President, Paul Edwards called the very first teleconference Board meeting to order at 2:04 PM. Membership Secretary, Sally Benjamin conducted roll call and declared a quorum with all accept Alachua, Dolly Burke, Miami Beach, Pensacola, and FCCLV present. The agenda was reviewed, a few additions were made and Doug Hall moved to adopt the modified agenda. Mike Ulrich seconded this motion and it passed. Guests; Carl McCoy, William Benjamin, and Dan and Leslie Spoone introduced themselves and were welcomed.
President Edwards then explained that in the past, FCB has adopted minutes from similar meetings (Pre or Post-Convention or Board) which are a year old. The purpose of minutes is to report on the actions taken during the last meeting so that Unfinished Business can be dealt with timely. This is the more usual approach of similar organizations in distributing and approving minutes. The Executive Committee proposed to adopt this approach. Jim Kracht moved acceptance of the Pre-Convention 2011 minutes as distributed and Doug Hall seconded. The motion carried. Doug Hall moved acceptance of the Post-Convention 2011 minutes and Lorain Clements seconded and this motion too, carried.
Treasurer, Linda Jacobson then gave her report which is a part of these minutes. Patricia Lipovski moved for acceptance of the Treasurer’s report. Mike Ulrich seconded and the motion carried.
Committee reports followed.
Access and Public Education – Doug Hall and Debbie Grubb reported on work done jointly by these committees and legislative aid to Dewayne Taylor, Shanae` Green. Recommendations have been gathered on the Pedestrian Safety legislation that Representative Taylor has promised to reintroduce to the 2012 session. Mr. Hall highlighted the legislation which will encompass all people with disabilities not just blind people and mandate better tracking of incidences for reliable statistics. Additionally, the Florida Independent Living Council have lent their support to this potential legislation. Once our committees have had an opportunity to review the actual language and bill number they will distribute talking points to chapters and encourage everyone to make an effort to approach their elected officials or their next in command to urge support of this bill. Ms. Grubb is still trying to gather information and direction about global distribution of the White Cane public service announcements (PSAs). We will be having both the 30 and 60 second sound and written versions uploaded onto our website and available for members to disseminate themselves. Ms. Grubb who also chairs the Environmental Access committee of ACB further stated that the Pedestrian Safety Handbook, coordinated by that committee will be available soon. It is a web based book, very inclusive with sections dedicated to many different aspects of this complex subject from advocating to modern signalized intersections to technical regulations. Many knowledgeable people have contributed to this book and it promises to be a valuable resource. Sila Miller moved for acceptance of the joint report of the Access and Public Education committees. Sally Benjamin seconded and the motion carried.
Executive – Paul Edwards reported that the members of this committee have met as a whole and individually with other committees in an effort to determine the best way to move FCB forward. Minutes from this committee are shared on the website and email discussion list as soon as they are approved in an effort to keep members informed and involved. Wanda Stokley moved for acceptance of this report, Mike Ulrich seconded and the motion carried.
Project Insight – Debbie Drylie said the manual has been revised and will be ready for distribution to Peer Counselors at the November Board meeting. The Coordinator takes between 30 – 50 calls per month, some of which are also inquiries about FCB. The committee will be examining different ways to get the word out that the Project Insight resource is available some of which include, a better presence on the web and submitting articles to the White Cane Bulletin. Wanda Stokley moved for acceptance of this report, Sheila Young seconded and it carried.
Archives – John Richards shared information about a fund raiser project (history book) the committee is compiling. He reminded representatives to submit their chapter minutes and treasurer’s reports as well as other memorable items for safekeeping in the archives. Mr. Edwards clarified that quarterly submission of minutes and financial reports is mandated by law. Jim Warth moved to accept this report, Lorrain Clements seconded and the motion passed.
Convention – Sila and Robert Miller provided clarification about the site and dates for the upcoming Board meeting and details of the master rooming list. Robert will share further information about the hotel layout, restaurant menus, para-transit contact information and nearby businesses. Barbara Brown moved to accept this report, Wanda Stokley seconded and the motion carried.
Technology – Robert Miller outlined progress made in working with accessibility of the PeopleFirst website. He has ask for input from others and feels positive that FCB has made a difference with Department of Management Services in this area. This is reason for celebration. More work remains to be done with other state agencies and the internal applications they are using. The committee is working closely with the Archives committee to assist them in using the most appropriate file formats to get the maximum amount of data onto the CD while still making it accessible to the majority. Barbara Brown moved and Doug Hall seconded acceptance of the report and the motion carried.
Budget and Finance – Linda Jacobson and Robert Miller provided information and proposed financial amendments in an attempt to meet the mandate from the June Business meeting to save FCB $15,000. As a result of actions already taken, FCB has realized $6,954.80 in income. The outlined cuts would result in an approximate savings of $11,697. Ms. Jacobson said our tax exemption expires at the end of October. She is hopeful that new certificates will be ready for distribution at the Board meeting. William Benjamin is coordinating another golf tournament and is studying under Margarine Beaman who works on the national level securing sponsorships and has raised approximately $80,000 for them over the last year. Mr. Edwards intends to form a fundraising committee separate from the Budget and Finance but with representation on that committee. He does not foresee any associated expense to FCB but vowed if there were, he would personally pay it. Mr. & Mrs. Spoone volunteered their assistance on the fundraising committee as well
Ms. Grubb moved that we temporarily suspend the rules of our bylaws that govern reimbursement for travel and per diem, in order to allow the Board to do its pleasure and will, regarding the recommendations that have been brought before it. Sila Miller seconded and the motion carried. Ms. Jacobson then moved that per diem be totally eliminated for the November, 2011 Board meeting. Debbie Grubb seconded this motion and it too carried. Jim Warth moved to only pay for one night’s hotel stay for officers and committee chairs during the November, 2011 Board meeting. Ms. Jacobson seconded the motion and it also carried.
Comments about the first teleconference were generally positive. A recording of the meeting will be available and Sally Benjamin will insure those who want a copy get one.
Unfinished Business: Jim Warth moved that a membership charter be issued to the Greater Orlando Council of the Blind reflecting their new name. Jim Kracht seconded and the motion carried.
New Business:
Dan & Leslie Spoone announced that they will be donating $1,500 to cover the cost of bringing scholarship winners to the 2012 convention. They were exuberantly thanked for this generous gift!
Mike Taylor made a motion which Debbie Drylie seconded to adjourn. There was no opposition and the meeting ended at 5:08 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted:
Sila Miller
General Account balance as of 9/20/11 $37,485.91
DHSMV Account balance as of 9/20/11 $11,886.90
Merill Lynch (Investment) Account balance as of 8/31/11 $283,677.81
The DHSMV account received $1,100 in July and $1,200 in August.
• Doug and Debbie Grubb – Analyze pedestrian legislation as soon as it is available and get paper with Bill number and talking points out to chapter representatives
• Debbie Drylie – Review updated Project Insight manual and insure it is distributed to Peer Counselors at Nov. Board meeting
• Debbie Drylie – write articles for WCB about Project Insight
• John Richards – Have fundraising history book available for sale at 2012 convention
• All Representatives – submit chapter/affiliate minutes and treasurer’s reports on a quarterly basis as well as other memorable items for Archives
• Robert – Send information to FCB email discussion list about the hotel layout, restaurant menus, para-transit contact information and nearby businesses
• Linda and Sally – Insure chapters/affiliates receive the new tax exemption certificate as soon as it is available
• Paul – Form Fundraising committee and advise Board
• Linda – check with Andy regarding the status of FCBES
• Sally – Insure anyone requesting a copy of the recording of the meeting gets one
• Sally – issue a charter to GOCB which reflects date when name was changed
• Sila – Draft minutes and insure they are distributed