KCB Board Meeting – November, 2013
The monthly meeting of the Kentucky Council of the Blind Board of Directors was held via conference call on Monday, November 18, 2013. President Deb Lewis called the meeting to order at 8:07 PM eastern time. Members present were Deb Lewis, Deb Trevino, Joey Couch, Rick Boggess, Carla Ruschival, Bill Deatherage, Patti Cox, Debbie Deatherage, “Cisco” Slusher, Adam Ruschival and Gerry Slusher. Members Frances Gregory, Vurah Berry, Donnie Parrett and Bill Wright were unable to attend. Guest Elaine Weisbard was also present.
President Deb Lewis called for reading of the minutes from the October 21 meeting. Since a copy had been e-mailed to board members prior to the meeting, she asked if anyone needed the minutes read. “Cisco” Slusher moved to dispense with the reading of the minutes and for their approval. Joey Couch seconded the motion which was unanimously approved.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Carla Ruschival presented the treasurer’s report for the period ending October 31. Rick Boggess made a motion to approve the treasurer’s report. Joey Couch seconded the motion which was unanimously approved by the board.
Chapter Reports
Carla Ruschival made a motion to dispense with chapter reports since they will be reporting to the membership at the KCB convention this weekend. The motion was seconded by Gerry Slusher and unanimously approved by the board.
Committee Reports
Convention Committee Report: Joey Couch reported that convention planning is pretty much complete. The Nomination Committee, Awards Committee and Constitution/Bylaws Committee have completed their work.
Gerry Slusher asked if it would be appropriate for the Northern Kentucky chapter to include a bottle of wine as part of a door prize basket at the upcoming convention. The board determined that this would be inappropriate since alcoholic beverages are prohibited on state property.
In response to a question by Joey Couch, Gerry Slusher indicated that the Northern Kentucky chapter will be selling “split the pot” tickets at the convention.
Rick Boggess inquired about how conference preregistration is progressing. Carla Ruschival indicated that it is about average. Carla also reported that the dorm might not be quite as crowded since several people from Louisville will not be staying in the dorm this time.
Nominating Committee Report: Committee Chair, Bill Wright, was not present at the meeting. Carla Ruschival reported that the committee’s report was mailed with convention registration materials. Joey Couch also pointed out that the report is posted on the website. It was also noted that the Constitution/Bylaws committee report was mailed with convention materials and is also posted on the website.
Awards Committee Report: Deanna Scoggins chaired the Awards Committee. Since she was not present, “Cisco” Slusher and Carla Ruschival reported that awards will be given to Terri Meyer and Michael Cleveland. It should be noted that Deanna checked in briefly just after the report had been presented.
Crossroads: President Deb Lewis reported that the Crossroads Planning committee held its most recent meeting on October 28. The committee now has lots of good ideas and is beginning to look for speakers. Arrangements with the hotel have been finalized. The Louisville Downtown Lions Club has committed to being a $2000 conference sponsor. This will insure that the registration fee will remain the same for the upcoming conference. Carla Ruschival reminded board members that the KCB board pledged $1000 to last year’s Crossroads conference to help with overhead and to provide stipends. Carla made a motion that KCB once again pledge up to $1000 for the upcoming convention with the hope that more of the money can be used as stipends to assist members who wish to attend the conference. Joey Couch seconded the motion which was then unanimously approved.
SRC Committee Report: The SRC Committee met October 25 at the McDowell Center with KCB’s representatives Carla Ruschival and Bill Deatherage in attendance. Gerry Slusher, who will be rotating off the SRC board this year, was also present. One area for discussion was the fact that a northern Kentucky site was not included in the list of places where the Kentucky Office for the Blind will be soliciting public comments regarding its operations. It was suggested that OFB try to find a location to hold one of the hearings in northern Kentucky. Shirley Stivers is trying to locate a meeting place, so it is hoped that one will be found. At the meeting, there was also considerable discussion about the agency’s budget as they attempt to get the legislature to restore the money which was previously cut. The agency is working on a list of “talking points” so as to help insure that everyone delivers a consistent message when talking with local legislators. A meeting of the SRC subcommittee has been set for Lexington next Monday to further refine the “talking points.”
Among OFB funding concerns are the ADA Office and NFB Newsline. One idea floated was to spread Newsline funding across agencies which take advantage of its services. However, that idea has been abandoned for now. Carla pointed out that John Glisson attended an advocacy meeting on Wednesday prior to the SRC meeting during which he indicated that NFB will be asking for a $.01 or $.02 tax from phone lines. In the past KCB has opposed NFB’s attempts to collect this money since it is believed the tax would generate much more money than is required to run Newsline. Bill Deatherage and Carla Ruschival also indicated they have some questions about the accuracy of NFB’s numbers regarding the level of NFB Newsline usage. Adam Ruschival made a motion that the KCB board reaffirm its position in opposition to any efforts by NFB to collect the $.01 or $.02 phone tax in support of NFb Newsline. The motion was seconded by Patti Cox and unanimously approved by the board.
PR Committee: Rick Boggess reported the committee met on November 6. After some thought about combining the Kentucky-ACB and Kentucky-news lists, it has been decided to leave them separate since they serve different purposes. Attempts will be made to stimulate more discussion/debate on the Kentucky-ACB list. In December, Deb Lewis, Kathleen Lord and Rick Boggess will be working on a letter to accompany the mailing for membership renewal. It is hoped this might help to clarify what KCB is about, encourage new membership and help retain current members. The committee’s next meeting will be on December 4 and the January meeting will be on January 8 since January 1 is New Year’s Day. Carla informed Rick Boggess she will be sending him a 2014 calendar of events for GLCB to be included on the webpage calendar.
Old Business
No old business was brought before the board.
New Business
Legislative Seminar: Since there is very little information about the seminar and since it is pretty expensive to send someone, the board decided to postpone discussion until January when it is hoped more details will be available. Carla and Adam will be at the meeting since Carla is required to attend the ACB Board meeting as a board member and will be presenting at the President’s meeting at that time. However, Carla stated she will probably not be attending the legislative training sessions on Sunday afternoon and Monday since she has attended them any times in the past. Legislative imperatives should be out by January.
Carla Ruschival pointed out that the “Peel to Save” cards have been a good fundraiser for GLCB. She made a motion that KCB participate in the “peel to Save” fundraiser and that chapters receive the full $5 profit from any cards they sell. The motion was seconded and approved by the board. At this point, cards have been requested by the Northern KY Council and Eastern KY Christian Council. Rick Boggess has also requested cards for the Owensboro area. It is hoped that cards can be distributed at the convention and a few extras will be available.
Announcements
Carla Ruschival reported that GLCB is once again selling pecans.
Adam Ruschival informed the board that, since this is the KCB 40th convention, the Tri-State Library Users Group will be talking about KCB history at its Saturday morning meeting at the KCB convention. He encouraged people to come prepared to share memories from past conventions. Deb Lewis suggested this be posted to the list and Facebook so that people can be thinking about things they would like to share.
“Cisco” Slusher encouraged everyone to visit and “like” the NKCB Facebook page. The page can be reached by logging onto Facebook and doing a search for ”NKCB”.
Since there was no further business, Adam Ruschival moved that the meeting be adjourned. The motion was seconded by Patti Cox and the board unanimously voted to adjourn at 9:13 PM.
Submitted By Rick Boggess, KCB Secretary
Download Summary: KCBBoardMeetingNovember2013
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