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TXT file 2023 February 16 Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
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Executive Committee Meeting February 16, 2023
A meeting of the FCB Executive Committee was held on Thursday, February 16, 2023. Those in attendance were: President, Sheila Young; 1st Vice-President, Mikey Wiseman; 2nd Vice-President, Cassandra Jessie; Membership Secretary, Sally Benjamin; Recording Secretary, Mary Tyson; Treasurer, Mark Lear; and FCB Administrative Assistant, , Kati Lear. The meeting began at 7:01 PM.
Motion was made by Cassandra to approve the January 26, meeting minutes as emailed. Motion was seconded by Mikey and motion carried.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Convention Update:
- The convention theme will be “70 and just getting started”.
- They discussed at the Convention Committee meeting whether to have an audio/video or just an audio component to the convention. No decision was made as Mikey will be getting quotes from the hotel. It will be decided at the next committee meeting.
- Kati has received the majority of program write-ups for the convention call. There are currently two open program slots.
- Mikey is working with new staff at the hotel and says there may not be as much flexibility this year with additional rooms being available.
- The tablecloths will be black with platinum runners and napkins, and we will have a dance floor this year.
- Mikey spoke with the OneBlood staff and it was confirmed that insurance while in the vehicle is provided by OneBlood. Service dogs will not be denied but it is recommended they not be brought due to space constraints.
Mikey explained to Terri from CALM that any correspondence with the hotel regarding this program, regarding logistics, etc., must go through him as hotel coordinator. Any volunteer coordination would need to go through Sally. OneBlood will have a table in the exhibit hall where people can receive assistance in signing up to donate if they wish.
FCB Computer Update:
-Kati checked prices with Office Depot, Best Buy, Winchester Computer and Magnifying America and sent the information to the EC. If purchase through Best Buy or Winchester there will be a three-day lag time while Kati will be without a computer. Magnifying America will bring the computer to Kati, set it up and due the data transfer.
Motion was made by Mikey and seconded by Mary to purchase the computer from Magnifying America even at a slightly higher price as they will due the set up and data transfer at her home. Motion passed.
Chapter Updates:
Sarasota - Mary had not yet made contact with that chapter. She will report at the next meeting.
Palm Beach – Sally and Sheila met with a group from their chapter. Rick Troiano will be the president for the time being and Jason Goldfield will be the first Vice-President. Sally attended a meting of the Braille Club, where several members had gone, and some indicated that they may return to the chapter.
Tampa – No dues or assessments have been received. Things are status quo.
FCCLV – Mikey reported that they had lost their treasurer and that the position was being taken by Sally Benjamin. They are in the process of getting her name on the account. The affiliate is reorganizing and is making progress. Most members want to remain with the group.
RSVF – Cassandra reported that Colton has been unavailable. He is involved on some state committee and when he has completed those obligations he said he would talk with her. If he does not call her this week, she will reach out to him.
Insurance Update:
Current FCB insurance covers officers committee chairs and board reps should there be an accident or injury while doing their work for FCB.
NEW BUSINESS
Community Call – The next community call, on March 25, will be Registration 101 to go over the process for registering and paying for convention. It will be noted on the form that only one person per form is permitted. The community call training will be led by Cassandra and Sally. The Family Feud game will be postponed to April 22.
Presidents Meeting - It has been noted that often the Presidents meeting call goes on for too long with many questions being asked by guests who are not a chapter president or their representative at the meeting. In an effort to move things along, in future, questions will only be taken from presidents or their representative until the agenda has been completed. Questions will then be answered, time permitting. Participants will also be encouraged to take their questions to their chapter president if there is not time in the Presidents Meeting.
Leadership Meeting Stipends:
Four people have been chosen by Anthony Corona and Debbie Grubb to attend the leadership conference in Washington. They are: Dan Newt, Janeen Flannigan, Sally Benjamin and Doug Hall. We budgeted for seven people at $800 per person, and only four were chosen along with Anthony. Sheila recommended that we give them each $800 plus $100 to put towards their $175 registration cost.
Motion was made by Mikey to provide an additional $100 to each of the five members traveling to Washington, to put towards the cost of their registration. Motion was seconded by Cassandra. Motion passed.
Sheila asked if we should provide the funding up front to assist in travel costs, or should we reimburse members after the trip? Mikey recommended that reimbursement be done after the trip, but that anyone who may need some up-front assistance would be addressed on a case-by-case basis. Cassandra made a motion that once it is verified that the conference attendee has arrived in Washington that Mark can send the money via Zelle, etc., to assist with expenses while they are away. Motion was seconded by Mary. Motion passed. Mark advised that he would explain this procedure to Anthony in an email as he had been asking about the process.
Sheila asked if we have had any response to the Request for Proposal for upcoming convention hotels. Mikey said that we had not.
Possible Convention Attendee – It had been suggested that an honorarium be given to Ron Brooks because of assistance that he had provided to the Miami Beach chapter with transportation issues. The Committee declined to do this. However, if he wished to put on a session on transportation at the convention, where he could share his experiences and expertise in this field, we do have a slot available and he would be treated as any other presenter. We could also arrange a presentation on Zoom if he wished.
CALM Concerns - It was suggested to the Executive Committee that there are some problems within our new chapter that need to be addressed. It seems that they are trying to do too much too fast and people are getting frustrated. It was suggested that in order to develop the chapter in a slow but steady manner, that Terri, as president of CALM, develop a timeline with four objectives. This would enable the chapter to stay on track, and let members determine how they would best serve the membership. Everyone will not be attracted to every project and they need to find their own strengths and how best to utilize them for the good of the organization.
Motion was made by Cassandra and seconded by Mary that this be addressed, by Sheila and Mikey after the Leadership Conference. Motion carried.
Motion to adjourn was made by Cassandra and seconded by Mary. Motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 PM.
Respectfully submitted by,
Mary Tyson,
FCB Recording Secretary