David Anspach opened the meeting. Janice Snow led us in the pledge to the flag. Roll call with 20 audibly present. John Carson introduced his new guide dog, Sweet Pea. Our guest Mike Gallagher from Guide Dog Foundation has been working with John and Sweet Pea and he spoke about his many duties at the foundation and about their multiple programs. Melissa Johnson read March 17, 2007 minutes. A motion the minutes be accepted was made by John Carson and seconded by Janice Snow. The motion was carried. Scott Carlyle read the Treasurers report. The beginning balance was $1,337.04. There is $1,100.00 in the Jill Carson fund. There is another $135.00 to go into it. There will be a deposit made of $75.00 from the Yard Sale. There are outstanding checks totaling $1,92.89. Our available balance is now $1,144.15 as of that day. It was discussed as to how the funds from the Jill Carson Fund will be handled. A motion the minutes be accepted was made by Melissa Johnson and seconded by Janice Snow. The motion was carried. John Carson made a motion that a check be written for $75.00 as our contribution to the Affiliate on behalf of our fund raising benefits. The motion was seconded by Mike Lamb. The motion was carried. Our guest Sayad Betric from Visual Cortex Concepts spoke about his business and told his story of how he became blind. He is originally from Bosnia ans was wounded during the Bosnian War when he was 14. He introduced his guest Claire and they both spoke about her role in his coming to America. He also introduced his guide dog Bubba. We have prospective members who have submitted applications. Henri Oliu was unanimously voted in. Sayad Betric was unanimously voted in. Mike Lamb reported on the Outreach Committee. Immediate issues are getting recognition for the picnic in October. We received a letter from Richard Salem saying his schedule did not allow for him to be at the convention. He will attend Richard’s seminars when he is in the area. Melissa read a letter from the Governor’s office. The Governor is unable to add this to his schedule at this time as it is too soon to commit. They will keep the invitation on file for the future. Mike is going to stay on top of it. Janice Snow gave the Sunshine Committee report and the Expanding Horizons Committee report. She has a speaker and a back up for June. She is planning on contacting Mike Gallagher and his wife about being a speaker too. John Carson gave the Web Site Committee and Fund Raising Committee reports. There will be a meeting of the Fund Raising Committee on April 28 from 2-4. They need to start discussing the Casino Night fund raiser. We’ve had an average of 308 hits a month this year. Last year we had an average of 274 a month. Traffic is starting to increase on our web site. He will be working on it over the weekend. We have a couple of Corporate Sponsors. He went over what our Corporate Sponsors can expect for their sponsorship. Our domain service has been increased to include 50 email addresses and only about 12 are being used. If you want an NFB email address let John know.
Tammy and Janice told us about their trip to Tallahassee. It was a fast and furious schedule and there were problems with pick ups and transportation. They went to the Capital Building. Most of the Legislative Offices were extremely receptive to the four issues that were brought to them. Those issues included strengthening the White Cane Safety Laws, making it mandatory that students in the school system be taught Braille, the voting issues and web accessibility issues. They both got the impression that a lot of the Legislators had never heard about web accessibility issues. They learned that Representative Christman is a very strong advocate about pedestrian safety and rights and has introduced a Bill to increase fines for those not obeying the White Cane Safety Law. They saw Legislative Aides for two of the Senators. They suggested that scheduling next year be half an hour in between meetings. A few Senators including Christman and Long want to come speak to our Chapter. It was a successful and worthwhile trip.
Dave talked about the State Convention. He received an email from Gloria stating that we will be receiving $300.00 from the State Affiliate to assist us in our needs for the State Convention. He took a count so that he may report back to Gloria. There was a hand count of 18. We will divide the money up between the 18 members going. Mike made a motion that first $300.00 be used to give each member $20.00 and the balance will be paid by the chapter to use as they see fit providing that they are registered for the convention otherwise the money is to be refunded. The motion was seconded by Melissa. The motion was carried.
Dave went over the polo shirt order. John will be taking orders until 6:00 Sunday. Every chapter member will be given half of the cost for the first shirt ordered ($7.50). Members will pay for the cost of the other half ($7.50) and full price ($15.00) for each shirt ordered after that. Scott will be paying for the order up front and each member will reimburse the treasury at the next meeting.
Reminders of the Chapter meetings was discussed. Mike said all members know when the meetings are held. Scott said some members like the reminders. Current information is needed for members. That can be done on the web site. (then the tape ran out)
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 3:00 by David Anspach.
Respectfully submitted
Melissa Johnson
Pinellas Chapter Secretary