[Nfb-kzoo] Draft Meeting Minutes for April 15

[J.J. Meddaugh]

Here's the draft minutes for the April 15 meeting. IMHO, it was a very productive and well-attended meeting, with 14 people present.
If the minutes seem a bit disjointed, it's because we had a lot of sidebars, but they involved some useful ideas so were included.
Please let me know if I missed anything. Leanne, you can have this job back now.



Meeting Minutes
Kalamazoo Chapter
National Federation of the Blind of Michigan
April 15, 2010 at TGI Fridays.

Members Present:
Matt McCubbin
Christine Boone
J.J. Meddaugh
Megan Orourk
Ian Shadrick
Miles Matte
Gabe Guzman
Jan Collins
Tammy Jost
Allen Hood
Ronald Brooks
Ron Williams
Geoffrey Krause
Theresa Root

Meeting called to order at 6:45 PM.
It was determined that quorum was reached.
J.J. gave a quick introduction of the chapter and the NFB and then gave a summary of Tyler's agenda notes.
Ian wanted to talk about a possible convention in Kalamazoo. This was added to the agenda.
J.J. moved and Christine seconded to approve the agenda. The motion carried unanimously.

Food at Board Meeting
Kalamazoo is hosting state affiliate board meeting on May 22 from 11 AM to 4:30 PM downtown at the Kalamazoo Public Library. Those in attendance will pay $5 for food with the state paying for the remainder.
Caffe Casa is offering us a half sandwich with pasta salad for $7.25/person. A dessert tray can be added for an additional $1.50/persons and drinks for another $1/person. It may be better to bring in drinks from elsewhere.
Some members recommended we get coffee from Something's Brewing instead. 
Christine moved we take the Caffe Casa offer with coffee from Something's Brewing.
* Ian will check on prices of coffee from Something's Brewing. Caffe Casa charges $18/pot.
* J.J. will organize food for the meeting.

Allen Hood suggests we create a list of businesses with blind owners or managers. Others were quite receptive to the idea and proposed we explore further.

National Convention
Christine talked about national convention and explained how it was in the past.
Gabe attended in Detroit. it was a bit overwhelming.
You should reserve your room quickly if you want to go.
Call the Hilton Anatole directly at 214-761-7500.
Matt says you can preregister for convention and banquet until May 31 at nfb.org.
Some members are interested in Jernigan scholarships, and J.J. will explore if these are still available.

Allen and Jeff says we should reach out more to doctors.  There is no information being given to people, and they are told there is "nothing they can do."
This is something the chapter could work on.
Christine says she doesn't think she's seen a client who heard about the commission from their doctor.
We could check with local radio stations to see if they would air a PSA.

Skydiving
Roxanna is planning a skydiving jump, perhaps in May. Cost would be around $250.
Let Roxanna know if you are interested.

Upcoming Convention
Ian is a board member of the Mid-American Conference of Rehab teachers.
There is talk of them being the shareholder in a joint conference with AER.
Discussion of possibly bringing it to Kalamazoo for Oct/Nov 2011.
There may be good opportunities for promotion, colaberation, etc, though political reasons may prohibit this. 

Megan suggested we actually do a treasurer's report.
Current balance is $246.

We need to improve our communication system, so Megan has a call list. If she has not talked to you, then talk to her.

Commission Update
Christine filed an appeal, but no hearing was given. She has opted for an arbitrator.
There have been many BEP operators thrown out of the program, and those stands are now being operated by sighted contractors, even though there are qualified people.
RSA says the state agency is not supposed to take away licenses.
Customers don't get copies of their own Individual Plan for Employment.
Agency directors speak in an appropriate manner about consumers.
Larry Posont has requested a meeting with the governor. A secretary said we need to talk to DELEG, but we (NFBM) already did.
Skip has refused a meeting with Larry, because the subject is on appeal, but the meeting was to be about the BEP, the job posting, and MCB policies on keeping records for new hires.
What we can do: People can write to Nathaniel Lake in the governor's office to request a meeting with the NFB.
Also Contact the Drudge Report at drudge at drudgereport.com to attempt to get coverage.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
J.J. Meddaugh
Acting Secretary


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