside because our own people can not fully support the work of the affiliate. This means we’d have to have first-rate, high-quality items that outsiders would want to spend their money on. If we want to have Art do a fundraiser for Ohio, we will have to purchase a plane ticket for him from Colorado and provide lodging and food for the weekend because he would be our convention guest after the fundraiser. This activity would take place on Friday evening. Deborah moved that we invite Art Schreiber to come to Ohio to put on a fundraiser celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Beatles first tour in America with the understanding that NFB of Ohio  would pay for his plane ticket attempting to co operate with the Colorado affiliate, provide food and lodging for the weekend, promote the event heavily, and have a not-so-silent auction. Debbie seconded this motion. It passed with no negative votes and one abstention, Richard. The publicity committee will have to start working on the promotion of this fundraiser very soon. We can not wait until the September board meeting. Deborah stated that she will have an article about Art in her column. Art is willing to help us with publicity in anyway he can, such as by doing telephone interviews with radio stations. He suggested finding a radio station that plays Beatles-style oldies to promote the program. Eric informed us that there will not be a NAPUB play this year nor will the committees and groups be meeting Friday evening. Instead there will be an abbreviated session on Friday afternoon to accommodate those presenters who can not come on the weekend. Our committees and groups will be scheduled to meet late Friday afternoon. This is a different schedule from the one  we are accustomed to, but everyone will have to work together and be flexible. It has been suggested that we have a Beatles cover band perform. Publicity materials will be available for everyone to use as soon as possible. 

	7. BELL will be starting Monday morning, July 21. Volunteers will be arriving in Columbus on Saturday, and setup will be on Sunday. This program has gotten a lot of support, for which much gratitude was expressed. 

	8. The convention issue of the  Buckeye Bulletin will be coming out in late August or early September. Articles and announcements need to be to Barbara by August 15. 

	9. The meeting adjourned at 8:19 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Shelbi Hindel 


	Enjoy the Holiday weekend. I plan to write again next week before leaving for Baltimore.

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