KCB Board Meeting – September, 2013
The monthly meeting of the Kentucky Council of the Blind Board of Directors was held via conference call on Monday, September 16, 2013. President Deb Lewis called the meeting to order at 8:05 PM eastern time. Members present were Deb Lewis, Deb Trevino, Joey Couch, Rick Boggess, Carla Ruschival, Bill Deatherage, Debbie Deatherage, “Cisco” Slusher, Adam Ruschival, Gerry Slusher and Bill Wright. Members Patti Cox, Frances Gregory, Vurah Berry and Donnie Parrett were unable to attend. Guest Elaine Weisbard was also present.
President Deb Lewis called for reading of the minutes from the August 19 meeting. Since a copy had been e-mailed to board members prior to the meeting, she asked if anyone needed the minutes read. Carla Ruschival pointed out that “the SRC vendors will have their meeting at the McDowell Center on October 26” should be changed to “the Kentucky Business Enterprises Vendors Committee will have their meeting at the McDowell Center on October 26.” “Cisco” Slusher moved to dispense with the reading of the minutes and for their approval as amended. Bill Deatherage seconded the motion which was unanimously approved.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Carla Ruschival presented the treasurer’s report for the period ending August 31. Carla indicated that the totals do not reflect the stock and mutual fund holding since she has not seen the Ameriprise statement for July. Rick Boggess asked about why the amount reported for the CD has not changed over the months. Carla reported that the money is still in the Cd which was not renewed due to concern that the money might be needed. Penalties for cashing in the CD early would exceed the interest being earned given the current CD rates. Deb Lewis inquired about the current price of the GE stock. Carla reported that the stock has fluctuated between $23 and $24 and is currently just over $24 a share. Jerry Slusher moved for approval of the treasurer’s report and “Cisco” Slusher seconded the motion which was unanimously approved.
Chapter Reports
Eastern Kentucky Christian Council:
Joey Couch reported that the chapter’s next meeting will be held on October 19 at 1:00. However, the meeting location has not been finalized. Joey continues to collect information related to the expansion of the Central Kentucky Reading Eye service area and the chapter will soon be setting a date for the December Christmas party.
Northern Kentucky Council: Gerry Slusher stated that the chapter is finalizing plans for the White Cane Day celebration which will be held in front of the police station. There will be media coverage of this event which will include technology demonstrations and presentations from chapter representatives. City officials, including the police and fire chiefs, will cross the street under blindfolds. A banner and flyers have been donated for the event. The chapter is also working on a Facebook page.
Greater Louisville Council: Bill Wright reported on chapter activities. The chapter had bingo last Friday night. On September 21, GLCB will have a cookout and quarterly business meeting. On the afternoon of September 25, there will be an APH tour with an opportunity to have lunch in the cafeteria beforehand. Other upcoming activities include a technology workshop on October 5, bingo on October 11 and a dine out combined with a candy factory tour on October 19. The chapter will also be participating in White Cane Day activities in downtown Louisville on October 15.
Tri-state Library Users Group: Adam Ruschival reported that a smaller number than usual attended the chapter’s meeting at Denny’s on the first Tuesday in September. Kim Charlson will participate in the chapter’s October 1 phone conference call. She will be discussing what they are doing at Perkins which goes beyond NLS requirements. The November activity will coincide with the statewide KCB convention. A list of new audio cassette books is being compiled which might be used for fundraising. As a service project, the chapter is helping provide some money to the KSB library to assist with a subscription to Audible.com which will allow them to get a couple of books monthly for download. Gerry Slusher inquired about the upcoming release of the NLS APP but no one seems to know when it will be released.
Guide Dog Users of Kentucky: Deb Lewis reported that the chapter had a meeting on the last Tuesday of August. The next activity will be a walk to a new restaurant, Southern Cuisine, on Brownsboro Road on October 12. Sharon Kret, volunteer coordinator at Guide Dogs for the Blind, will participate in the September 24 conference call at 8 PM Eastern Time to answer puppy raising questions.
Committees
Convention: Joey Couch reported that the convention committee held its first meeting on September 5. At that meeting they worked on the food list and confirmed the primary speaker. The next conference call will take place On September 19 at 7:30 PM Eastern Time. The committee will be focusing on the theme, prizes and speakers.
Nominating Committee: Bill Wright reported that the committee has not met and does not have a scheduled meeting. In response to a request for clarification on which board position will be up for election from Joey Couch, Bill indicated that the five board positions are up for election and that all four board members are eligible to seek reelection. Bill encouraged everyone interested in being nominated for the five board positions (including current board members) to contact him by phone or via email at bww0912@gmail.com. In response to an inquiry from “Cisco” Slusher, it was noted that he has been serving out some else’s term and is now eligible to seek a full two-year term.
PR & Membership Committee: Rick Boggess indicated that the committee has not yet met but that he is currently attempting to set up a meeting. “Cisco” and Gerry Slusher pointed out that Kathleen Lord is in the hospital and does not have email. Deb Lewis will notify Rick regarding the best way to contact her.
Resolution and Constitution Committee: Adam Ruschival indicated the committee has not met yet. Adam stated that it might be necessary to look at constitutions from the chapters due to current efforts to secure 501c(3) approval from the IRS.
Crossroads: President Deb Lewis reported that planning has begun for the next Crossroads conference which will be held March 21-23, 2014. Room rates are the same as last year. Patti Cox is planning for the food. The next meeting will be held September 23 on the conference line at 9 PM eastern time. She encouraged everyone to contact committee members with ideas for conference topics or speakers.
Old Business
SRC: President Deb Lewis indicated she had talked with Steve Deeley about getting a copy of the McDowell Center’s food contract. Although he was unwilling to share the contract due to possible privacy concerns, he indicated that people wishing to purchase meals on SRC board meeting dates should get that information to him before noon on the Wednesday prior to the meeting and he will request an adjustment in the number of meals needed from the vendor.
Sound Prints: Carla Ruschival reported that 46 copies of Sound Prints are now being mailed and approximately 200 downloads are occurring each week. Dave and Deb Trevino have agreed to help with editing the program which will be helpful in getting the program out on time. The program is uploaded on Friday morning and CD copies are mailed on Friday afternoon. Carla shared information about one particular request for Sound Prints and other KCB materials from someone who appears not to have any ties with Kentucky, KCB or ACB which seem to be quite demanding and unreasonable. After considerable discussion, the Board concluded that emails from the person in question should be ignored especially since that individual obviously has the ability to download Sound Prints if desired. If similar request persist or increase, there may be a need to establish guidelines for distribution of Sound Prints and other materials.
Bill Deatherage raised some concern about the inconsistency in sound quality, especially when Sound Prints is downloaded from the KCB website. After considerable discussion about the problem, Carla indicated that she runs “normalization” when burning the CD copies. However, she indicated that the process is run after the program has been uploaded to the website. Therefore, she indicated that she might try reversing the process to see if this resolves the problem. In response to a question posed by Joey Couch, Carla Ruschival and Deb Trevino indicated that changing the “normalization” process will not cause delays in distribution.
In response to a question from Carla Ruschival, board members responded positively to the fact that separate files for the various programs segments are burned to the CD. This makes navigation much easier and appears to have resolved some apparent technical issues where CDs would stop playing after about 30 minutes.
Carla reported that a time has been set aside to allow people to call in to Sound Prints with comments and questions which will be recorded and incorporated into the program. While the calls will be used as “fillers”, those which are time sensitive will be incorporated appropriately.
New Business
Adam Ruschival reported that the Clifton Neighborhood Association, along with some other neighborhood associations and local businesses, will be celebrating the one year anniversary of the completion of the Brownsboro Road sidewalk from 10-12 on September 28. Several members (including Bill Wright, Adam Ruschival and Carla Ruschival) will be unable to attend this activity which is being sponsored by Louisville Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh. The center of activity will be in the area around Kroger and McDonalds and participants will be encouraged to walk the “Mayor’s Mile” and engage in other fun activities. Anyone wishing to participate or who has questions might call Cassandra Bulin. Adam encouraged KCB members to work together to insure there is a good turn out to show support.
President Deb Lewis cited a situation in which she was taken to look at a workshop style facility with poor working conditions, disregard for independent travel, and apparent disregard for guide dog laws. During the discussion which followed, Carla Ruschival pointed out that rehab’s job is not to assist people with finding jobs but to help them obtain the skills needed for work which may, in some instances, include assistance with placement. Adam Ruschival made a motion that KCB’s representatives on the SRC contact Allison Flanagan to discuss concerns in which counselors may be attempting to place clients in positions which are totally unrelated to their stated vocational goals. Carla Ruschival pointed out that, in order to be effective, they might need to be able to discuss Deb Lewis’s specific situation. Deb Lewis agreed that she had no problem with her specific situation being cited should the need arise. The motioned was seconded by Debbie Deatherage and unanimously approved.
Announcements
Since there were no announcements and no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:54 PM.
Submitted By Rick Boggess, KCB Secretary
Download Summary: KCBBoardMeetingSeptember2013
