[Oabs] Looking to August

[Aleeha Dudley]

Hey Kaiti,
Here is my response, contained in the original message, below each question. 
On Jul 26, 2014, at 10:50 PM, Kaiti Shelton via Oabs <oabs at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Hi, OABS,
> 
> Thank you to Emily and Lillie Pennington for their pretty extensive
> help in getting the awards sheet started yesterday.  Granted, they had
> somewhat of an unfair advantage as they were in the same room as I was
> during the call.  Thank you also to Aleeha, who struggled against the
> cell signal at OSSB to call in.
> 
> We will need to finish the awards packet at our August meeting.
> Emily, Lillie, Aleeha, and I got through most of the preliminary
> information, however we still do have a few matters to clear up.
> Emily, Lillie, and I also got a head start on answering some of the
> short answer questions, and some of the responses we will write will
> be contingent on the answers awards chair J.W Smith has to questions
> I've sent him via email.  I found yesterday that Emily, Lillie, and
> Aleeha thought of questions which I missed when I filled in the
> information I could before the call, so I do think it is important
> that everyone has a chance to both provide their information for the
> report, as well as hear the questions and the responses we have for
> them so any potential questions can be addressed.
> 
> So everyone can think of questions for me to email to J.W ahead of
> time, and so some information can be provided in advance of our August
> meeting, I have pasted some of the awards packet questions below.
> Please take a few minutes to consider them and to provide me with an
> email addressing your answers to the questions.
> 
> Before I post the questions, I would also like to remind everyone to
> send me the information for the membership roster by midnight on Jul
> 31.  I am going out of town on the morning of August 1st, and would
> like to compile the information and send it to Eric before I lose
> access to a computer until the 11th.  The deadline to have this
> information in to Eric is August 17th, but let's just get it in early
> so we have one less thing on our plates.
> 
> Without further ado, here are the questions to consider for the awards
> packet.  I have also posted some explanatory information to help hyou
> think of specific questions in the way the awards committee has
> intended for them to be considered.
> 
> From the awards packet, explanations of 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):  3 members.
> (The three new members I have listed as joining are Elif, Joy, and
> Ryan.  Again, this is based on the people who have called in to at
> least one meeting this year).
> 
Comment: Macy called into a call and is on our mailing list, so that may be a bit of a gray area, but I’m wondering if we should count her, even though she was a presenter.

> Total number of members and non-members on your mailing list:  Members
> on list, 10.  Non-members on list, 23.  (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)
> :
> (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, 1 member.  State convention 2013, 8 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, 5 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.  2 members contributed to The Student Slate
> by serving as editors on the Slate committee in NABS.
> 
> My Comments: I was a mentor in the NABS mentoring program.
> 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? 

> 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?
> 
> My Comments: Just as a memory jog, we did not pay any money for the quilt that was donated by my grandmother.
>  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.)
> 
> 
> 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.)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 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 one of those members 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
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Oabs mailing list
> Oabs at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/oabs_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Oabs:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/oabs_nfbnet.org/blindcowgirl1993%40gmail.com