KCB Board Meeting – April, 2014
The monthly meeting of the Kentucky Council of the Blind Board of Directors was held via conference call on Monday, April 21, 2014. 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, Patti Cox, Debbie Deatherage, Natalie Beyers, “Cisco” Slusher, Elaine Weisbard, Adam Ruschival, Gerry Slusher and Bill Wright. Members Donnie Parrett and Vurah Berry were absent. Guest Dave Trevino was also present.
President Deb Lewis called for reading of the minutes from the March 17 meeting. Since a copy had been e-mailed to board members prior to the meeting, she asked if anyone needed the minutes read. Gerry 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
The Board approved the treasurer’s report as presented by Treasurer Carla Ruschival. The treasurer concluded her report by pointing out that she was unable to provide current information on designated funds and the total gain/loss for the month. Bill Deatherage made a motion to approve the treasurer’s report. The motion was seconded by Elaine Weisbard and unanimously approved.
President Deb Lewis asked the board to consider the pros and cons of accepting credit cards as payment for some KCB activities. After some discussion, Deb Trevino made a motion to allow Carla Ruschival to further investigate options for allowing KCB to accept credit card transactions. The motion was seconded by Gerry Slusher and unanimously approved.
Chapter Reports
Eastern Kentucky Christian Council – Joey Couch reported that the next chapter meeting will be at 1 PM on May 10 at the Breathitt County Public Library in Jackson.
Northern Kentucky Council – Gerry Slusher reported that the chapter is planning a family trail day to coincide with National White Cane Week on the Licking River Greenway Trail in Covington from 2-4 PM on May 17. There will be educational activities, bluegrass music and the chapter will be passing out water and cookies. They also plan to participate in the Memorial Day Parade. They have applied for a grant to help offset the cost of family trail day, White Cane Day and to cover the cost of sending two members to the ACB national convention in Las Vegas. The chapter’s next online meeting will be on May 8. The number is 605-475-4700 code 155619.
Greater Louisville Council – Bill Wright reported on upcoming activities which will be held at the Kentucky School for the Blind. GLCB’s quarterly meeting, director elections and spaghetti dinner will be held from 1-30 to 8 PM on April 26. The Derby party will be on May 3 from 10:30 AM to 7:30 PM. May 9 is the date for bingo, pizza and free eye exams for guide dogs. On May 17th the Education and Technology committee will be sharing low tech games.
Tri-state Library Users Group – Carla Ruschival reported on chapter activities. The next meeting will be a dinner meeting from 6-8 PM on May 6 at Denny’s on Eastern Parkway. The conference call meeting with Judy Dixon on April 1 was very successful with about 22 participants. The next conference call will be on June 3.
Guide Dog Users of Kentucky – Deb Lewis reported that several members participated in the APH walk along the river in Riverfront Park on April 5. Free eye exams for guide dogs will be at KSB from 3 to 4:30 PM on May 9. Dogs must be preregistered by April 30 by visiting www.acvo.org or by calling 208-466-7624. The chapter will also be selling baked goods at the GLCB quarterly meeting on April 26.
Other
Owensboro Support Group Update – Rick Boggess reported that 16 people (plus visitors Carla Ruschival and Patti Cox) attended the group’s meeting on April 8. A session on the Accessible iPad for the Visually Impaired will be held from 1-3 PM on May 7 at the Western Kentucky Assistive Technology Center in Owensboro. Call Rick Boggess at 270-684-4418 to register by May 2. The next regular meeting for the group will be from 1-3 PM on May 13.
Committees
Crossroads Conference – Deb Lewis stated that 68 people registered to attend the Crossroads conference during the weekend of March 21-23 in Louisville. A review of the conference was very positive and it is hoped that the conference can be held again next year.
PR/Membership – Rick Boggess reported that the PR/Membership committee met via conference call on April 2. The group decided to attempt to contact the disability offices on each of the campuses in the Kentucky Community Technical College System. Using information found on their webpage, Rick Boggess has assigned contacts to committee members. In addition, the committee shared ideas for the upcoming newsletter. Rick Boggess and Carla Ruschival are using a shared dropbox folder to work on the newsletter. This allows updating and editing in real time which eliminates the need to email files back and forth.
Old Business
None.
New Business
President Deb Lewis and Carla Ruschival talked about the need to put board minutes on our webpage. After some discussion, Carla Ruschival made a motion that each month’s minutes and an accompanying board summary be prepared with the board summary being posted on the website and that summaries of any historical minutes beginning in January 2014 be prepared for posting on the website. Patti Cox seconded the motion which was unanimously approved by the board.
President Deb Lewis pointed out that the treasurer’s report now includes designated funds for three chapters. The board then discussed whether the treasurer’s monthly report to the board should include one total showing the amount designated for chapters combined or include each chapter’s total. Since each chapter will be receiving a monthly report outlining the amount of funds designated to them, the board agreed that only the total amount of designated funds needs to be reported.
President Deb Lewis reminded the board that the July convention in Las Vegas is approaching and that no decision has been made as to whether or not a stipend will be provided to those planning to attend. Bill Wright made a motion that KCB offer a $150 stipend to anyone who is a KCB member by June 1 with the stipulation that convention attendees be required to attend either the opening session on Sunday night or closing session on Friday plus two other sessions to be eligible to receive the stipend. The motion was seconded by Adam Ruschival. After some discussion, Carla Ruschival asked Bill Wright if he would accept an amendment stating that attendees would attend either the Sunday night and one other session or Friday session plus one other session. Adam Ruschival seconded the amendment and the board unanimously approved the motion as amended.
President Deb Lewis reported that teams participating in the walk-a-thon at this summer’s convention in Las Vegas will receive 50% of the money raised in their name. Carla Ruschival made a motion that Kentucky have a team in this year’s walk and that 50% of the money raised be designated to come back to our affiliate. The motion was seconded by Patti Cox and unanimously approved. During the discussion about a team name, Carla Ruschival reminded the board that the name needs to be short and easy to remember since sponsors must type in the team name. After some discussion the board agreed that the team should be the “Kentucky Striders.” Patti Cox volunteered to be team captain.
Announcements and Adjournment
Deb Lewis reminded the board that the SRC will meet at the McDowell Center on April 25. The board voted to provide doughnuts at its March 17 meeting.
Deb Lewis once again reminded the board about free guide dog eye exams at KSB on May 9. Dogs may be registered online at www.acvo.org or by calling 208-466-7624 by April 30.
Adam Ruschival stated that the Kentucky School for the Blind 172nd Founder’s Day will be held from 12-1 PM on May 9 on the KSB campus. Carla Ruschival will be receiving the Paul J. Langan Award during that program.
Since there was no further business, Patti Cox moved that the meeting be adjourned. The motion was seconded and the board unanimously voted to adjourn at 10:01 PM.
Submitted by Rick Boggess, KCB Secretary
Download Summary: KCBBoardMeetingApril2014
