FCB Annual Business Meeting June 05, 2022

The Florida Council of the Blind 2022 convention was held at the Sheraton Orlando North in Maitland.  The annual business meeting began at 8:00 AM.

The pledge of Allegiance was led by Eugene Batke.  Invocation was done by Cassandra Jessie.

Roll was called by Sally Benjamin.  Chapters and affiliates in attendance were: Braille Revival League of Florida, Chapter at Large Members, Coalition for the Concerns of the Totally Blind,  Florida council of Citizens with Low Vision, Greater Miami Council of the Blind, Greater Orlando Council of the Blind, Guide Dog Users of Florida, Halifax Council of the Blind, Jacksonville Council of the Blind, Manatee County Council of the Blind, Miami Beach Council of the Blind, Miami Metro Council of the Blind, Palm Beach Council of the Blind, Pinellas Council of the Blind, Sarasota Council of the blind, Southwest Florida Council of the Blind, Tallahassee Council of the Blind, and At Large members.  Board Members present included: President, Sheila Young; 1st Vice-President, Mikey Wiseman; 2nd Vice-President, Cassandra Jessie; Treasurer, Mark Lear; Membership Secretary, Sally Benjamin; Recording Secretary, Mary Tyson; and Immediate Past President, Jim Kracht.   Committees represented were:   Access, Archives, Awards, Budget and Finance, Constitution and Bylaws, Convention, Education, Leadership and   Scholarships, Employment Executive, Fundraising, Governmental Affairs, Membership, Publications and Publicity, Project Insight, Resolutions, and Technology.  Those not in attendance included: Northwest Florida Chapter of the Florida Council of the Blind, Randolph Sheppard Vendors of Florida, and Tampa Council of the Blind. 

Motion was made by Dan Spoone to approve the May 2, 2021 FCB Convention Minutes as distributed.  Motion was seconded by Cassandra Jessie.  Motion carried.

Election of Officers:

Nominating Committee Report – Doug Hall advised that the committee had met on June 4, and has put forth a slate of officers. They chose: President, Sheila Young; 1st Vice-President, Mikey Wiseman; 2nd Vice-President, Cassandra Jessie; Treasurer, Mark Lear; Membership Secretary, Sally Benjamin and Recording Secretary, Mary Tyson.

The nominating Committee had put forward Sheila Young for the office of President.  Doug asked three times if there were any nominations from the floor for the office of President.  There were none.  Paul Edwards moved that nominations be closed and that Sheila Young be elected by acclamation.  Motion was seconded by Doug and motion passed.

The Nominating Committee recommended Mikey Wiseman as 1st Vice-President.  Doug asked three times for nominations from the floor.  There were none. Cassandra Jessie moved that nominations be closed and the motion was seconded by Eugene Batke.  Mikey was elected by acclamation.  Motion carried.

The Nominating Committee recommended Cassandra Jessie for the office of second vice-President. Doug asked three times for nominations from the floor.  There were none.  Motion was made by Doug to close nominations and that Cassandra be elected by acclamation.  Motion carried.

The Nominating Committee recommended Mary Tyson as recording secretary.      Doug asked three times if there were any nominations from the floor.  There were none.  Paul Edwards moved that nominations be closed and that Mary be elected by acclamation.  Motion was seconded by Paul Lewis.  Motion carried.

The Nominating Committee recommended Mark Lear for the office of treasurer. Doug asked three times for nominations from the floor, there were none.  Cassandra moved that nominations be closed and that Mark be elected by acclamation.  Motion was seconded by Eugene Batke and motion carried.

The Nominating Committee recommended Sally Benjamin for the office of Membership Secretary. Doug asked three times for nominations from the floor, there were none.  Eugene Batke made the motion that nominations be closed and that Sally be elected by acclamation.  Motion was seconded by Wanda Stokley and motion carried.  

Committee Reports:

Constitution and Bylaws – Cynthia reported that her committee had recommended some changes to the FCB Policy Manual to be voted on at convention:

Section 3 - FirstTimers Sponsorship Program – Every FCB local or special interest chapter may recommend one member who has never attended an FCB convention to receive financial assistance from FCB in the amount of $100 to help defray convention expenses.  The recommended FirstTimers name must be submitted to the FCB treasurer at least one month before the convention.  To receive the FCB contribution in the form of a check the recipient must attend the FCB FirstTimers Workshop accompanied by a member of their chapter.   The chapter may match or exceed the amount of the FCB contribution as they see fit.    This proposal was approved by the Constitution and Bylaws Committee on October 10, 2021, for insertion into the FCB Policy Manual as #3 under the Meetings Section. 

Paul Edwards advised that the Policy Manual is usually handled by the Board of Directors.  He wanted to know if they now intend to review and approve every item for the Policy Manual and if so, where did they get the authority to do so.

Cynthia explained that they wanted to make sure that the FirstTimers program was mentioned somewhere in our governing documents and if not appropriate to be voted on in this manner, that the Executive Committee adopt this change to the manual.  She said that she felt that the Constitution and Bylaws Committee should review proposed changes or additions to the Policy Manual and then make a recommendation.  In this case it was to establish proper procedure for the paying of the FCB contribution to FirstTimers. 

Dan Spoone was concerned that the policy said a chapter may pay $100 when the intention had always been that FCB would match $100 put up by the chapter.  Some members were concerned that a smaller chapter may not be able to fully match the $100.  Cynthia changed to wording to read that the chapter must match or exceed the FCB contribution, as their budget allows. The policy was voted on and adopted by the membership. 

FCB Constitution Proposed New Language – approved by the FCB Constitution and By-Laws Committee on September 13, 2021:

Propose to add Section D to Article IV – Voting, as follows:

“Voting on all issues at any meeting shall be conducted via voice vote.  For voice vote for in-person attendees, shall vote via the protocol provided including but not limited to standing, hand raising and/or roll call votes.  Virtual attendees shall cast votes via the protocol provided for by the adopted remote meeting platform or client program.  In addition, there shall be a roll call of affiliates by which official affiliate delegates shall announce the votes of their respective organizations.”

Motion to approve the proposed amendment was made by Cassandra Jessie and seconded by Doug Hansard.

There was discussion about voter anonymity    and how to strike a balance, while being as inclusive as possible. Jim Kracht advised that this amendment was designed to deal with voting at hybrid conventions, and not anonymity as such, which can be dealt with at a later date as it is a separate issue.  

Dan Spoone asked for clarification, confirming that this is just an expansion of the voice vote to include those on Zoom or a similar platform.  A record or roll call vote would still be done by the delegate process.  Cynthia advised that doing away with the rollcall or delegate voting process had not been discussed.

Paul Edwards made a motion as a friendly amendment that the reference to rollcall vote be taken out of the proposed amendment and that this would just be an expansion of the voice vote.  Motion was seconded by Richard Williams.  Cynthia, as Chair of the Constitution and By-Laws Committee, did not accept this as a friendly amendment thus it was voted on as a stand alone amendment to the amendment.  Motion was defeated by a count of 29 to 16 via hand raising vote.

The original proposed amendment passed via voice vote.

Convention Committee:

Kati Lear announced the chapters who donated, and those who won door prizes.

Kati thanked everyone for their program ideas and suggestions.     She thanked all of the convention committee members for their hard work:  Mikey Wiseman as hotel coordinator; Dan and Leslie Spoone as fundraisers; Wanda Stokley as exhibit hall coordinator and Sally Benjamin and crew for handling registration, online and on site. She thanked John Richards for handling the FCB Zoom room and Rick Moran and ACB Media and the ACB Zoom hosts for handling the ACB Room.  Also Ryan Cordell for his camera man skills. She further thanked the rest of the committee, Cassandra Jessie, Jim Kracht, Sheila Young, and Mark Lear.

She reported that there were 129 registered for the convention and 108 in person.  The fall Board Meeting is scheduled for October 28 and 29, 2023.

Mikey moved to accept the Convention Committee report and was seconded by Wanda Stokley.  Motion carried. 

Access Committee:

Jim Kracht reported that a significant number of counties do have an Accessible vote by mail system in place. They need to meet to discuss a strategy of where to go with counties that did not comply.    Also need to get all chapters to approach their elections supervisors regarding marketing strategy about the system.  He reported that we are continuing to work to get a return ballot system in place and will push to be included if such is approved for those in the military. Currently the state of Florida is not interested in providing this option.

Doug Hansard made a motion to accept the Access Committee report and it was seconded by Paul Lewis.  Motion carried.

Archives Committee:

Elizabeth Bowden thanked the committee and asked for a moment of silence in memory of Nancy Burgess-Hall who had been a long-time member and picture taker extraordinaire.     

She thanked John Richards for the electronic archives he provided; we now have a primary and a back-up hard drive. The Committee is requesting $300 for new hard drives as the previous ones are about seven years old.

The FCB file cabinet was donated to a lady who started up and in-home business during Covid.  One small box is all that remains of the hard copy material.  Also in the budget request is funding for a notebook type system to store all of our pictures and the chapter charters which we have retained.

Georgia Kellogg made a motion to accept the Archive Committee report as presented and include $300 for the requested hard drives.  Motion was seconded by Wanda Stokley.       Motion carried.

Awards Committee:

Barbara Brown reported that four state awards were given on Friday Evening.  The dolly Gamble Award was given to Elizabeth Bowden of the Tallahassee chapter.    The R. P. Henry Johnson award to Ed Hudson of the Halifax Chapter.  The W. A. ouzts to Wanda Stokley of the Tallahassee Chapter.  The Just Bill award was given to Dr. Maryann Gromoll nominated by the Halifax Chapter.   The Cook President’s Award was given to Mary Tyson of Halifax Chapter.

As Barbara Brown is completing her term on the committee, Julien Clement has been appointed as the new Awards Committee member.

Motion to approve the Awards Committee report was made by Cassandra Jessie and seconded by Eugene Batke.  Motion carried.

Employment Committee:

Barbara Brown reported that they had an excellent and informative panel discussion.  She hopes to have success with people obtaining employment through an upcoming job fair.

Motion to approve the Employment    Committee report was made by Nancy Folsom and seconded by Doug Hansard.  Motion carried.

Education, Leadership and Scholarship Committee:

Gabriel Lopez-Kafati reported on the Electric Youth workshop done in conjunction with ACB Students, Next Generation and CALM with the assistance of Cindy Hollis.

Gabriel thanked the members who are leaving the committee and welcomed the newcomers. Four scholarships were awarded Friday evening.  The Gayle M. Krause-Edwards to Yael Medley; The   Teresa Blessing to Lauren Bishop; the   Timothy Turpin to Catherine Salazar    and the Bobbie Probst to Luke Boccuzzo.

A new $1,000 scholarship was announced.  Doug Hall will be funding the Nancy Burgess-Hall Advocacy Scholarship and he will be invited to a meeting of the committee to help develop criteria for this award.

Motion to approve    the Education, Leadership and Scholarship Committee report was made by Terry Suarez and seconded by Craig Marquis.  Motion carried.

Project Insight:

*Nancy Folsom reported that when the brochures and business cards are created that they will have QR codes on them.  

Motion to approve the Project Insight report was made by Georgia Kellogg and seconded by Wanda Stokley.  Motion carried.

Publications and Publicity Committee:

Shelley Sawyer reported that it is now possible to download the FCB brochure via a link on the website and There will be a QR code on the brochure in the near future.  FCB business cards are in the works but are not available at this time.

Sally Benjamin asked that more people send in articles for the White Cane Bulletin.   Further, she said that if two issues of the White Cane Bulletin are returned, she will remove the member’s name from the list.  Please keep your roster information current.  It cost from $1.30 to $1.60 per print copy and we mail out 30 to 40 copies. 

Motion to approve the Publications and Publicity report was made by Leslie Spoone and seconded by Paul Lewis.  Motion carried.

Governmental Affairs Committee - No report.

Membership Committee No report.

Technology Committee:

Jason Goldfield reported on their program presentation which was on how to best utilize the Clubhouse social media platform.  He said that it was well received and they were honored to have Cindy Hollis from ACB participate and share her experiences with the platform.

Motion to approve the Technology Committee report     was made by Eugene Batke and seconded by Janeen Lea.  Motion carried.

Fundraising Committee:

Dan Spoone reported that convention sponsorships brought in $9,200.  The virtual and live auctions brought in close to $5,000. Anita Holmes won the 50/50 which was $320. Close to $15,000 was raised to pay for convention this year.

Motion to approve the Fundraising Committee report was made by Mikey Wiseman and seconded by Doug Hansard.  Motion carried.

Resolutions Committee:

Florida Council of the Blind

Resolution 2022-01

Funding for Seniors who are Blind

WHEREAS, the number of seniors with significant vision loss is likely to double over the next decade; and
WHEREAS, there is a totally inadequate funding component available to serve this population which has not changed in at least the last decade; and 
WHEREAS, every one of the Community Rehabilitation Programs (CRP) operating in the state of Florida serve more seniors than they are contracted to serve; and
WHEREAS, each CRP must find additional funds to serve this population and must often limit the number of seniors who can be served or the time seniors can stay in the program; and
WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature has allocated some funds to help defray the cost of providing training to this woefully under-served population; and
WHEREAS, two years ago the Legislature approved a one-time additional allocation of $300,000 (three hundred thousand) dollars; and
WHEREAS, those extra funds have not been made available in the last two budgets.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Florida Council of the Blind in convention assembled at the Sheraton Orlando North Hotel in Maitland Florida on this the fifth day of June 2022 that this organization urges Florida's legislature to increase funding to support services to senior citizens in Florida who are blind by adding at least the 300,000 provided three budgets ago; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature is hereby urged to make this increase in funding permanent so the additional dollars can be expected each year.

The Committee recommends a due pass and is seconded by Cassandra Jessie.
Motion carried and the resolution was adopted.

Resolution 2022-02

Innovative Paratransit Approaches

WHEREAS, every paratransit system in the state of Florida is experiencing difficulty recruiting and retaining drivers; and
WHEREAS, during the pandemic many services either provided less service or operated with increased wait times and decreased passenger capacity; and
WHEREAS, the net result throughout the state has been a tendency to
see service delivery characterized by long wait times and sometimes even an inability to provide trips; and
WHEREAS, several transit authorities within the state of Florida and around the country have utilized ride sharing companies to supplement the services delivered through paratransit vehicles; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the potential to save dollars this approach provides, it also allows for same day reservations which significantly increases the value of the service to its users.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Florida Council of the Blind in convention assembled at the Sheraton Orlando North Hotel in Maitland Florida on this the fifth day of June 2022 that this organization urges local transit agencies and local transit boards to immediately implement the use of ride sharing as a way to substantially improve service delivery to its users; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Transportation Disadvantaged Commission is hereby urged to immediately begin gathering information on ride share vehicle usage which the commission can make available to interested individuals and entities throughout Florida. and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Florida Council of the Blind wishes to particularly commend Pinellas, Broward and Duval counties for their innovative implementation of same day trips.

The Committee recommends a due pass and it was seconded by Doug Hansard.

There was considerable discussion about the potential use of ride share in communities that do not currently use it.  It was felt that money saved could be better spent on wheelchair accessible vehicles for those who need them. 

It was suggested that the Resolutions Committee in collaboration with the Access Committee send copies of this resolution to all of the local coordinating boards.   It is hoped that with their cooperation and that of the TDC that progress may be made.

The motion carried and the resolution was adopted.

Resolution 2022.03
Objecting to the permanent cancellation of the large print Talking Book Topics

WHEREAS, Talking Book Topics (TBT) is an extremely valuable publication which has been produced and distributed in a variety of formats for more than fifty years; and
WHEREAS, a recent circular sent out to member libraries indicated that a decision had been made to permanently discontinue its large print version; and
WHEREAS, care givers both at home and in residential facilities found the large print Talking Book Topics to represent an easy-to-use method of selecting books for patrons who, for a variety of reasons, could not make such selections themselves; and
WHEREAS, senior patrons are only likely to receive assistance choosing books if the task is easy to accomplish; and
WHEREAS, trying to choose books using the audio version of this publication is simply not feasible;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Florida Council of the Blind in convention assembled at the Sheraton Orlando North Hotel in Maitland Florida on this the fifth day of June 2022 that this organization demands that the decision to completely discontinue this publication be rescinded; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, instead, the National Library Service (NLS) agree to explore a year from now the feasibility of beginning to distribute this publication again. and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, should this prove not to be possible because of ongoing ink and paper shortages, the Library consider exploring the use of Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems which might constitute another solution which would be better than abandoning a huge population who will be adversely impacted by these recent actions.

The Committee recommended a due pass and was seconded by Mikey Wiseman.  Motion carried and the resolution was adopted.

Resolution 2022-04

Relationship of the Florida Council of the Blind with the staff and Board of Directors of the American Council of the Blind

WHEREAS, the Florida Council of the Blind's (FCB) leadership has experienced extreme frustration, difficulty and ongoing communication challenges and problems with conflicting, back-and-forth, indecisive communications from the administration of the American Council of the Blind (ACB); and
Whereas, these communications have culminated with a last-minute decision by ACB that, notwithstanding its earlier commitments to our convention, it would not be providing anyone from ACB Media to attend and help with our video streaming of the FCB convention; and
WHEREAS, ACB did not otherwise offer any substitute alternative such as to send another individual to our convention from ACB Media or, as a further example, the leader of the ACB Get Up and Get Moving campaign; and
WHEREAS, after lengthy and careful deliberation, the FCB Executive Committee has sent a letter to ACB'S Board of Directors requesting a meeting to discuss how affiliates can effectively communicate with ACB'S staff about affiliate needs which meeting will hopefully lead to the creation of a document pertaining to the interaction between ACB and its state and special interest affiliates; and
WHEREAS, in response to ACB'S recalcitrant and disappointing interactions with FCB, besides requesting this meeting, and in order to clarify our extreme frustration and disappointment, the letter has also confirmed that FCB does not intend to include in its proposed budget this year the usual monetary support to ACB.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Florida Council of the Blind in convention assembled on this the fifth day of June 2022 at Sheraton Orlando North Hotel in Maitland Florida that the membership of FCB supports the Executive Committee's actions in response to the inappropriate treatment of FCB by our parent organization, the American Council of the Blind.

The Committee recommended a due pass and it was seconded by Mikey Wiseman.

President Sheila Young wished to speak and the Chair was turned over to 2nd Vice-President Cassandra Jessie since the 1st Vice-President had seconded the resolution.

Sheila Young advised that this resolution had been made prior to a meeting with the ACB president and the Officer Liaison Koni Simms. She believes that ACB is willing to work to fix the communication problems and to create a document of processes to prevent similar problems from occurring in the future. 

Secondly, ACB media has streamed our convention free and she encouraged the membership not to pass the resolution.      

Mikey Wiseman spoke in favor of the resolution because he believed that hard questions needed to be asked and answered.  The questions have not yet been answered in writing as the Committee requested in their letter.    He feels that first steps have been taken but is not confident that the answers will be forthcoming. 

Paul Edwards explained that the resolution was asking for endorsement    of the actions of the Executive Committee and also agree to withhold funds currently budgeted to be donated to ACB this year.

Sally Benjamin spoke in opposition to the resolution. She stressed that ACB has not had time to appropriately respond to the letter. 

Immediate Past President Jim Kracht spoke in favor of the resolution. He hoped for a dialogue and the Committee’s questions being answered as a result of the letter being sent and the withholding of funds.  The withholding of the $1,000 is merely to make a statement and indicate the seriousness of the concerns of the Executive Committee.

An attempt was made to call for the question but a motion was made by Janeen Lea and seconded by Terry Suarez to extend the debate and discussion.   The motion was defeated 28 to 14.

The resolution was defeated by raised hand vote 27-6.

Resolution 2022-05

Thanking the Host Chapter

WHEREAS, the Florida Council of the Blind has met in the Orlando area for the past several years; and
WHEREAS, that has meant that our local Florida Council of the Blind chapter, the Greater Orlando Council of the Blind (GOCB) has for all those years performed the tasks of our host chapter; and
WHEREAS, this involves making people available for a variety of tasks prior to the convention and the staffing and stocking of a hospitality room at the convention; and
WHEREAS, as usual this year, the Greater Orlando chapter has once more performed its duties in a stellar fashion;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Florida Council of the Blind in convention assembled on this the fifth day of June 2022 at the Sheraton Orlando North Hotel in Maitland Florida wishes to express our deep appreciation to the Greater Orlando Council of the Blind for its exemplary work in support of our convention; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization asks the leadership of that chapter to convey to its members the gratitude of the Florida Council of the Blind for all their efforts.

The Resolutions Committee recommends a due pass and was seconded by Eugene Batke.  Motion carried and the resolution was adopted.

Resolution 2202-06

WHEREAS, for the past several years, the Florida Council of the Blind has held its convention at the Sheraton Orlando North hotel in Maitland Florida; and
WHEREAS, the management and staff of that hotel have bent over backward to meet the special needs of a large group of people who are blind while, at the same time, creating and warm and welcoming environment for our members while at our convention; and
WHEREAS, this year has been no exception and the management and staff of the Sheraton Orlando North have, once more, done a stellar job meeting the needs of the Florida Council of the Blind;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Florida Council of the Blind in convention assembled at the Sheraton Orlando North Hotel in Maitland Florida on this the fifth day of June 2022 that this organization wishes to express our deep appreciation of the efforts made by staff at all levels to help people attending our convention whether it is their job or not; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the attitudes and efforts of the staff of this hotel has gone far to making our convention the pleasant and effective meeting it has been; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we request that the management of this hotel make a special effort to circulate our resolution to the whole staff of this hotel so that they will be aware of just how much their efforts were appreciated.

The Resolutions Committee recommended a due pass and it was seconded by Doug Hansard.  Motion carried and the resolution was adopted.  

Executive Committee:

Sheila stated that the Executive Committee works hard and tries always to make decisions in the best interest of FCB and its members. She thanked the Executive Committee and the membership for their support.  

Anthony asked if the membership would be advised of any answers received or agreements reached between FCB and ACB.  Sheila assured him that they would.

Motion to approve the Executive Committee report was made by James Oates and seconded by Doug Hall.  Motion carried.

Budget and Finance Committee:

Mark Lear reported that his committee met on May 26.  Mark Webb, the financial adviser has said that the FCB investments are doing well.  

The company that does our 990 forms has changed.  Mark is keeping in touch with the person responsible for the filing.  He noted that if it is not filed for three years that we could lose our nonprofit status.    

Some items put into the budget are: a new FCB computer and software; increase in salary for the web administrator and bookkeeper from $250 to $300 per month, and an increase to cover the administrative assistant salary when it eventually reaches the $15 state minimum wage threshold.

Assets:

Total Assets - $604,898.96
Income - $74,636.00

Expenses - 

Total Expenses - $97,817.00.

Mikey Wiseman made a motion that the $500 for ACB Forum and $500 for ACB media be reincluded in this year’s budget in acknowledgement of the vote by the membership.  Motion was seconded by Eugene Batke and motion carried.

An amount of $1,000 will be added to revenue and $1,000 to scholarship expenses due to the Nancy Burgess-Hall scholarship.  

Dan Spoone made a motion to approve the Budget and Finance Committee report.  Motion was seconded by Janeen Lea and was approved.

Janeen Lea asked if we would be establishing an activities committee as requested at her meeting with the Executive Committee. Sheila explained that this was the time to put such a motion before the membership.  Janeen made the motion to form an Activities Committee and it was seconded by Paul Lewis.  Dan Spoone suggested that the formation of the Activities Committee be approved with the stipulation that the proper steps are followed to bring it to fruition. A proposal with a mission statement, budget and goals should be presented and voted on at the fall board meeting.  Motion carried.

Unfinished Business:

Sheila asked Paul Edwards if the proposed Voting Task Force which never came about still needed to address the issue of voting procedure for FCB.  Paul indicated he   would like to work with Cynthia Hawkins to develop a proposal which would be brought to the membership at next year’s convention and he will reach out to her in this regard.   

Mark asked what amount of the bequest received by FCB should be sent to the National Braille Press Children’s Book Club.  Initially 10% was approved as we thought the amount received would be $20,000 and we would donate $2,000.  When all was said and done, we only received just over $17,000.  Mark made the motion that we still send an amount of $2,000.  The motion was seconded by Paul Edwards and was approved.

Dan Spoone spoke and thanked the membership for their collaborative spirit and how they adhere to the five core values of ACB.    

He explained That the ACB Board of Directors hires an Executive Director of ACB and the staff works for the Executive Director.  If you have concerns about how your requests are being handled you should make them known to the ACB President and the Executive Director.  

He made a plea for unity and encouraged everyone to work together to continue the good work being done by FCB and ACB.   

New Business:

Eugene Batke made a motion that Sheila be the designated delegate to the ACB convention in Omaha and Mikey Wiseman as the alternate.  Motion was seconded by Wanda Stokley. Motion carried.  
    
Motion was made by Mikey Wiseman and seconded by Cassandra Jessie to support Gabriel Lopez-Kafati for a position on the ACB Board of Directors.  Motion passed.

Motion was made by Mikey Wiseman and seconded by Cassandra Jessie to support Cachet Wells in her bid for re-election to the ACB Board of Publications.  Motion passed.

Eugene Batke thanked everyone for participating in the “how many pennies are in the jar” contest put on by Pinellas chapter.  Randy Reed was the winner.  

*Sarasota Chapter is donating their $2,000 in scholarship money for this year, as they did not have a local recipient.  This will assist with the FCB scholarship awards.

Sheila thanked everyone for participating in and helping with this wonderful convention. 

Motion to adjourn was made by Cassandra Jessie and seconded by Eugene Batke.  The meeting was adjourned at 12:40 PM. 
     
Respectfully submitted by,
Mary Tyson,
FCB Recording Secretary