[Ohio-talk] Buckeye Update
Sheri
salbers1 at twc.com
Sat Oct 18 21:28:54 UTC 2014
Eric,
I am confused why the tech support is $45 for the quarterly payment. I
thought you said it would be 15 people at $10 per month?
Sheri
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Eric
Duffy via Ohio-talk
Sent: Friday, October 17, 2014 5:39 PM
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List
Subject: [Ohio-talk] Buckeye Update
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio Buckeye Update October 17, 2014
Convention Registrations are coming in, and hotel reservations are being
made. We still have some work to do in both of these areas, so register by
the end of the day tomorrow to save a little money. Hotel rooms are
available at our convention rate, but you must make your reservation soon.
This is going to be a great convention, so if for some reason you
are not coming, I am sorry. you will miss a good one. The agenda will be out
next week. We are still working out last minute details, but it will be done
soon.
Deborah Kendrick has written her column about the Beatles And More
>From 1964 with the John Schwab Band. It will appear in the Monday edition of
the Columbus Dispatch. Thank you Deborah.
I want to thank Tom and Louise Anderson for their contribution of $75 for
our 75 in Orlando campaign. Louise will retire after forty years of work for
the same employer at the end of this month, and we all know that will mean a
significant change of income for the Andersons. But they understand that
participating in a National Federation of the Blind convention is a life
changing experience. They believe in what we are doing, and this is one of
many ways that they have demonstrated that. This is the kind of spirit that
the Federation is made of.
On Wednesday Shelbi and I traveled to Cincinnati to take part in the
White Cane Walk hosted jointly by the Cincinnati Chapter, the Cincinnati
Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and the Clovernook Center
for the Blind. It was a cool and rainy day, but the walk was well attended
and I think it is safe to say that everyone enjoyed it. I certainly did.
Last Friday I was in Baltimore for a meeting with museum partners in our
STEM2U Program. It was a very good meeting. I talked with two of the COSI
representatives for the entire flight home. There will be an agenda item
about this program that will include Lillie Pennington. I am excited about
this program, and I'm sure you will be too.
Please continue working to get sponsors for our convention. Yes we
are using the Friday night fund raiser as a promotional tool, but businesses
are really helping support our convention. We have a lot of work to do in
the fund raising area, but my long term goal is to make it possible to gain
enough outside support so that we can cover a significant amount of the
expenses for everyone who attends our convention. We have a long way to go
to reach that goal, because we must stabilize our treasurery first, but we
can get there if we all work together.
We still need items for our Friday night auction. Please continue to
get donations. Also it is important that you send information about auction
items to Shelbi as soon as possible. She needs to know what chapter,
division, or individual to attribute the donation to. She needs to know the
name of the donor, the name of the item donated, a description of the item,
and its minimum value. Please send this information to:
shelbiah1 at gmail.com
Chapter presidents, if you haven't already done so please let shelbi
know who will be representing your chapter on the nominating committee.
Please do not wait until we get to convention to let her know.
I remind Presidents and Treasurers to get your $13 to Sherry Ruth for the
leadership breakfast on Sunday morning of convention. At the September board
meeting two women came up behind Barbara Pierce and handed her money for the
breakfast. we did not get the names recorded, so if you are a woman who
handed Barbara money for the leadership breakfast, please let Sherry Ruth
know. I am almost 100 percent certain that Richard Payne was not involved in
one of these transactions.
I have received the following announcement from Gabe Vega: Hello NFB Ohio
Members:
Commtech is proud to announce a special affiliate rate for NFB Ohio members
that we are running a a pilot program.
for only 149.99 per month, we are offering our 49.99 plan, for up to fifteen
members per month. you can view detailed info on what this plan is at
http://commtechusa.net
but in short, you will be receiving the following tech support 18 hours a
day from 6:00AM to 12:00AM daily 7 days a week.
training from 9AM to 9PM by appointment 7 days a week. fair usage policy
applies to training time.
at this rate at 149.99 this is equal to 10 dollars per person for up to
fifteen people.
Gabe Vega
CEO
Commtech LLC
Web: http://commtechusa.net
FaceBook: http://facebook.com/commtechllc
Twitter: http://twitter.com/commtechllc
Email: info at commtechusa.net
Phone: (888) 351-5289 ext. 710
there you have the information from Gabe Vega. The way that Sherry
and I have decided to handle this is as follows: we are asking those who
want tpo participate in this offer to pay for three months of service in
advance. Right now I am asking that you send your check directly to Sherry
Ruth. Make itpayable to the NFB of Ohio. put computer training in the memo.
Pay for three months of service at the rate of $15 per month. So your check
should be for $45 to cover the months of November, December, and January.
Then send me an Email telling me that you have mailed the check to Sherry.
Include your telephone number in the Email. I must give your name and phone
number to Gabe so that you can be identified as a subscriber to the
service.After January the price might change. I don't know which way it
might change. The quarterly price depends on the number of people who pay
for the service. But I want everyone to understand that this is a variable
price.
Monday night we will have our next call to discuss our progress
with our convention fund raiser which includes the auction. There are some
exciting updates concerning the fund raiser, so don't miss the call. We will
also discuss the progress of the parents division in the effort to find new
members and new leaders.
Everyone is welcome.
Shortly before 7:30 call (605) 475-4875. Use access code 201909
followed by the pound sign. See you on the call.
I have pasted and attached the minutes from our September 20 board meeting
at the end of this message.
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.
Board of Directors Meeting
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
September 20, 2014
1. President Eric Duffy called the meeting to order at 10:04 a.m. We
met in the John Snow room of the Worthington Holiday Inn, 7007 North High
Street, Columbus, Ohio.
2. Nine board members were present with four fines for not being
clad with NFB insignia. Absent board members were Sherry Ruth, Sheri Albers,
and William Turner. Fifteen non-board members attended the meeting. Their
participation is appreciated.
3. Sad news: Cleveland chapter member, Cordelia Leech, passed away.
Services are today. She was very active with the Diabetic division,
distributing their publication, Voice of the Diabetic. She was passionate
about this work.
4. Good news: State board member Sheri Albers, a member of the
Cincinnati chapter, is getting married today. J.W. Smith is singing at the
wedding.
5. Eric is pleased to report that the rehab for William H. Turner,
chair of the membership committee, is going well. There are difficult times
ahead, but he is fighting his battles with a positive attitude. For a time
after the Washington seminar, we did not think William H. would make it.
Thankfully he has, and you can read a letter that he has written in the fall
issue of our newsletter. We all wish William H. continued success in his
recovery.
6. Eric tried leading us in saying both the NFB pledge and the
One-Minute Elevator speech. These were both poorly done; we will be saying
them again at the state convention, so we were urged to practice in order to
be prepared. They will be printed in the agenda.
7. Eric did a demonstration of the KNFB Reader app for the iPhone.
It works quickly and is the best reading system ever done. With practice it
becomes easier and more efficient. There are several apps that read currency
on the market, but the KNFB Reader does not do this.
8. Kaiti Shelton spoke about the drawing that the students division
will be holding later today. People were urged to purchase tickets during
the lunch break, $1 each or six for $5. This project was previously hosted
by the POBC at the spring board meeting. Students had some problems earlier
this year, but those have all been ironed out. You do not need to be present
to win. An email will be sent to the Ohio Talk listserv announcing the
winners.
9. Barbara Pierce moved that the April 2014 board meeting minutes be
accepted as circulated. Richard Payne seconded the motion. It passed.
10. Debbie Baker moved the July 2014 board meeting minutes be
accepted as circulated Barbara seconded the motion. It carried.
11. Shelbi Hindel read the financial report provided by Sherry Ruth.
There was light discussion. The NEWSLINER expense is for the Toledo Blade.
The money that is in the 75 to Convention Fund was paid by Eric, and he
encouraged others to add to the fund. He reminded us that a significant
portion of our total assets is designated for specific purposes. We are
doing a good job at working to keep expenses down, and this needs to
continue. Richard moved that the report be approved as read. Barb Fohl
seconded the motion. It passed.
12. Eric commented that he is unhappy with the lack of contributions
to the fall issue of our newsletter. He encouraged people to write about
growing up blind and activities that they have participated in. The
newsletter is sent out by email, is posted on Ohio talk, and is on
NEWSLINER. The phone number to sign up for NEWSLINER is 888-504-7300.
13. Milena Zavoli has print fliers for Malley's Chocolate sales. We
will be doing a Christmas candy sale fundraiser again this year. The best
way to place orders is through the website, which is very accessible. If you
need assistance ordering, Milena is willing to help. Her contact
information is mzavoli at roadrunner.com. Orders over $60 ship free, and under
that amount there is a shipping fee. Shipping starts November 24 and ends
December 14. Products offered are the same as last year. If we sell $1,500
or above, the affiliate will receive 33 percent of sales; below that amount
we will receive a lesser percentage. Crystal McClain moved that we set a
goal of $1,500 or more so that the affiliate receives the 33 percent
contribution with a minimum of $150 sales from each chapter. The motion was
seconded by Susan Day. It passed.
14. Debbie gave an overview of the BELL activities from this
summer's program. People are very tired at the end of the program, but they
do recover. We had six students this year; four of them were returning
students from last summer. Two of the students have been accepted into the
STEM2U program. Eric thanked everyone who made contributions of any type to
BELL, especially financially. BELL was started because of Braille, but a lot
more blindness skills are learned. This program truly changes lives. We will
modify what we do for and with the children who need more challenges. We
want them to continue to return and love the program. Eric hosted a
conference call for chapter presidents that wanted to consider hosting a
BELL program in their area next year. Cheryl Fields and Richard Payne
participated in the call. Cheryl later informed Eric that Cleveland would
not be hosting Bell but would support the affiliate effort. Debbie did a
reading assessment on one of the BELL students. He does qualify for Braille
and will be attending the Ohio State School for the Blind shortly. The paper
work just needs to be completed and approved.
15. Carol Akers gave a report from the Parents of Blind Children
division. She stated that very few families currently participate or respond
to information that is sent out. The goal is to have children move from this
division to being active members of other divisions and chapters within the
NFB. Currently the people that are active in this division have grown
children, so the torch needs to be passed on to parents with young children.
Carol is willing to help with this process. We need to get some families to
the convention, get them invested in the organization so that they will join
us in the work of the Federation. Eric has spoken with Lori Kaplan, the
parent mentor at OSSB, about getting some activities for parents started.
Kaiti said that the students are having a similar problem, so they would be
willing to work with parents to build both divisions. Richard would like to
see the POBC added to the 75 days of action campaign. If we can not get this
division going strong, it may need to be disbanded for a while. We do not
want to keep it limping along just to be able to say it exists in Ohio.
Several people volunteered to help contact parents on the mailing list.
Contact Carol for more information at purplecakers at yahoo.com.
16. November 16, 1940, was the starting date of this organization.
We will be starting our 75 year. September 2 through November 16 is the 75
days of action campaign. The goal is to build and strengthen seventy-five
chapters or divisions across the country during this time. Richard
represents Ohio on the national committee. There are three calls a week,
Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Building is difficult, so it is often put on
a back burner, but the committee is working to educate, strengthen, and
encourage. We must believe that we can do this successfully. Eric said that
Ohio needs to build chapters in the Akron Canton area and strengthen the
Capital Chapter. On November 15 there will be planned activities in the
Akron Canton area. We do need to build up that area or we will lose it.
Capital Chapter strengthening will take place after the campaign ends, but
that is all right. Our actions do not need to stop, nor should they stop
just because the seventy-five days are concluded. Someone who serves on the
75 days of action campaign committee is willing to conference call into
chapters that request this. Richard works with several states: Indiana,
Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio.
17. Eric has set a goal of seventy-five people from Ohio attending
the national convention in Orlando in 2015. J. W. Smith is leading this
fundraising campaign. He will choose the people to serve on the committee
with him that he feels he can most effectively work closely with. Expect
this effort to start shortly after the conclusion of our state convention.
Once the money portion of the project has finished, J. W. will step out of
the process and trust the board to make the decisions on its use. Eric is
asking our members, Chapters, and Divisions, to contribute to both the
general treasury of the affiliate and to the75 to Convention Fund. Eric
assured us that he does his best to do that which he is asking others to do.
It is important that we support our organization so that those we are also
asking to support us see that we do believe in what we are doing. Barbara
and Bob Pierce wrote a $75 check today to join Eric's in that fund.
18. Deborah gave a report from the scholarship committee. There are
three winners this year. Deborah gave their names, schools, majors, and a
bit of personal information about each. Detailed information appears in the
fall issue of the Buckeye Bulletin. Each of the winners will be invited to
the state convention as our guest.
19. Wanda Sloan gave a brief report from the Diabetes Action
Network, DAN. They have a small treasury from pen sales.
20. Barb gave a brief report from the seniors division. They are
selling pins that say "seniors in charge." These are blue with gold letters
and cost $5 each.
21. Springfield chapter will be holding an informational meeting on
October 11 starting at 1:00 p.m., at the Clark County Public Library. This
chapter would like to produce an NFB of Ohio brochure and are asking other
chapters and divisions to consider contributing toward the cost of this
project. The promotions and publicity committee, chaired by Deborah, should
start working on this after the state convention.
22. Barbara spoke about her life as a blind person to the people at
the retirement community of Pat Eschbach. For this effort Barbara was given
$50, which she contributed to the affiliate treasury. Barbara took with her
information on our vehicle donation program. This reached a ninety-year-old
lady who is now donating her car to the program at the end of this month.
Richard is the chair of the vehicle donation committee.
23. We need to look for ways to raise money for our treasury that
are outside of our own membership. We need to bring in the public to spend
their money. Eric has spoken with Fred Schroeder from Virginia. Virginia had
Art Schreiber, a retired news reporter from New Mexico, speak at their
convention on his experiences traveling with the Beatles on their first
American tour, fifty years ago. Fred said their state did not use this as a
fundraiser, but a lot of people came to hear Art, so he wishes they had made
it a fundraiser. In July a special meeting of the board of directors was
held, and they voted to bring Art to our convention to present his
experiences on the Beatles tour as a fundraiser. Richard presented the idea
of holding a silent auction. In the past we have had an auction after the
Saturday evening banquet. This pulled funds from our members, but people
were not coming in from outside the organization to bid on items. Now we
want to combine these two events. We plan to have Art speak and a band play,
and repeat these two segments in approximately fifteen-minute segments. The
auction will take place at half time. The success of this fundraiser will
depend upon all of us and how well we get sponsors, get quality auction
items, and get people to come to the event. Corporations want to receive
something for their money, so we are giving them advertising in our program,
opportunity to get some free tickets as well as purchase tickets at a
discounted price, and the possibility of addressing the convention should
they choose. This year is a starting point for our affiliate, and in the
future we can and will build upon the contacts that are made. Large
corporations may have an advertising department, and we should attempt to
make a contact within. Small businesses usually do not have a specific
department for advertising. We all need to remember that we have to start
where we are and not where we wish we were. Focus on the present and move
forward. Shelbi read the first flier that was produced, asking for
sponsorships. Bob Pierce read a second flier that has been produced,
"Sponsor Now." These two fliers should be used together. The deadline for
advertising in the program is October 24, but we will always accept money
into the affiliate treasury. The band will cost $2,200. The decision to
contract with the band was not voted on by the board but was an executive
decision made by the president. The program needs to be named, so email your
suggestions to Eric by Monday, September 22. The evening will start at 7:30
p.m. There will be a cash bar. The auction will be outside the room that has
the band and Art in it. There was some discussion of places that people had
contacted for sponsorship and places that should be contacted. All of us
should push ourselves beyond our personal comfort zone in an effort to make
this evening a success.
24. Shelbi will keep a list of donations for the silent auction.
Email this information to her at shelbiah1 at gmail.com. Each chapter should
contribute at least one item for the auction.
25. The convention agenda schedule needs to be changed from what it
has been for the past several years. The only Friday evening activity
scheduled will be the fundraiser. The committees and divisions that have met
at that time will need to hold their meetings on Friday afternoon.
Counsellors from BSVI are going to be required to attend either our
convention or the ACB convention. If we believe that the counsellors need to
hear from and see blind people in action, some time needs to be devoted to
providing interesting materials to them. There has been some interest in
finding out about jobs that blind people are doing besides call center work.
We will hear from BSVI director Mindy Duncan and OOD director Kevin Miller.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions. We need to find a measurable
means of holding the agency accountable for its performance. Deborah moved
that we hold our convention board meeting on Thursday evening to allow for
easier scheduling of the convention session and committee and division
meetings on Friday. Shelbi seconded the motion. It passed with one no vote
from Barb Fohl.
26. Convention registration online is up and ready for use. Event
Spot is being used this year. It will allow you to register more than one
person at a time and pay for everything. If registering more than one
person, just click on the Guest Button. The options for payment are PayPal,
credit card, or check. Costs are preregistration $15, or $25; banquet $30 or
$35. The block of rooms will be released October 4.
27. Sunday morning there will be a leadership breakfast. Board
members, presidents of chapters and divisions, and treasurers of both are
invited to attend. The cost of the breakfast is $13, and the money should be
sent to Sherry Ruth.
28. The student division held its drawing. It will be contributing
$128.50 to the 2015 BELL program. Winners are -
$10 Bob Evans - Kaiti Shelton
$10 Panera Bread - Tim Pennington
$10 Chipotle - Debbie Baker
$10 Donato's Pizza - Deanna Lewis
$10 Starbucks - Sherry Ruth
$25 Bath and Body Works - Deborah Kendrick
$25 iTunes - Tim Pennington
$10 Bob Evans - Crystal McClain
$10 Papa John's Pizza - Emily Pennington
$20 Wendy's - Crystal McClain
$25 Macaroni Grill - Susan Day
$25 KayMart - Deborah Kendrick
$25 Amazon - Sheri Albers
$25 Amazon - Barb Fohl
$25 Darden Restaurants - Megan Sheath
$40 Target - Paul Dressell.
29. The meeting adjourned at 3:18 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Shelbi Hindel
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