NEWS YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE
The Stylus
The American Council of the Blind
of
Oregon
(ACBO)
4th Quarter Newsletter
December 2021
——- Presidential Ponderings
By: Carrie Muth
I would like to thank all of you who made my 1st term as your President so memorable & positive. The past 2 years have been crazy with the Covid pandemic; ACB of Oregon has done well. Most of our chapters made adjustments & met over Zoom or the conference line & several have begun to meet in-person again. Marty Sobo & Michael Babcock have totally revamped our website; it is amazing, so check it out & watch for more additions in 2022. Our Fun Squad rose to the challenge & put on 2 amazing virtual conventions. Teresa Christian, Pat Wallace, Tyanne Wilmath, Desiree Christian, & others held “Together Calls” twice weekly for over a year. Members throughout the state have worked together to encourage & support members. I am so proud of the work we have all done in 2020 & 2021. It will be interesting to see what we accomplish over the next 2 years.
What an amazing 2021 ACB of Oregon Convention. The Fun Squad did an excellent job arranging a nice mix of speakers & fun things. I learned so much with the ACB of Oregon History that Pat Schwab put together; it is so important for us to know what challenges & successes our organization has gone through.
On January 22, 2022, we had our 1st in-person Board meeting in 2 years; it was hybrid (both in-person & virtual). It was great to get together with several of you in Springfield at the location of our 2022 convention. Michael Babcock was our techy Zoom host, making it possible for several members to join us virtually. We learned a few things that will make the October convention better when running a hybrid meeting. My hope is that most of you will be able to join us in-person in October. We have a task force looking into options to help as many members as possible attend in-person that are willing & able.
Upcoming events:
- March 11-15 is the ACB Presidents’ Meeting & Legislative training. It will be hybrid this year. ACBO will cover the registration cost for members in good standing to attend the virtual sessions. If you are interested in attending & helping advocate with our legislators, please reach out to myself or Teresa Christian.
- Are you interested in getting more involved at the state level? New committees were appointed at the January board meeting. Please let me know if you are interested in serving on a committee.
My life continues to be full with my amazing grandchildren & kids. I enjoyed the Christmas season; my heart was full watching the magic & excitement in them. I look forward to seeing what 2022 has in store for my life.
Lastly, I want to thank all of you for supporting me as the ACB of Oregon President. I am looking forward to serving my 2nd term. Please contact me if you want to get more involved: Carrie Muth 541-269-1993 or carrie.muth.acbo@gmail.com.
——- Online Mind-Body Skills Group
(8 weeks)
By Deb Marinos
Do you need tools that may let you reduce your stress after this year of tension and uncertainty? You may find that getting to sleep is harder. Your motivation to exercise is down. Your tolerance for frustration & difficult tasks is less than usual. If this, is you,
I have good news for you. What you are experiencing is typical body response for all humans when we go through extended stressful times. And especially so, for those who live with so called “chronic extra challenges” like vision loss. Yet there is help to change your experience and build your ability to recover and thrive in spite of what life hands you. Join a safe, small group of people to improve your skills in using movement, writing, imagery & increase your ability to help manage the emotions for whatever life brings you.
Each week we learn & practice a new scientifically proven skill that can be done for free in about 10 minutes. And leads to you gaining healthy ways to release the inevitable stress in all our lives. Learning to express the emotions safely helps you feel better. And prevents those emotions getting stuck in your body, which can show up as anger or irritation and can actually make you sick.
The groups are 8 weekly 2-hour sessions via Zoom Video Platform (Limited to 8 people)
Skills includes Focused breathing, using movement strategies like shaking & dancing, guided imagery, unique writing exercises, drawings, active & passive meditation, bio feedback, autogenics, and more. These skills are based on published scientific research by The Center for Mind Body Medicine and Dr. James S Gordon’s years of leading groups for healing after episodes of violence and natural disasters.
When: Tuesdays, February 22nd – April 12th 2022
9:00-11:00AM Pacific Time, or 12:00-2:00PM Eastern Time
Who: Adults with sight loss or with progressive sight loss expected to lead to legal blindness Ages 18-100
People who are committed to attending each weekly sessions to explore their feeling and begin learning healthier ways to heal & thrive in the world as we know it now. This is a confidential, safe group experience and mutual respect is enforced. No one gets to lecture you on what you need do. Strong & deep emotions may come & are always OK. You do not need to talk about anything you do not wish too. However, it is important to have an intention to be invested in listening to what your body needs to heal.
Cost: Donations are accepted but not required to attend this group.
To begin process to join: Email: Deb Marinos deb@adaptabilityforlife.com to setup your pre-group interview.
About the Group Facilitator: Deb Marinos, MS is legally blind and is 64 years old. She is an experienced, licensed professional counselor in Oregon. She has also provided training & coaching for the past 30 years to electricians, people with disabilities & healthcare providers. Her experiences in a nontraditional career path allows her to be more open & -sensitive to others needs for inclusion, regardless of the uniqueness.
To learn more about the Center for Mind Body Medicine’s programs or find self-care resources: https://cmbm.org/
——- Remembering Joan Hill
By Deb Marinos, Sister
Learning technology from Joan Hill
My sister, Joan Hill, who passed on October 30, 2021, at age 82, was passionate about teaching people to become connected and functional with computer technology. She lived alone, though legally blind, for over 40 years and was independently able to run her own business, manage her finances, communication, and skills of daily living. She also spent many hours on projects for ACB of O as the membership committee chair, a board member, local chapter president and advocate for people who are blind or low vision. She believed that every person regardless of limitations had value and potential.
I remember the first state ACB convention that we attended together in Coos Bay over twenty years ago. Joan loved to be social, help others, and share stories. She found the support of others with vision loss inspiring and a source of encouragement. However, she became frustrated as in those days only braille, large print and audio cassette formats were available to ACB of O members. Computers were relatively new and the idea that emails and print documents were very accessible with a screen reader or magnification for those who cannot see, was not widely accepted. In fact, there was robust push back to providing the stylus or minutes via email as not very many people, even sighted, had access to computers. And change is often unwelcomed by those of us who are blind. Some sighted members worried that they would not be needed.
Joan was adamant to get involved to help educate about the potential and benefits of computer technology to all, blind or not. Joan saw change and new technology as a way to help people who are blind, gain employment and live full independent lives.
Where did she get her knowledge and passion for full access through computers? Joan graduated in New York City from a specialized math and science high school in the1950’s when women in mathematics was rare. She completed a master’s in computer science and Mathematics with a Teaching License, from Oregon State University after being widowed, at age 41, and raising her family. She was teacher of computer skills for fully sighted students in a private school in Klamath Falls.
In those days, even sighted folks were struggling to learn to use computer tech. Joan loved to use humor and play to get folks past their anxiety. She also geeked out in all thing’s technology. Her amazing capacity for memorization and love for finding minute errors in computer programming code prompted her to read user manuals in their entirety. For fun. I benefitted because I could just ask questions and not read the manual.
When she suddenly lost all her vision after many years of restricted vision field of view from Retinitis Pigmentosa, she attended the Oregon Commission for the Blind career and orientation center for about 6 months in 1993. She learned braille and how to access computers with speech, along with skills of daily living. She learned to get around with a white cane. She also worked two guide dogs.
She began a business as a computer teacher of the blind and other disabilities for several state Agencies.
Her skills and passion for accurate details was apparent in her volunteer work on ACB of O by law changes or on the membership database lists. She was connected to many resources of information about many topics, including blindness. She taught JAWS, Openbook, Magic and Zoomtext on a PC. She also loved her victor reader stream and wore out her Braille Apex Notetaker. To hear better she used Phonak hearing aids with a remote microphone unit called a Roger pen. And in large rooms she used a FM assistive hearing device called a COMTEK.
Whenever we traveled together, the dogs would let us know when some unit was beeping a low battery alarm! It was a lot of tech to learn and to keep us functional.
Joan loved her family, friends, church, gardening – especially roses, football, chocolate and dogs. She traveled frequently by plane, to many ACB convention, FFB visions conferees and family gatherings. Her tenacity and strong will to live despite total blindness and significant hearing loss was apparent as she valiantly fought cancer for many years.
Joan had the ability to make complex tasks simpler and could adapt her teaching to fit the person’s needs. No puzzle was too hard. And joy was not optional.
Teresa’s note, Joan will be deeply missed by many people.
——- Southwestern Chapter Update
By: Cassie Trosper, Secretary Southwestern Chapter
The Southwestern Chapter has moved back to in-person meeting. We held our chapter meeting this past Saturday at the Eagles Lodge in Coos Bay, Oregon. We currently have a small group but Cassie Trosper is working on some fun incentives to encourage members to participate in our meetings. Because of the location there is no way we are able to do a hybrid meeting. The audio quality in our meetin space is very echoey. So this prevents a clear sound through the phone or zoom options.
We have also started planning our annual Christmas Party which will be held on December 11, 2021. This will be our first in-person Christmas Party in a while. So, we are hoping for a great turn out. There will be an Secret Santa Ornament Swap as well as a raffle during our party.
We did just get 2 new members during our last chapter meeting. This brings our total membership up to 40. Leonard Kokel is now accepting membership dues until our January meeting.
Other than that we are looking forward to continuing with our in-person meetings and striving to get more of our members participating in our chapter again. Covid-19 put a hold on things for a bit but now we are slowly trying to get back to some sort of normalcy. What that looks like we will continue to find out as a whole community.
——- Presidential Minds Think Alike
By Carrie Muth, ACBO President
In the November 2021 issue of the Braille Forum, ACB President Dan Spoone wrote an article on his Top 10 Pet Peeves when dealing with the sighted world. I really enjoyed his comments & thought I’d share a few stories from my life:
10. I Must Be Invisible: In Carrie’s world this translates to “Don’t trust the blind person with a straw” – I was at a restaurant in Eugene with my sister & daughter. When the server brought our drinks, she placed my diet Pepsi in front of me & proceeded to hand my daughter my straw; now the family joke is “don’t trust the blind chick with a straw”.
9. Yard Noise – It’s a pandemic. Oh, man, this drives me nuts; thanks to Covid, I work from home 99% of the time. I’ve went weeks at a time hearing lawn mowers & other equipment daily. How do we avoid that coming through during these virtual Zoom meetings & important phone calls?
8. Front Door Surprise. Deliveries. The other day the UPS guy left my guide dogs 30 pound food delivery right in front of my screen door, while I was at home. I almost had to go out the back door to move the box. It gets better, it was raining & they did not use a plastic bag & they did not knock or ring the doorbell, fortunately, I got an email alert from Chewy that my package arrived.
7 –Wet floor signs: At work I am always knocking them over. Inevitably someone has to check & make sure I’m alright; considerate, but very annoying
6.People parking across sidewalks: I am a guide dog user; we have great methods to get around by going into the street. In the rain with backed up gutters, this slows us down & gets us extra wet.
5. Doors: I totally agree with Dan, it is much easier for us to open the door ourselves. It takes more time to deal with the bumps & orientation issues when others hold the door open.
4. You’re So Amazing: Dan makes a comment about a standard for the flusher handles on toilets. This was my experience with flusher handles: Several years ago I attended an ACB of Oregon convention at a motel several Board meetings & conventions had previously been at. The women’s bathroom had 8 stalls, there were 6 different toilet/flusher handle designs. Why in the world didn’t they use the different styles in the rooms & keep the public restroom uniform?
3. Unsolicited Help and Advice – Have you ever had a friend or family member enter your home and feel it’s necessary to share with you unsolicited observations on the appearance of your home? My cobweb experience: when I was 19, I moved about 220 miles from home. The 1st time my parents visited; my Mom took a broom to knock down the cobwebs. After that, I took out the broom when they were visiting. This worked when I lived 220 miles away, not so great when I moved back to my hometown. Thanks Mom for all the cobweb removal; including by my front door. Of course, the cobwebs were great at Halloween time.
2. Ride Swapping: when your driver can’t make it & sends a substitute without telling you. Fortunately, this has not happened to me, but the frustrations of waiting 2 hours for a taxi is well known in the blindness community. More recently I had a ride lined up with paratransit only to discover the dispatcher did not enter it on the schedule. It was 2:30 & my granddaughters bus was dropping them off at my house at 3, 4 miles away. Thank you to the Executive Director at work for the emergency ride.
- Strange Conversation: I really like Dan’s comments with the co-worker lamenting about his lack of a car for the day. I find it annoying when sighted people who drive ask me to do them a favor that is not feasible. Several years ago I had a friend who asked me to come over to feed her cat & clean the litter box while she was gone for a week; she lived 4 miles from my home.
We all have those crazy experiences in life, I encourage you to read Dan’s article. Hopefully, this gave you some chuckles & things to ponder.
——- ACB of Oregon Convention
Board Meeting Minutes
October 22, 2021
Meeting called to order by President Carrie Muth at 4:00 p.m.
Plege of Allegiance by Abigail Trosper
Housekeeping reminders. Guests will be allowed to make comments at the end of the meeting.
Role call of board members:
- President: Carrie Muth
- 1st Vice President: Leonard Kokel
- 2nd Vice President: Darian Slayton Fleming
- Treasurer: Sue Schwab
- Secretary: Cassie Trosper
- District 1 Rep: Teresa Christian
- District 2 Rep: Michael Babcock
- District 3 Rep: Mona Huntley
- Immediate Past President: James Edwards was not Present for the board meeting.
Guests Present:
- There were 11 guests present for the board meeting.
Approval of Agenda
- Cassie Trosper sent the agenda out prior to the meeting.
- Remove the Fun Squad, Fundraising, Membership, Pedestrian, and Website reports. They will be presented at the membership meeting on Sunday.
- Add brail printer request from Tyanne and Alan Wilmath
- Keep By Laws and Mischeivious Misfits on agenda
- Darian Slayton Fleming made a motion to accept the agenda. 2nd by Mona Huntly. Motion carries.
Minutes by Secretary Cassie Trosper
- – The minutes were sent out prior to the meeting by Secretary Cassie Trosper
- The minutes sent out were for the July 8th board meeting, July 26th special board meeting, and the August 16 special board meeting.
- Mona Huntley Made a motion to accept the minutes. 2nd by Sue Schwab. Motion carries.
Treasurer’s Report by Sue Schwab
- Sue Schwab presented the Treasurer’s report
- Please see the end of the board meeting minutes for a copy of the Treasurer’s report.
- Leonard made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s report as read. 2nd by Michael Babcock. Motion carries.
Correspondence
- Carrie received a letter from OAAVL about requested brail printed documents. This will be addressed later in the meeting.
- James Edwards sent President Carrie Muth an email that he requested be read at the board meeting:
Dear Madam President, ACBO board embers, and ACBO members,
I sincerely apologize in advance for not being available to participate in this convention board meeting. It is unfortunate that in my role as Mayor of my city I am obligated to conduct the business of the city, and as such, I have a very important city council meeting tonight that conflicts with this board meeting. I want you all to know my heart and interest is still with the American Council of the Blind of Oregon and I truly wish I could be there with you tonight.
Sincerely, James Edwards,
Immediate Past President
Announcements
- There were no announcements
District Reports
- District 1 Report by Teresa Christian
Willamette Valley Chapter
They met in person in September and October, this was the first time since COVID started.
They are planning a Xmas party in December. I’ve been to a few of their parties and they are always fun.
They donated a basket for the auction called Best of the North West, check it out, there’s some yummy stuff in it.
Pioneer Chapter
Have been meeting in person off and on the past six months.
They lost two members this past year, Wess Smith passed in January. He was a member of ACB for many years, was very active with Hull Park and well known in the blind community of Portland for many years.
Dick Nixon, who has been a member of ACBO for over fifty years, passed just two weeks ago.
Metro PDX Chapter
We took a break for July and August and resumed meeting in September. We are still meeting only on Zoom, members don’t feel comfortable meeting in person yet.
Desiree and Tyanne were co-chairs for this convention committee
Marylee is very active with the pedestrian safety committee.
- District 2 Report by Michael Babcock
The southwestern chapter will also begin receiving membership payments in November for the 2022 year, and at our next board meeting we should have a correct count of active members.
We regret to inform the membership that one of our previous members has passed away, and our condolences go out to the Muth family as Ben Muth passed away on October 5th, 2021.
This concludes the district 2 report.
- District 3 report by Mona Huntley
The Klamath Chapter continues to have monthly meetings by phone. They have had speakers at two meetings.
Rogue Valley Chapters meets in person every month. They had speakers at two meetings.
OAAVL has had meetings monthly on the Zoom link. They have had speakers and lively discussions.
Commissioners Reports
- Oregon Commission for the Blind by Michael Babcock
- At the OCT 1 commissioner call, we had 2 staff members attend the call
OCT 1 is the start of the federal fiscal year
Currently we are on time and on budget for the new case management system called Aware.
September 30th was the final day for transactional activity in System 7. (The former case management system)
The Go live day for Aware is OCT 18th with a 2 week training period.
The test data is at a 99% accuracy rate.
it is more accessible then System7.
Alliance Enterprises (the owner of the product) does have an accessibility team
There are also 37 other states using this same system
At the End of July offices were expecting to reopen on sep1
That date was pushed forward into the future
services are being delivered by appointment only
offices closed to the public aside from appointment
Current reopening date is JAN1 (Jan 3 is next business day).
in late august governor issued executive order requiring vaccine.
does not include volunteer commissioners
Employees have until OCT 18th
if staff are not fully vaccinated by OCT 18 they are put on leave without paid status
the Majority of staff (it’s thought 53 staff members) have started the process.
it’s a 3 step process
Acknowledge the policy
add data related to the vaccination
upload proof of vaccination.
at this point there is no evidence that the commision is not going to lose any employees.
If we have service providers for services that would be made and at an agency executive office location, then they would be subject to the vaccination requirement.
Vender managers, employees, and their contractors would need to be vaccinated.
they have sent this to all managers and also to the contractors
managers should have that form by now
The commision has upgraded to a new apartment location for people who has training in Portland.
These units now have washer and dryer in the unit.
We should have 2 clients
services are being supplied both virtually and in person.
Electronic signatures have been a challenge.
70 employees for fiscal year 2020 and 66 for fiscal year 2021
ONM is mainly in person
Meal prep is primarily in person
The woodshop is opened up again!
all of the people that were waiting for in person independent living are now receiving those services
We are in people’s homes, and on streets doing ONM.
training is supplied mainly remotely.
we currently have 5 facility open
Hull Foundation and Learning Center by JeanneMarie Moore
- The organization changed it’s name from Oral Hull Foundation for the Blind to Hull foundation and Learning Center for people with sight loss and blindness. And the tag line is “keeping hopes and dreams alive.”
- The second is that Kerith Vance was hired as the new Executive Director and is doing a great job! We’ll be hearing from here tomorrow.
- The Monster Mash is next week and people are looking forward to that.
- The number to call HFLC for information about all the Zoom classes and activities is: (503) 668-6195. The email is: hullparkfortheblind.org.”
- – Talking Books by Deb Kokel
The Library Council met June 3, 2021. Donations are doing well Though there are fewer donors. Future appeals will be more cost effective and interesting. Elke Bruton shared the experience of the acting State librarian, Nancy Hoover. Feedback and circulation are improved by Duplication on Demand. BARD downloads are holding steady. Oregon braille readers were included in the NLS pilot program introducing e-readers. Users should have the e-readers soon, and they will keep them when the program ends.
The 2021 budget was passed unanimously with $15,000 more in it than available previously.
Elke shared that in January the certifier requirements for reading impairments were loosened, so that potential users have a much easier path to registration. The Council will meet again on November 18, 2021.
Contact staff at:
State Library
Talking Book & Braille Library
800-452-0292 | TalkingBooks.Oregon.gov
- The Stylus by Teresa Christian
Thank you: Tyanne, Allan, Dez, Aaron, Steve
There is a variety of topics you’ll find in the newsletter.
Some are: news from around the state, tech info, living with VI, mental health, a recipe, health info, story for submission contest and other things.
Stats: 80 email, 25 large print, 8 braille and 4 cartridge.
Committee Reports
- By laws
-James Edwards was not here to present the proposed by law changes. But there was a recording made of the current bylaw and the proposed by law change:
Current Bylaw
BYLAW 9: SCHEDULING ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
The Membership may, at the October annual meeting, set the date, time and place of its next annual meeting. Should the membership fail to schedule this event, the Executive Board shall determine the date, time and place of the meeting.
Proposed Bylaw
BYLAW #9 – SCHEDULING ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS SHALL BE SET BIANNUALLY. The membership may, at each SUBSEQUENT October annual meeting, set the time, date, and place of the next TWO annual meetings. Should the membership fail to schedule these events, the Executive Board shall determine the date, time and place of the meetings.
President Carrie Muth entertained a motion to forward this bylaw change onto the membership meeting on Sunday.
Teresa Christian made a motion to forward this Bylaw change onto membership during Sunday’s meeting. 2nd by Michael Babcock. Motion carries.
- Mischievous Misfits by Tyanne Wilmath
The misfits have not had a meeting in a while. Because of scheduling conflicts we have had to put a hold on meeting currently but we hope to resume meeting soon.
- – The rest of the committee reports will be presented during the membership meeting on Sunday.
Unfinished Business
- There was no unfinished business
New Business
- Carrie brought up some ideas about having a leadership retreat instead of a leadership training for chapter presidents and board members. At this time there was not much interest from the board on this event.
- Sue opened a discussion on how we could increase attendance at our next in-person convention. She had ideas like helping members with lodging or transportation. There was also a options of dropping the registration fees so members could focus on their expenses related to their individual travel. There was discussion about using unused convention budgeted money from 2021 to help members with lodging and transport. Cassie Trosper also mentioned using the proceeds from our 2021 ACB of Oregon auction for this purpose as well.
- The idea was also brought up to form an adhock committee to research how we can help our members to increase attendance to convention.
- Sue presented the 2022 ACB of Oregon budget. (Please see the end of the minutes for a copy of the proposed 2022 ACB of Oregon Budget)
- Leonard Kokel made a motion that we use the unused $6,000 from the 2021 convention to increase attendance at the 2022 convention. We can also commit to using the auction money at a later date. 2nd by Mona Huntley. Motion carries.
- Leonard made a motion to accept the budget as presented with the amendment of unused funds. 2nd by Teresa Christian. Motion carries.
- Tyanne went over the new guidelines for embossing document requests. The guidelines will allow for the requester and the embosser to be on the same page as to what is expected of both to get documents done in a timely fashion. These guidelines will be put together and sent out to each chapter.
- Tyanne and Alan Wilmath has sent in a brail label printer request. There is a need to help with printing brail labels in a more timely fashion for mailing documents out on time. Tyanne did send a link from Amazon to a printer that she was interested in. Sue Schwab suggested a donated printer that may work for the purpose needed.
- Carrie asked for discussion on a donation to ACB media and the ACb national holiday auction. Last year we did $50 to the ACB holiday auction and $150 dollars to ACB media. Carrie Muth recommended that we send $200 to ACB media. And $75 on a holiday auction item for ACB. National.
- Michael Babcock made a motion to make a $200 donation to ACB media. 2nd by Teresa Christian. Motion carries.
- There was no further discussion on the ACB holiday auction donation.
Guest Comments
- There were no guest comments.
Meeting was adjourned by President Carrie Muth at 6:01p.m.
ACB of Oregon – 3rd Qtr Board Meeting
Treasurers Report as of Oct 22, 2021
Assets & Liabilities as of Oct 22, 2021
Checkbk Balance as of Oct 22 $ 941.82
Chase Money Market Balance $ 1,470.34
Wedbush Morgan Accounts $ 583,274.51
Other Asset: Braille Printer $ 4,590.00
Total ACBO Assets $ 587,276.67 (Net Worth)
Endowment Fund-Restricted $ 367,151.01
Temporarily Restricted Student Convention Donations $1,183.80
Profit & Loss Statement as of Oct 22, 2021
Convention Income $ 1,400.00
Investment Income to date $ 13,074.78 Budgeted $24,900
Fundraising-Vehicle Donation $ 1,376.02
Other Income $ 1,775.00
Total Income as of Oct 22 $ 17,625.80 Budgeted $34,250
Board Operating Expenses $ 360.00
Program Expenses $ 7,441.97
Member Support Expenses $ 2,490.97
General Operating Expenses $ 1,078.50
Expenses as of Oct 7 $ 11,371.44 Budgeted $34,250
Total Ordinary Profit $ 6,254.36
Unrealized Gain on Investments $ 24,698.58
Secured by Investment holdings – represents adjustments for current value of holdings
ACB of Oregon Budget for Jan – Dec 2022
Income
Donation-Affiliate Chptr 200.00
Angel Wall Donations 500.00
Membership 700.00
General Donation 2,000.00
Convention Income 4,000.00
Total Fundraising Income 4,000.00
Total Investment Int / Div & Earnings 14,500.00
Total Income 25,900.00
Expense
Total General Operating Expenses 1,570.00
Total Member Support 2,200.00
Total Board Operating Expense 6,330.00
Total Program Expenses 15,800.00
Total Expense 25,900.00
Net Income 0.00 Budget Balanced
*********************************
ACB of Oregon Budget for Jan – Dec 2022
Income
Donation-Affiliate Chptr 200.00
Angel Wall Donations 500.00
Membership 700.00
General Donation 2,000.00
Convention Income 4,000.00
Total Fundraising Income 4,000.00
Total Investment Int / Div & Earnings 14,500.00
Total Income 25,900.00
Expense
Total General Operating Expenses 1,570.00
Total Member Support 2,200.00
Total Board Operating Expense 6,330.00
Total Program Expenses 15,800.00
Total Expense 25,900.00
Net Income 0.00 Budget Balanced
——- ACB of Oregon Membership Meeting
October 24, 2021
Meeting called to order by President Carrie Muth at 9:00a.m.
Housekeeping reminders
National Anthem Sang by Julia
Pledge of Allegiance by Abigail Trosper
Recognition of Deceased Members
- Bill Milllanarski
- Wes Smith
- Bev Rushing
- Katrina Marsh
- Dick Nixson
- Ben Muth
A moment of silence was observed for the members we have lost over the past year
Invocation given by Deb Kokel
Chapter role-call and member count
- Metro PDX: 12
- Southwestern Chapter: 11
- Rogue Valley Chapter: 5
- Kalamath Falls: 5
- Willamette: 7
- Pioneer: 1
- OAAVL: 2
Approval of agenda
- John Hamil made a motion to accept the agenda. 2nd by Leonard Kokel. Motion carries.
Approval of 2020 Membership Business Meeting Minutes
- Mona Huntley move to accept the 2021 membership meeting minutes. 2nd by Sue Schwab. Motion carries.
Wedbush Presentation
- Our wedbush representative gave us a report on the current status of our investments. H mentioned that we have invested in the vaccine stocks. This investment can be withdrawn at any time.
Treasurer’s Report – Sue Schwab
- Sue presented the Treasurer’s report.
- Please see the end of the minutes for a copy of this report.
- Leonard Kokel moved to accept the Treasurer’s report. 2nd by Michael Babcock. Motion carries.
Committee Reports
- Fun Squad – Desiree Christian & Tyanne Wilmath
Desirae Christian and Tyanne Wilmath thanked all members that were a part of the fun squad, also known as the convention planning committee, for their hard work and dedication to pull off a successful 2021 ACB of Oregon Convention.
- Fundraising – Darian Slayton Fleming
- At the April meeting of the ACB of Oregon Board, Michael Irwin, from Kars R Us, spoke with us about our vehicle donation program. This was to help us understand how the vehicle donation program benefits us and how we can do more ourselves to promote this fundraiser. This was part of our preparation for increasing ACB of Oregon’s fund-raising efforts.
This year, the fundraising committee recommended three fundraisers t other board. The board agreed to support these projects.
The fundraising committee recommends that members, as well as friends and family, plan birthday fundraisers through Facebook. ACB of Oregon may be named as the benefitting charity.
Next, we have set up a fundraiser through Amazon’s Smile Program. Members, friends, and families may support this organization by logging into smile.amazon.com and shopping for everyday needs. Simply choose items that are “smile eligible” and ACB of Oregon will receive financial support.
Finally, our vehicle donation program has historically supported us very nicely. In the past year or two support has improved. You can help promote the vehicle donation program by referring potential donors to the ACB of Oregon website or to WWW.DONATION2CHARITY.COM.
The fundraising committee will give a short presentation about these methods on Saturday of convention weekend. In addition, vehicle donation business cards will be mailed to chapter presidents; please distribute these to your members. Members are encouraged to share these cards with potential donors including taking them to auto dealerships, auto parts stores and other places. Written tutorials about how to participate in these fundraisers went out by email and large print with your convention programs. Following the convention, braille tutorials will come to those who requested their programs in braille. The committee will be working with the web team to create a fundraising page where you will find this information. Check the website after the convention to see these updates. Please let your friends, family and associates know about these fundraisers and refer them to our website: acboforegon.org. Please reach out to a fundraising committee or board member if you need more information or assistance with these fundraisers.
- Membership Report by Pat Wallace
Chapters have been having a tough time due to the virus.
We’ve lost several members who have passed. However, we have gained a
few new members, but over all the numbers are down a little from last
year.
We are hoping to expand and get chapters in Eugene and Bend.
President Carrie Muth reported that we have between 135 and 140 members currently.
- Pedestrian Safety – Mary Lee Turner & Darian Slayton Fleming
Your pedestrian safety committee has been busy this quarter preparing and implementing activities that culminated in a White Cane Safety Day celebration.
Mary Lee Turner and Darian Slayton Fleming have been working, over the past several years, to organize a pedestrian safety action coalition. This means we have been inviting community entities to join with us to improve travel safety for Oregonians who are low vision or blind. Each year more community partners have joined us including Lions Clubs, staff and consumers of Independent Living Resources and the Oregon Commission for the Blind, Oregon Walks, Portland State University O&M Department and the Portland Bureau of Transportation. This year the Oregon Department of Transportation came onboard. This new addition enabled us to finally get messages out to the sighted public through social media and more.
On August 31st, Mary Lee and Darian were interviewed by Oregon Department of Transportation photographers. Material from this interview was used to create messaging for social media and to create a podcast about pedestrian safety. During the week of White Cane Safety Day, the Oregon Department of Transportation released messaging on Instagram telling people about the White Cane Law and giving tips on how to keep us safe on the streets.
On September 30th, the Pedestrian Safety Action Coalition worked with the Portland Bureau, Oregon Walks, Portland State University O&M students and ACB of Oregon members kicked off a White Cane Safety Day campaign with a community walk in Portland.
On October 5th, the Hull Foundation for the Blind Retreat and Learning Center held a zoom event about the importance of white canes and guide dogs.
On October 14th, the Pedestrian Safety Action Coalition, in partnership with the Portland Bureau of Transportation, held a White Cane Safety Day celebration. We read the state and Portland city White Cane Safety Day proclamations, showed videos and shared personal stories about our experiences with pedestrian safety.
Throughout the campaign, we advertised the American Council of the Blind’s Get Up and Get Moving Campaign and urged people to attend the dance party on October 15th.
Every year our coalition grows. We are so excited that the Portland Bureau of Transportation and the Oregon Department of Transportation have joined us in this important community education. We hope more of you will join us in the future to increase the effectiveness of our work. And always remember, the White Cane Law is there to protect us. Get up and get moving and be seen in your communities. Make every day a White Cane Safety Day.
- Website Update – Michael Babcock and Marty Soto
Information was shared on visitors to the ACB Of Oregon website. Also, information on how we migrated from html to a wordpress site, and the fact that chapters can share information for what they want added to their pages.
Presentation of 2022 Budget – Sue Schwab
- Sue Schwab presented the 2022 ACB of Oregon budget.
- Please see the end of the minutes for a copy of the budget.
- Sue recapped some of the discussion from the Friday night board meeting.
- We would like to put together an adhock committee to see how we can best help our members increase attendance to convention.
- JeanneMarie Moore also suggested that we split our donation to both The Hul Foundation and Learning Cener and and the blind skills both get equal shares. This would provide a donation of 1,250 each instead of the current donation amounts.
- Darian Slayton Fleming moved to accept the 2022 budget as amended. 2nd by Leonard Kokel. Motion carries.
Bylaws – James Edwards
- There was a recording of the current and proposed bylaws that was previously recorded and played for the membership to hear.
- Current Bylaw:
BYLAW 9: SCHEDULING ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
The Membership may, at the October annual meeting, set the date, time and place of its next annual meeting. Should the membership fail to schedule this event, the Executive Board shall determine the date, time and place of the meeting.
Proposed Bylaw
BYLAW #9 – SCHEDULING ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS SHALL BE SET BIANNUALLY. The membership may, at each SUBSEQUENT October annual meeting, set the time, date, and place of the next TWO annual meetings. Should the membership fail to schedule these events, the Executive Board shall determine the date, time and place of the meetings.
- John Hamil moved to accept the proposed by laws change with the opportunity to rework the bylaw to be presented again in 2022. 2nd by JeanneMarie Moore. Motion carries.
Elections
- President: Mary Lee Turner made a motion to accept Carrie Muth as President by acclimation. 2nd by Deb Kokel. Motion carries.
- 1st Vice President: Leonard Kokel was voted into the 1st vice president position by majority vote.
- 2nd Vice President: Tyanne Wilmath was voted into the 2nd Vice President position by majority vote.
- Secretary: Darian Slayton Fleming moved to accept Cassie Trosper as secretary by acclimation. 2nd by Leonard Kokel. Motion carries.
- Treasurer: Leonard Kokel made a motion to accept Sue Schwab as Treasurer by acclimation. 2nd by JeanneMarie Moore. Motion carries.
- All elected officers will be sworn in at our January board meeting.
Select members to go to ACB midyear meeting and Legislative Seminar
- The ACb legislative conference is March 11-15, 2022.
- John Hamil made a motion that ACb of Oregon pay the registration fee for members interested in attending the session virtually. 2nd by JeanneMarie Moore. Motion carries
- There was also talk about needing an alternate person to go in-person incase President Carrie Muth is not able to attend.
Select Convention Site for 2022
- There were 2 locations presented for possible ACB of Oregon location. The Mill Casino in Coos Bay, OR and the Holiday Inn Express in Eugene, OR.
- Pat Wallace made a motion that the committee members work to hold the 2022 ACB of Oregon convention in Eugene, OR. And that the 2023 convention location be TBD by the board. 2nd. By Sue Schwab. Motion carries.
- Teresa Christian made a motion that we hold the 2023 convention at The Mill Casino in Coos Bay, OR. 2nd by Darian Slayton Fleming. Motion carries.
Announcements
- Darian Slayton Fleming announced that on November 1st OAAVL is holding a session on meals, mobility, and mingling.
- President Carrie Muth thanked everyone for a successful convention.
- Our 1st Annual ACB of Oregon auction will begin at 2p.m. PT.
- The 3rd weekend in January is our board meeting. We will be in contact with the Holiday Inn Express to set that meeting up in person at our 2022 ACb of Oregon convention venue.
- Pat Wallace thanked Deb Cook Lewis for their assistance in helping us have a successful virtual convention.
Meeting adjourned by President Carrie Muth at 12:30p.m. PT
ACB of Oregon – 3rd Qtr Board Meeting
Treasurers Report as of Oct 22, 2021
Assets & Liabilities as of Oct 22, 2021
Checkbk Balance as of Oct 22 $ 941.82
Chase Money Market Balance $ 1,470.34
Wedbush Morgan Accounts $ 583,274.51
Other Asset: Braille Printer $ 4,590.00
Total ACBO Assets $ 587,276.67 (Net Worth)
Endowment Fund-Restricted $ 367,151.01
Temporarily Restricted Student Convention Donations $1,183.80
Profit & Loss Statement as of Oct 22, 2021
Convention Income $ 1,400.00
Investment Income to date $ 13,074.78 Budgeted $24,900
Fundraising-Vehicle Donation $ 1,376.02
Other Income $ 1,775.00
Total Income as of Oct 22 $ 17,625.80 Budgeted $34,250
Board Operating Expenses $ 360.00
Program Expenses $ 7,441.97
Member Support Expenses $ 2,490.97
General Operating Expenses $ 1,078.50
Expenses as of Oct 7 $ 11,371.44 Budgeted $34,250
Total Ordinary Profit $ 6,254.36
Unrealized Gain on Investments $ 24,698.58
Secured by Investment holdings – represents adjustments for current value of holdings
ACB of Oregon Budget for Jan – Dec 2022
Income
Donation-Affiliate Chptr 200.00
Angel Wall Donations 500.00
Membership 700.00
General Donation 2,000.00
Convention Income 4,000.00
Total Fundraising Income 4,000.00
Total Investment Int / Div & Earnings 14,500.00
Total Income 25,900.00
Expense
Total General Operating Expenses 1,570.00
Total Member Support 2,200.00
Total Board Operating Expense 6,330.00
Total Program Expenses 15,800.00
Total Expense 25,900.00
Net Income 0.00 Budget Balanced
To change your address, request alternative formats for ACB publications, or request financial documents,
contact our
State Treasurer
Sue Schwab.
Email: sueschwab00@gmail.com
Cell: 503-871-6175
Stylus Editor, Teresa Christian
Teresa.christian.acbo@gmail.com
Phone: 971-322-8462
Thanks for reading this issue of the Stylus!
May you always have enough!
In love and light
Your Happy Editor
Teresa Christian