KCB Board Meeting – September, 2014

The monthly meeting of the Kentucky Council of the Blind Board of Directors was held via conference call on Monday, September 15, 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, Debbie Deatherage, Gerry Slusher, Natalie Beyers, “Cisco” Slusher, Elaine Weisbard, Adam Ruschival and Bill Wright. Members Patti Cox, Vurah Berry and Donnie Parrett were absent. Visitors were Dave Trevino and Bill Roberts.

President Deb Lewis called for reading the August 18 board meeting minutes and summary. Since a copy had been e-mailed to board members prior to the meeting, she asked if anyone needed the minutes or summary read. Gerry Slusher made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes and summary and for their approval. Bill Deatherage seconded the motion which was unanimously approved.

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer Carla Ruschival presented her report for August. Elaine Weisbard made a motion to aprove the treasurer’s report. The motion was seconded by Bill Deatherage and unanimously approved.

Chapter Reports

Eastern Kentucky Christian Council – Joey Couch reported the chapter had a nice turn out at its August 23 meeting. The chapter will soon begin planning for its Christmas dinner. The next meeting will be held on September 27 at the Breathitt County Library in Jackson. A representative from Reading Eye will share information about their expansion into the area, answer questions and assist with completing applications.

Northern Kentucky Council – Gerry Slusher reported the chapter received a $125 donation at their celebration dinner on August 21. The money was used to help offset the cost of the dinner. The chapter is investigating the cost of renting a van to bring people to the KCB convention in November. They are also looking at purchasing t-shirts to advertise their chapter. Plans are being finalized for White Cane Safety Day which will be held at the fire station at Robinson Scott. The activity will be similar to last year’s and will include some technology demonstrations.

Greater Louisville Council – Bill Wright reported that the chapter continues to be quite busy. It will be holding its quarterly meeting from 2-7 on September 20. On October 15 chapter members will participate in White Cane Safety Day from 11:30 to 1 at Fourth Street Live in downtown Louisville. Several members participated in bingo on September 12 and traveled to Appleby’s for a dine out in August.

Tri-state Library Users Group – Adam Ruschival reported the group had a dine out and business meeting on September 2 at Denny’s. Their next meeting will be a conference call on October 7 at 8 PM. They are working on getting a presenter to discuss weather folklore.

Guide Dog Users of Kentucky – Deb Lewis reported the chapter had its monthly conference call meeting on August 26. They are planning a walk across the Big Four Bridge from 3-5 PM on Sunday September 28. They are also working on some ideas for the upcoming KCB Convention. The next meeting will be on the conference line on September 23 at 8 PM.

Committees

PR/Membership – Rick Boggess reported on the committee’s September 3 phone conference call. The main web page and calendar are being updated regularly. The committee has also been discussing the possibility of putting together some kits which chapters might use when doing presentations. Rick will be naming a committee to decide on kit content very shortly. Although progress on compiling the list of community college contacts has been slower than anticipated, the committee hopes to finish this project next month. Rick also reported that the newsletter should be ready to go out early next week. The committee has changed its meeting time to 8 PM EST and will have its next phone meeting on October 1. Rick Boggess also stated the committee discussed the possibility of having the Kentucky talking Book Library distribute information about Sound Prints. The committee concluded it would probably be best to contact the Talking Book Library to see if they would include information about Sound Prints including a link to the site, in their newsletter. In addition, the committee would like to explore the possibility of making Sound Prints available as a podcast. Carla Ruschival indicated that Larry Turnbull should be able to assist us with this. She did point out that we do need to get a logo done since Apple wants logos.

KCB Convention – Joey Couch reported the planning committee held its last meeting on September 4. Committee members discussed possible speakers and decided on the convention theme. Based on discussion at the committee meeting, Joey asked the board whether or not they think it is necessary to discuss a policy regarding selling food items at conventions. Carla Ruschival reported that, although we will be permitted to have a caterer bring in food for the banquet, the hotel does not permit the selling of any food items in any exhibit area or elseware. Although there is not an immediate need to consider a policy, Carla suggested that the board might want to develop a policy regarding the sell of food items at conventions.

For those who might not be aware of the convention site, President Deb Lewis indicated that the 2014 convention will be held November 21-23 at the Ramada Inn located at 1041 Zorn Avenue in Louisville. To take advantage of the discounted nightly rate of $72 (plus tax for up to four people) reservations must be made by October 31 by calling 502-897-5101. Deb pointed out that this rate includes continental breakfast. She reminded the board that it is important to mention the KCB convention when making reservations to take advantage of the discounted rate.

Old Business

President Deb Lewis provided an update to the board on its earlier decision to pay $250 to hire Larry Turnbull to help move the KCB website to Gator. Carla Ruschival stated that the cost of moving the site has increased to $300. The host Gator account has been established at a cost of $142 for three years which includes email list service. For the first time since 2002, our Dotster account was disabled due to the number of attempts (between 73 and 273 if one of the hits was from a bogus address) to download Sound Prints which included an interview with Larry Skutchan about the new low cost braille display. Sound Prints distribution continues to grow with 78 copies being mailed this week with one more subscription to be added. Carla pointed out that when we move the website, it may be necessary to purchase an additional space to house the show archives since they may be more accessible. Carla Ruschival pointed out that Larry will help us move the site into Word Press and assist with setting up email lists. Under this plan, KCB will be able to have up to 20 lists which will allow various chapters and committees to have lists. Carla made a motion that KCB spend $300 to hire Larry Turnbull to provide the technical assistance needed to move the site. The motion was seconded by Deb Trevino and unanimously approved.

New Business

President Deb Lewis reported that the Support Alliance of the Visually Impaired (SAVI) has shown significant growth in the Owensboro area and has applied to become a KCB chapter. Rick Boggess reported the group started in February 2013 with about four members and has averaged 14-17 per meeting in recent months. On September 9 group members participated in the Low Vision Fair and iDevices workshops which were sponsored by the Western Kentucky Assistive Technology Center in Owensboro. Rick reported that approximately 50 people (including some potential new members) attended. He further reported that the Support Alliance of the Visually Impaired and SAVI have been registered with the Kentucky Secretary of State and the Daviess County Clerk. In addition, copies of the constitution were sent to the board earlier and the names of 19 members, accompanied by the required payment, have also been submitted to President Deb Lewis and Treasurer Carla Ruschival. Carla Ruschival made a motion that the Kentucky Council of the Blind accept the Support Alliance of the Visually Impaired from Owensboro as a new chapter. The motion was seconded by Elaine Weisbard and unanimously approved.

Carla Ruschival pointed out that she and Brian Charlson are co-chairing this year’s holiday auction to benefit ACB radio. The auction is scheduled to be broadcast over all six ACB channels from 7-11 PM (EST) on December 7. Once again this year Clear Channel is allowing the use of their facility and phone lines for only $50. Items need to be in Minnesota by November 2 so they can be logged and placed on the website. Usually items donated fall into several categories. It is too early to tell what items might be needed. Bill Wright made a motion that KCB donate up to $100 to the ACB Holiday Auction to be spent as needed. Elaine Weisbard seconded the motion which was unanimously approved.

Carla Ruschival reported she attended the Indiana ACB convention this past weekend (September 12-14) as the board representative from the American Council of the Blind. She stated that her banquet speech emphasized the importance of working together at all levels to achieve our goals. Approximately 40 people attended the convention.

Announcements and Adjournment

Carla Ruschival reported that the ACB Board and Convention Planning Committee will meet in Dallas October 16-18 for weekend meetings. They will begin planning next year’s convention and deal with lots of other issues.

Carla Ruschival stated that ACB of Ohio will be holding its state convention in Cincinnati beginning on October 24. Hopefully, some KCB members will choose to attend. Last year some people came to our convention from Ohio. Carla will share more convention details as they become available.

Adam Ruschival made a motion that the meeting adjourn. The motion was seconded and the meeting adjourned at 9:09 PM.

Submitted by Rick Boggess, KCB Secretary

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