President David Anspach brought the meeting to order. Chuck Huber led everyone in the flag salute. Role call was taken; 16 members were present.
Kim Smith read aloud the meeting Minutes for February 2006. A correction needs to be made regarding Mike Lamb’s telephone number. The number should read: (727) 535-1621. A motion to accept the Minutes was made and seconded by John Carson and Grant Downey, respectively. Motion carried.
Paul Prescott gave the Treasurer’s report. Last month’s balance was $1,918.53. A deposit of $398 was made. The $50 check that was sent to the Orlando Chapter has gone through. The current balance is $2,266.53. This balance does not include twenty dollars in dues, which were recently sent in by Edward Vetere and Peter Reuter. Also, Jim Ellsworth and the Prescotts just turned in checks in the amount of 100 dollars each for their contribution towards the scholarship fund. A motion that the Treasurer’s report be accepted was made and seconded by Charlotte Bogadi and Tammy Anspach, respectively. Motion carried. Paul mentioned that a check in the amount of $78.00 was mailed to State Treasurer Tom Hartig for the Chapter’s annual dues, which came out to be 26 members’ times three dollars per member.
Janice Snow reported that she is still trying to work on getting someone to come and speak to the Chapter on hurricane preparedness. She spoke to the Red Cross Emergency management folks and they told her that they cannot pay anyone overtime to come out on a Saturday and they gave her another number to call. Janice called the number but has yet to receive a response. President Anspach commented that it sounds like she is getting the run around and others suggested that she contact Leslie Waters and City Hall. Janice replied that she had already planned on contacting them. David suggested that Janice continue to pursue the matter but to keep him apprised of the situation. Brief discussion took place amongst everyone about whether there will be a need for a hurricane preparedness speaker as everyone pretty much knows the ropes now. However, some commented that it is important to be aware of any new changes and updates with regards to flood zone areas and so forth. David mentioned that Progress Energy puts the evacuation level on their electric bills. He also mentioned to Janice that FCB (Florida council for the Blind) had someone from Sail Ability recently come and talk to their Chapter. Perhaps Janice might check into this for our Chapter if anyone is interested in sailing. According the FCB Chapter’s President, the cost is around ten dollars per person to go sailing. John Carson asked Janice if she will notify him in plenty of time about who the speaker is going to be so that he can post the information on the Pinellas Chapter web page. Janice agreed to do this. If Janice is unable to get someone from Emergency Management to come and speak on hurricane preparedness, she will try the fire department and city commissioner, as was suggested by some.
Next, John Carson gave the Webpage Committee report. The issue concerning the PO Box still stands. For those who have not seen the webpage yet, it has pretty much gone live and as of the last meeting, he believes he only had one link on the page that was live. Currently, there are eight or nine links now. He gave a brief overview of the links and contents currently found on the webpage. The meeting Minutes from January have been posted and John and Kim will work together on getting February’s Minutes. John asked if David plans on having the Board Meeting Minutes posted or not. Brief discussion took place between David and Kim with regards to how the Board meeting Minutes have been handled in the past. David mentioned that due to the failure of the cassette recorder, there are some sketchy notes of the last Board meeting Minutes. It was mentioned that perhaps now that the Chapter has a working tape recorder, future Board meeting Minutes could be posted. The conclusion is that this matter can be discussed amongst John, David, and Kim. There may be enough notes to give a general idea of what happened and that could be posted on the webpage. John reported that as far as content, just about everything is completed; the maintenance portion of this will be easy. He has the “upcoming announcements” section ready to go and as soon as he gets with Janice on who the speaker of the month is, he will update this information as needed. The only other sections he still has to work on are “links of interest” and the Constitution, which of course cannot be posted until it has been formalized. John thanked everyone on the Web Committee for checking on the webpage and making sure that there were no broken links and to look for anything that needed correcting. A couple of the members pointed out a couple of corrections, which will be posted with the February Minutes. John asked everyone to take a look at the webpage and start talking the site up. Grant Downey commented that as far as Chapter sites go, ours has one of the best layouts that he has seen. The information is easy to find and he too encouraged Chapter members to go and take a look at it. John mentioned that there are still 11 e-mail addresses available if anyone is interested in having one. He would also like to get with all of the Committee Chairpersons in order to expand on the “Committees page”. He would like to get some comments from these folks on what the Committee is about, what the Committee goals are and what is the Committee suppose to be achieving. Also, on the Committee Page, there is an acknowledgement section for Chuck Huber and his volunteering to lead the Chapter every month in the flag salute; and, to Linda Saunders for her volunteering to call everyone to remind them of upcoming Chapter meetings and special events. If there is anything wrong on the webpage, please let someone on the Web Committee know so that it may be corrected as the website is live. John also reminded everyone that the PO Box issue needs to be further discussed in some way as he already has received an e-mail inquiring as to where a donation can be sent. He has the donation page up but it does not contain an address. President Anspach commented that this topic is on his agenda. The website address is: http://www.nfb-pinellas.org
Next, John and Jim gave the Fundraising Committee report. With last month’s drawing, the fifty-fifty updated total amount was 36 dollars and the winner donated their winnings back to the Chapter. Since November, we are now up to 85 dollars. The Splash Fund total still sits at 180 dollars. Currently, the Splash Fund jar appears to be over half full by John’s estimate. There are approximately 24 flashlights remaining that can be sold. Though he doesn’t have all the information yet, John would like to discuss with Jim and the rest of the Fundraising Committee the possibility of a “meet and greet the blind” to take place at one of the local flea markets. Maybe a general donation jug could be setup, possibly print up our own pamphlets, maybe use the letter from the Letter Drive to tell people who we are and how to make a tax deductible donation and maybe the Committee can discuss gifts with flashlights with the approaching hurricane season. A Saturday could be taken with eight to ten Chapter members to do a Meet and Greet and see if some general donations can be brought in. Also, maybe get some puppy raisers out there and the Chapter could split the general donation jug with them. John has checked with the Wagon Wheel. For a table, John believes it is 15 to 30 dollars and we would have to supply our own chairs but they will basically let us go in and do anything we want. Debbie Hietala suggested checking out Saint Pete’s downtown open market that happens every Saturday. She and Southeastern Guide Dogs were just out there last week. It is free, it is set up every week, they designate areas for nonprofit organizations and it proved to be excellent exposure. John is going to get the contact information from the Hietalas. Debbie did mention that the open market only goes until it becomes too hot outside; she thinks either April or May. Jim Ellsworth talked about a walk-a-thon in the park, which was discussed at the prior Board Meeting. The Board basically decided that it would be a good idea to actually do two events; one geared around White Cane Safety and the other geared around a walk-a-thon fundraiser type of thing. David added that it was discussed that the White Cane Safety Awareness walk take place on the 14th of October and then the walk-a-thon in the park would be on the following Saturday, which would be the 21st. Jim has already bookmarked the page for the Pinellas Parks and Recreation department and he needs to find out whom to contact there. According to Bonnie, Central Park has a jogging path. Judy and Janice are going to check with their churches with regards to getting some volunteers to help out during the park event. The Board also discussed what kind of food and beverage will be offered. Several different things were discussed such as sloppy Joes, hotdogs, barbecue pork but no final decision was made. John asked Debbie for her suggestions for food. She replied that it really depends on what resources are available such as does it all have to be brought in, are there grills, do you want it prepackaged, how is it going to be served, etc. In the case of sloppy Joes, there is going to have to be some way of heating it up and some way to serve it. She feels that if we have a pavilion, the best and easiest foods are hotdogs and hamburgers along with the fixings. Jim commented that there is the matter of cost and we don’t know how many people will be there albeit walkers for the walk-a-thon, volunteers helping out, etc. Debbie suggested charging a reasonable price for the food. John suggests that a Fundraising Committee meeting take place soon and the Hietalas have been invited to attend as well. Some discussion took place on where and when the meeting will be and it was basically decided that it will take place at Mike Lamb’s house. The actual date of the meeting will be decided outside of the Chapter meeting. Bonnie had mentioned to David that Park Boulevard in Seminole Park has a good light for doing a crossing for the White Cane Safety Walk and it is only six-tenth of a mile from the park. He said we could actually combine the two events; does the white cane portion first, walk to the park and then have the event in the park. This would eliminate having to tie up two Saturdays. Many thought this was a good suggestion. Kim feels that it would still be a good idea if we could get a city official to do a proclamation at the end of the walk. David appointed Tammy as the White Cane Committee’s chairperson. He suggested that maybe she could work with the Fundraising Committee in making plans and if they need help, to reach out to the rest of the Chapter. Judy and Janice’s churches are interested in helping but they need to know the date of the event. This will be decided at the next Fundraising Committee meeting.
Discussion commenced regarding the topic of the PO Box, which during the prior meeting, the decision was made to defer this topic to the March meeting. David feels that a decision needs to be made sooner than later, even though during the prior Board meeting, a decision had been made to decide on it later. David visited the USPS website where they list a variety of post office boxes and they range anywhere from $13 to about $50 a month. Jill did some calling the day prior to the meeting and Mailboxes Etcetera and UPS store are one in the same. For a small box, the cost is $108 for a year. The post office is $50 a year for a small box. There is post office on Gande that is located near where the Carsons live and Jill is willing to go and check it a couple of times a month. Some light discussion commenced amongst the Chapter about why the Chapter needs a mailbox, verifying the cost of a mailbox, designating a street mailing address with no person’s name posted on the web page, etc. A motion that the Chapter invests in a PO Box for soliciting donations for the website and other purposes was made and seconded by John Carson and Grant Downey, respectively. Mike Lamb amended this motion that the Chapter has authorized the cost up to $50 annually for a small box at the post office and Jill Carson has volunteered to collect the mail twice a month. This was seconded by Grant Downey. The majority voted to add the amendment; one opposed. Then, there was a majority vote for funding a PO Box; one opposed. The Carson will take care of the initial cost, turn in a receipt to the Treasurer for reimbursement. It was suggested that Jill set up the mailbox at the Gateway location rather than Gande for convenience and safety reasons. Paul will e-mail John the tax exempt number.
Next topic was in regards to the Tallahassee trip. Mike informed David that morning that there are a number of appointments are setup with our local congress people. Sheryl O’Brien and Gloria Hicks will be going with Janice Snow to the various meetings. The appointments are with Senator Mike Vasano for the first time, Representative Leslie Waters, Probably one with Representative Kim Burfield and Frank Farcus who is a local Pinellas representative. Mike forwarded an e-mail to Gloria with the appointment times. Also, Gloria was to have called Janice on Thursday evening to inform her of the pickup point. The pickup location is at the Cracker Barrel at 54th and the interstate. He will contact Gloria to find out what time the pickup is so Janice will know. Mike is unable to attend the event due to his assistant having broken her foot, which has currently increased his workload. At the prior Board meeting, it was voted to give $60 for meal to the Tallahassee participants and that the participants will turn in receipts upon their return for accounting purposes. A motion that the person attending the Tallahassee conference be allowed $60 for attending and including meals and is contingent upon receipts was made and seconded by Grant Downey and Tammy Anspach, respectively. Some discussion took place with regards to how and in what form Janice would receive this amount, albeit check or cash. As she will be leaving on Tuesday, Jim offered to give her the cash out of his own pocket at that time. The vote was taken and the motion carried.
The State sent David 100 raffle tickets that need to be distributed amongst Chapter members for them to sell or buy. Members will need to turn in the stubs to David. Those who wanted tickets were to see David after the meeting. The tickets are $2 a piece, the Chapter will receive a certain portion back, the grand prize is $2006, the Chapter also receives money if we sell the winning ticket and the drawing takes place at National. Jim reminded the Chapter that the winner of the fifty-fifty drawings will receive raffle tickets instead of cash from now until the tickets have been sold. A member thought that this had been decided that it would be up to the winner as to whether they received the tickets or the money and several members agreed that it had been voted a long time back that the winner would receive the winnings in tickets rather than cash during the time of the raffle ticket sales.
SECRETARY’S NOTE: While researching the back log of the meeting minutes, I was unable to find any record where a vote had been taken on this topic. The idea was actually originated by Jim Ellsworth and brought forth to the Chapter on two different occasions, which records indicate was in June and November of 2005. No vote was taken for or against the winner receiving tickets instead of cash or the winner being given his/her choice. END OF NOTE.
Next, the upcoming State Convention was discussed. During the Board meeting, the Board had discussed giving $35 to each convention attendee, which would cover the cost of the banquet and registration. Attendees may either choose to take the money or donate it back to the Chapter. Janice announced that she had received a letter from Kathy Davis (State President) with information about the convention. The registration cost is still $10 but it seems that the banquet cost has gone up to $30.00. A motion that the Chapter pays each State Convention attendee $40 and they can either except or decline the offer was made and seconded by Mike Lamb and Janice Snow, respectively. A question was raised as to whether the new banquet cost is with regards to paying in advance or paying when one gets there. Janice replied that paid in advance the registration is $10 and banquet is $30; however, if paying at the convention, the registration goes up to $15. Some discussion took place about the Chapter paying in advance, money being given towards transportation last year, whether State will be giving Chapters some money as they did last year, etc. Mike’s motion was voted on and the motion carried. A question was asked as to what if the money has been sent but someone is unable to go. It was suggested that in that case, the individual would be responsible for paying the Chapter back the money. Paul will e-mail Tom Hartig (State Treasurer) to find out how they wish to handle the submission of registration and banquet fees for convention attendees; David will be carbon copied on this as well. Thirteen members will be attending the convention. Discussion commenced regarding transportation to the convention. Chuck Hietala recommended that a large van be rented as in past years, he has volunteered to drive and further details regarding departure time will be worked out at a later time.
Debbie Hietala gave a report regarding a case involving David Bearden (president of the Hernando/East Pasco Chapter) and his guide dog. He had been denied access to two gas station convenient stores, which is owned by the same man. David took the man to court and the case has been going on for some time. The person not only refused access for David’s dog but he stood in his way and blocked him from entering the store, which is another offense to the access law where it is not permitted to interfere with the performance of a service animal. The court deemed that the store owner would have to pay $250 fine, six month probation, has to do 25 hours at the Lighthouse; and, he was made to pay for and run an ad in the newspaper for three weeks that states the Access Law. David Bearden says that free dog tags that have the Access Law on them can be obtained and Debbie is trying to find out how to get some. Debbie also described and showed the Chapter a product called “Pup Cups” made by OOH Pet Products in New York, New York. It is a four-pack of small 4 oz. cups of water for dogs. They can be purchased in grocery stores and folks can visit the product’s website at www.pupcups.com. Tammy announced that last week, Virginia Carlisle was denied access to a Yellow Cab. Apparently, the Carlisles have had problems with the driver of the cab in the past. Virginia called Bill Peterson at Yellow Cab upon Tammy’s advice, Bill pulled the driver (cab #841) in off the streets, and had him come in the following day and explain to him why he denied service to a customer and her service animal. Also, Vedo Wesente’s wife Dawn is now back at Yellow Cab as a dispatcher in the mornings and she can be contacted if anyone encounters a problem with a driver denying access.
,The Constitution Committee met briefly the weekend prior to the Chapter meeting. It was to resolve the issue that came up during the last meeting where there was a partial sentence in Article X, Section 3. Part of a sentence was copied and pasted from a model that they were working from that ought to have been omitted and has since been revised. At this time, Kim began reading aloud the Constitution article by article and pausing in between for member comments. Regarding Article II, a member commented that they thought the correct Chapter name is Pinellas Chapter (not Pinellas County Chapter). This will need to be verified by the State. Article III Section 1, John commented that President Kathy Davis suggested he read the constitution, which was State and national, to gain an understanding about the NFB. He also read through the minutes and with regards to our Constitution, he feels that the term “legally blind” means we are questioning what State and National define as being such. According to the Minutes, national has a definition of “legally blind”; however, Jim commented that they do not define this; the Federal government does. John commented that he is just questioning the terminology in the statement since State refers to it as just “blind” rather than “legally blind”. Some discussion took place regarding all this and in conclusion, it was pointed out that if State disagrees with the wording, they will of course send the Constitution back to be corrected. In lieu of the time, it was suggested that the rest of the Constitution be read all the way through and then comments be taken at the end. Jim and David noted that the term for officers and boar members should not read two years; rather, it should say one year. Due to the lack of time, Jim suggests that if anyone wishes to make any comments or changes, they may e-mail or call him at home and he will make note of them. The Constitution Committee meets to go over the changes and present them at the next meeting. A motion to adjourn the meeting was made and seconded by Jill Carson and Debbie Hietala, respectively. Motion carried; meeting adjourned.
Written and submitted by:
Kim Smith
Pinellas Chapter Secretary