[Oabs] Fwd: awards packet
Lillie Pennington
lilliepennington at fuse.net
Sat Aug 16 02:10:29 UTC 2014
Kaiti,
I'm reading through the info again. In Febuary was when we had Macey speak
on LCB, and Mary spoke in April, not May. March was a business call. Not
sure if that was needed, but thought I'd point it out.
Also, the suicide council thing is kind of on the fence right now. I
received an email for a second interview where I will meet the advisors,
current council members, and other applicants, which is a good sign.
Unfortunately, I cannot attend this meeting because I will be in Baltimore.
I am not sure if I will find out my status before we submit the info to
J.W., and I am not sure just this one piece of info is worth holding the
packet back before we submit it. I will try to see if my not being able to
attend the interview will disqualify me, in which case I will let you know
so you can take that off the sheet. If I do not know my acceptance before
the packet is submitted, do we want to change that somehow, or leave it? I'm
up for anything, just want to make sure we aren't docked for
miscommunications if the awards committee wanted to know more about
something for some reason.
Sorry for putting these above, didn't want to clutter the awards packet.
-----Original Message-----
From: Oabs [mailto:oabs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti Shelton via
Oabs
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2014 9:48 PM
To: Ohio Association of Blind Students list
Subject: [Oabs] Fwd: awards packet
Hi, OABSters,
Here is the most recent copy of the awards packet, revised primarily to
accurately represent the number of members we now have. If there are any
other corrections you see need to be made, please leave comments below the
question/answer containing the error by replying to this message and
inserting your comment where applicable. Aleeha has some comments on the
form, so you can use her commentary as examples.
Thanks all, especially to those who just stuck it out through a nearly
2 hour long meeting, in which we sorted out a lot of the lingering business
from July, and planned for convention in October. It was a very productive
meeting, and although I know it was way longer than usual, it was a good
one. I really appreciate that kind of dedication to this division, and to
the NFB in general. Keep up the good work.
One quick side note before getting into the awards information. Thank you
to those who provided me with roster information before the deadline. If
you have not done this, please respond to the email I will send you within
the hour requesting this information. It is vitally important to the
affiliate that we get an accurate count of who is involved in our division,
and for this year you are considered a member if you are on the list serve
and have come to at least one meeting. I will appreciate your cooperation
in providing this valuable feedback to the affiliate board, as will the
board members who will use the information to gain a better sense of how the
affiliate is growing. Now, onto the awards packet.
>From the awards packet---explanations for short answer questions:
> Question 2 may puzzle some readers. The committee is not interested in
> the civic activities of chapter or division members or the group as a
> whole if they have nothing to do with educating the public about the
> capacities of blind people or furthering the goals of the National
> Federation of the Blind of Ohio. For example, prevention-of-blindness
> projects are valuable civic activities, but they do not, as a matter
> of course, fall into the interests of the NFB; we work to help blind
> people function effectively rather than to prevent blindness. On the
> other hand, if chapter members took part in a political campaign
> because a candidate indicated interest in an NFB-sponsored piece of
> legislation, this is noteworthy, not only because we are making
> valuable friends through this effort, but because we are educating
> other campaign workers about the abilities of blind people.
>
> Question 4 seeks to identify and to promote inter-group activity as
> well as chapter or division programs, division support for chapters,
> and assistance to other elements of the Federation.
>
> Question 5 is an effort to understand what kind of fundraising each
> chapter or division is doing and how much of the work is actually
> completed by NFB members. It is also useful to know in what ways other
> organizations and individuals are or were brought into the fundraising
> process.
>
> Question 6 seeks to measure the proportion of chapter or division
> contributions to state and national work. For example, if the chapter
> made a contribution to the state or national organization in order to
> assist in important projects, like the Washington Seminar or for
> members to attend the national convention, those contributions count
> for purposes of this question.
>
> We are now requiring all groups to answer Question 7. We should all be
> looking for the ways in which our members are becoming more
> sophisticated and experienced Federationists. This question requires
> chapter and division members to look at the larger picture. Answering
> it will increase your group's score and will help chapter and division
> leaders chart a sound course in the coming year.
>
> DIVISION GAVEL AWARD QUESTIONNAIRE 2014
>
> Division name: The Ohio Association of Blind Students
>
> Division President's name: Kaiti Shelton
>
> Current dues-paying membership: 0 Members. (Dues were waved due to
> size of membership and lack of income until this year).
> (Note, I put this disclaimer in for the time being. I have asked J.W
> how to best answer this question since until this point dues were
> waved by past presidents. If he allows us to state that we will be
> paying dues now that we have the capability to with our bank account,
> and that we intend to make back payments for last year, it might help
> our case for earning the most improved division award).
>
> Membership last year: 7 Members.
> (There was some dispute over who we consider to be members. Last year
> our roster was the people who received personal emails from me as
> secretary, since we did not use the list to communicate. However,
> some of those members failed to show to any meetings, so the following
> members are currently considered members because they showed to at
> least one meeting. Myself, Aleeha, Emily, Lillie, Amber, Kyle Conley,
> and Abby).
>
> Number of new members joining this year: (worth 1 pt. each): 5 members.
> (The five new members I have listed as joining are Elif, Joy, Macy,
> Brandon, and Ryan. Again, this is based on the people who have called
> in to at least one meeting this year).
>
> Total number of members and non-members on your mailing list: Members
> on list, 12. Non-members on list, 21. (42 total, count excluded NFB
> moderators, NABS moderators, our affiliate liaison, and Eric Duffy).
> (I have asked if this negatively impacts us in any way. As far as I
> can tell, there is no way to boot unresponsive members from the list.
> Some names I have recognized as student division members from 10 years
> ago, so I'm assumimg that they just have old addresses that they never
> took off the list).
>
>
> Before September, 2014, how many division board meetings will your
> division have conducted since September, 2013? (worth 1 pt. each): 2.
>
>
> Before September, 2014, how many membership meetings or events will
> your division have conducted since September, 2013? (worth 1 pt. each):
5.
> :
Comment, for this I am taking the following into consideration, since we did
not decide to segregate business and membership meetings till February.
December 2013, since we had Patti Chang present valuable information for
membership. January, which was the "why students are important to the
affiliate call." In February I believe we had a social call, but I will
double check with Lillie on that. In May we had Mary Fernandez speak about
legislation, and in June we held a call which was intended to serve as an
introduction to National Convention for first-time attendees. Lillie, if
you could check the minutes for February and March to confirm or deny a
membership meeting on those months, that would be great.
> (I have asked J.W if we should only count our "Membership meetings" or
> every month whether we are conducting business or membership in the
> meeting since the meetings are the crux of what we do).
>
> How many members are registered with NFB-NEWSLINE? 3 members.
> (The people included in this count are Aleeha, Lillie, and myself).
>
> How many new users have signed up this year? (worth 1 pt. each): 1 member.
> (That person is me. I know Emily is planning on signing up, and
> she'll be added when she does. If you sign up for Newsline, or are
> already signed up for Newsline, please let me know so I can adjust the
> numbers accordingly).
>
> For the Parents Division only, how many children are signed up? N.A.
>
> How many have signed up this year? N.A.
>
> How many members have purchased gift cards through the NFB Ohio Scrip
> Program? (worth 1 pt. each): 0.
>
> How many newsletters has your division circulated during this period?
> (worth 1 pt. each): 0.
>
>
>
> 1. How does your division promote the goals, philosophy, and
> activities of the National Federation of the Blind among division
> members and the general public? (worth 10 pts.) Our division promotes
> the philosophy, goals, and activities of the NFB through a variety of
> membership programs. Through our monthly calls, in which we host
> speakers and round tables on various blindness-related topics in
> addition to conducting business, members gain valuable information
> about current event in the NFB, as well as tips for living an
> independent lifestyle. Discussion of blindness-related topics is
> conducted between meetings on our list serve, and several members
> contribute regularly. All members are encouraged to become involved
> with local chapters, and 50% of the division belongs to a chapter in
> Ohio. 2 Members are on the board of their local chapter. Membership
> calls have also focused on national initiatives including the
> scholarship program, legislation of importance to the NFB, and the NFB
> training centers. Several members are also active in the Ohio
> affiliate, serving as volunteers at the BELL program, and playing
> roles in the NAPUB radio play at State Convention.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 2. Civic Activities: Aside from participating in local, state, and
> national Federation activities, in what community programs have your
> division members been involved? Examples: social or political causes,
> religious institutions, civic organizations, or student activities.
> (worth 10
> pts.)
> 2 Members have served as counselors/cabin monitors and leaders at an
> orientation and mobility camp for blind youth, sponsored by World
> Access for the Blind and Blind Vision Inc.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 3. In what forms of advocacy are your division members involved?
> (worth 10 pts.)
> 1 member is involved in a collegiate chapter of Students Against
> Destructive Decisions. 1 member is an advocate for music therapy and
> disability rights. 1 member advocates for sexual assault prevention
> and awareness. 1 member advocates for mental health and is interested
> in participating on a youth suicide prevention council (sponsored by
> Cincinnati Children's Hospital).
>
>
>
>
>
> 4. Please note this question has three parts so that we can determine
> how closely our chapters and divisions are working together and how
> much we see ourselves as part of the larger organizations at the state
> and national levels. Be sure to answer each part of this question. How
> has your division interacted with other NFB chapters or divisions
> during the past year?
> OABS has significantly boosted outreach to other student divisions in
> the surrounding area. President Kaiti Shelton has been in contact
> with Christopher Meyer, president of the Indiana Association of Blind
> Students and Jordyn Castor, President of the Michigan Association of
> Blind Students. Christopher Meyer and his division have successfully
> sponsored a membership event with the Illinois Association of Blind
> Students this summer, and Ohio and Michigan are also interested in
> collaborating on the event and meeting other student federationists
> next year. Additionally, one of our members has networked at National
> Convention, and placed Miss Shelton in contact with the president of
> the Massachusetts Association of Blind Students. Though the two
> students are not in the same region, they have started an initiative
> to act as "Sister divisions," by sharing ideas and supporting each
> other. OABS has also reached out to the parents division in Ohio to
> see if they would be interested in hosting an event together, or would
> be interested in collaborating to boost membership in both divisions
> by drawing in parents of student division members and children of
> parents division members. 3 of our members collaborated with NAPUB to
> perform last year's radio play, The Adventures of Sam Spade. The
> Cincinnati chapter has also provided some assistance to OABS while the
> division worked to establish its own bank account.
>
>
>
> A. List all activities in which your division has participated with
> another division or chapter; how many members took part in each?
> (worth 10 pts.)
> 3 members participated in the Ohio NAPUB performance of Sam Spade at
> the 2013 convention. The Cincinnati chapter provided assistance to
> OABS while the division worked to set up its own bank account. This
> assistance was for the the division as a whole, and involved
> Cincinnati setting up a subsidiary in their bank account for OABS to
> use on a temporary basis. OABS president Kaiti Shelton has also
> networked with the presidents of the Indiana Association of Blind
> Students and the Michigan Association of Blind Students in hopes of
> collaborating on a membership event next summer. The Massachusetts
> Association of Blind Students has also shown interest in acting as a
> "sister division" with Ohio, to share support, ideas, and advice from
> a different geographical region as well as a different region of NABS.
>
>
>
>
>
> B. List all state-affiliate-sponsored activities in which your
> division participated; how many members took part in each? (worth 10
> pts.)
> Bell, 2 members. State convention 2013, 9 members.
>
>
>
>
>
> C. List all events sponsored by the national organization in which
> division members have participated this year; how many took part in
> each? (worth 10 pts.) National Convention, 6 members. NFB STEM 2 U, 1
> member accepted to begin participation in early Sept 2014 through May
> 2015. 2 members wrote articles for Future Reflections and were
> published in the NabS publication, The Student Slate. 1 member
> participated as a mentee in the NABS Mentoring Program, and was also
> on the committee responsible for planning the project. 1 member
> served as a mentor in the same NABS mentoring program. 2 members
> contributed to The Student Slate by serving as editors on the Slate
committee in NABS.
>
> 5. What fundraising projects has your division engaged in during the
> past year? (worth 10 pts.) Raffle fundraiser at state convention 2013.
> Raffle fundraiser (funds going to 2015 BELL program starter fund).
>
> A. Describe the extent to which division members take responsibility
> for such projects.
> We have a fundraising committee, but there has been some difficulty in
> getting fundraising projects off the ground. Till late April we had a
> treasurer who did not uphold the responsibilities of her office, and
> our current treasurer has needed to work harder to establish a bank
> account in the midst of a fundraising endeavor. Fundraising committee
> meetings are generally well attended, however some members clearly
> take more responsibility for their contributions to the projects than
> others. Issues arise when the work is divided equally among committee
> members, and one or two people fail to follow through.
> My Comments: Do we really want to throw Abby and the fundraising committee
under the bus like that?
My response: After trying to re-word this response, I can say I'm having
trouble doing so while still answering the question honestly.
The question asks how much responsibility members have taken towards
fundraising projects, and we've definitely had some difficulties which could
have been avoided with a little more follow-through. The answer to the
question above was not intended to throw the committee under the bus, nor
was it intended to throw our past treasurer under the bus. Note that I did
not mention her by name (and most of the affiliate would be hard pressed to
even know who our current board is, let alone a treasurer we had for under
half a term since we've flown under the radar for so long). As for the
committee, most chapters and divisions in the affiliate, as well as
throughout the national organization, have hiccups in their committees and
groups like this.
I think honesty will go a long way with the awards committee, and that aside
this is more than just an awards form. This form is also my mandatory
report to the affiliate for the year. It is important to also be honest to
the affiliate board so they accurately understand how OABS has improved and
where we still have room to grow.
However, this is precisely why J.W stated that this form is best filled out
as a group. If anyone else can formulate another response which still
honestly depicts the fundraising endeavors of the division, we can certainly
add it to the table for discussion. The good thing about collaborating over
email is that the awards packet is truly a work in progress.
> B. What role did outside organizations or sighted volunteers play in
> these activities?
> We had no sighted help with these projects.
>
> 6. Funding the projects and activities of the National Federation of
> the Blind at the local, state, and national levels is vitally
> important work for all of us. Answering the following questions will
> assist the awards committee to compute the percentages of financial
> support for each division. This will enable the committee to make
> useful comparisons.
>
>
>
> A. What was your division's bank balance as of September, 2013? $
> and as of September, 2014? $
> Sept 2013, $0.00. Sept 2014, $150. (Note, this is a placeholder. I
> will put in the actual amount once we have a better idea of what it
> will be at the conclusion of the raffle fundraiser).
>
>
> B. After subtracting all expenses associated with fundraising, how
> much money has your division raised during the year ending September,
> 2014? How much money came in from all other sources during this
> period?
No expenses were incurred. (insert full bank balance from Sept 2014 here).
>
> My Comments: Just as a memory jog, we did not pay any money for the quilt
that was donated by my grandmother.
My response: Noted. I'll leave the above comment in as a reminder, along
with my answer to the question as it stands.
> C. How much money has your division contributed to the state
> affiliate during this period? How much financial assistance did your
> chapter contribute to members to attend the state convention in the
> form of grants? (worth 10 pts.)
$0. >
>
> D. How much money has your division contributed to the national
> organization during this period? How much money did your chapter
> contribute for members to attend the national convention in the form
> of grants? (worth 10 pts.) $0.
>
>
>
> 7. Take no more than two paragraphs to discuss the ways in which your
> division is a stronger part of the National Federation of the Blind
> today than it was a year ago. (worth 10 pts.)
> The Ohio Association of Blind Students has made significant progress
> over the past year. Before the affiliate convened in November of
> 2013, we had no bank account, were not using our own division list
> serve to distribute information, and were out of compliance with our
> own constitution. Within a few weeks of convention the constitution
> was revised and a board, complete with 5 officers and 2 at-large
> member positions, was established. By January 2014 all members were
> subscribed to our list serve hosted on nfbnet.org. In May, a bank
> account doing business as the Ohio Association of Blind Students was
> established at PNC bank, and OABS officially became a registered
> entity with the IRS. From what I understand OABS has been a sleepy
> division for quite some time, and it has finally come into the here
> and now.
> New paragraph: (Just wrote this, and couldn't add in a tab without my
> computer moving me to the send button).
> Our division members are very active in the Ohio affiliate. A year
> ago we did not have any members participating in local chapters, and
> now 50% of the chapter is a member of a local chapter. We also had
> 50% of our division attend this summer's National Convention in
> Orlando, and a few members serve on committees including the
> fundraising, education, the awards committee, and vehicle donation.
> Two members helped plan for BELL and have been involved in the program
> since its inception last July, and two members (one of which also
> served on the planning committee) assisted as an on-site volunteer
> this year. Though the group is still working to improve, the division
> has started to fundraise and is putting forth its best effort to give back
to the affiliate in the future.
>
>
>
> --
> Kaiti Shelton
> University of Dayton 2016.
> Music Therapy, Psychology, Philosophy
> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta
> Sigma
>
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--
Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton 2016.
Music Therapy, Psychology, Philosophy
President, Ohio Association of Blind Students Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma
--
Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton 2016.
Music Therapy, Psychology, Philosophy
President, Ohio Association of Blind Students
Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma
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