Call to Order/Introductions
The November meeting was called to order by chairman Ron Brooks at 9:05 p.m. on November 13, 2018. Members present: Ron Brooks, chair; Deb Lewis; Penny Reeder; Paul Edwards; Susan Glass.
ACB employees and contractors present: Sharon Lovering.
Ex officio members present: Kim Charlson, ACB President; Katie Frederick, ACB Public Relations; Bob Hachey, ACB Email List Moderator.
Guests: No guests were present.
Adoption of Agenda
Ron reviewed the agenda.
Motion: Paul moved and Deb seconded adoption of the Agenda. Motion passed.
Approval of October 9 Minutes
Motion: Paul moved and Penny seconded adoption of the October 9, 2018 minutes. Motion passed.
Open Forum
There were no topics.
Inclusion of Author Briefs for ACB Braille Forum and ACB E-Forum Articles
This topic is in response to a request that the BOP consider having brief author bios included in the magazines to provide background for readers. After discussion, it was agreed to experiment with inviting authors of major articles to submit a brief statement, usually one sentence, describing their background in relation to the article.
Review of Program-Related Findings from 2018 Post-Convention Survey
The findings are not available, and this topic is postponed.
Update on Preparation for December ACB E-Forum (Traditions Theme)
A lot of diverse content on traditions was received. Feedback continues to be very positive about the themed approach.
Identification of Tasks and Assignments for January ACB Braille Forum Mini-Theme and February ACB E-Forum Theme
It was decided that Sharon has enough content on hand so that a mini theme would not be necessary for the January Braille Forum. A number of articles are in the pipeline for the February E-Forum theme on relationships. The due date is December 21.
Chairman’s Report: Ron Brooks
- Sent copy of draft motion regarding expansion of ACB Braille and E-Forum magazines to Eric Bridges for incorporation into the 2019 draft budget.
- Sent note to Janet Dickelman, Eric Bridges and Sharon Lovering regarding program-related findings of the convention survey.
- Send note to CCLVI president Sara Conrad regarding large print guidelines. This note represents the initial step in a conversation regarding production challenges associated with the larger type face in use as well as comments (positive and negative) we've received from other large print users.
Editor’s Report: Sharon Lovering
October 2018 Issue type: electronic: Page count: 84
Electronic Distributed: 6,390; Returned: 6; Received: 6,384
Braille Returned: 1; Large Print Returned: 6
(* These were mostly September issues, but a few were older, including some from July, May, and last November.)
November 2018 Issue type: hard copy: Page count: 64
Braille Distributed: 671; Large Print: 2,538; Electronic: 6,393
As I write this, the November Forum is in the mail, and I just sent the December E-Forum to Nancy Gahagan at Perkins for recording. I spoke with Pat Engles at United Book Press/Ironmark today (Monday, Nov. 5); the extra large-print copies of November that I received were rather a mess. The only pages that were in the correct spots were pages 1 and 64. She is checking to see whether what they have left is the same way, and will get back to me when she has that information.
For December, I received a fair number of traditions articles, and a number of recipes. Be prepared to drool on your keyboard when December goes out. Recipes include Nancy Becker’s Ginger Chewies, Nancy Christine Feela’s Turtle Cheesecake Dip, and Kelly Gasque’s Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie, among others.
I continue to work on identifying people and writing descriptive captions for the convention photos I have CDs for. I am currently working on 2005’s photos, and have just found the photo CDs from 2008.
I am also working on going through and paring down our files, keeping the historic and important documents and pitching the moldy, the mildewed, and the disintegrating. So far, the oldest thing I’ve found has been a copy of National Industries for the Blind’s articles of incorporation from 1938.
Other Reports
ACB Radio: Larry Turnbull
Listener counts for October 2018:
Server: ACB Radio Mainstream 2124; Cafe 217; Treasure Trove 2232; Interactive 1032; World News and Information 729
Live Event: 15 listeners ACB of Ohio and Indiana convention; 20 listeners Washington Council of the Blind convention; 23 listeners Pennsylvania Council of the Blind convention; 25 listeners Missouri Council of the Blind convention; 15 listeners Illinois Council of the Blind convention
Phone: 8914 calls.
Web hits: 17,810 web hits.
ACBRI on demand visits: 2912
Downloads: Main Menu Archives 262; Speaking Out for the Blind 20; ACB Braille and E-Forum 942; ACB reports 610; Legendary Insights 450
30 new subscribers for the ACB Braille Forum and E Forum podcast; 33 for ACB Reports; 65 to Main Menu podcast; 0 for Legendary Insights.
829 tuning hours reported by Stream Licensing for ACB Radio Interactive.
829 tuning hours for ACB Radio Café.
320 calls to the ACB Braille/E Forum hotline.
ACB Email Lists: Bob Hachey
ACB-L Members: 335; Posts: 151
ACB-Chat Members: 150; Posts: 404
Social Media Stats
No data was available.
Public Relations: Katie Frederick
Katie reported that the primary emphasis right now is on the upcoming Giving Tuesday.
Other Business and Announcements
Kim and Sharon explained that the producer for the large print edition of the ACB Braille Forum incorrectly collated all but the first and last page of the November edition, and then mailed the mess out without any apparent quality control. They have agreed to reprint and ship the issue. This has not been a previous problem and we hope it’s an isolated incident, but Kim is going to follow up to make sure this is their understanding as well.
Next Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for December 4, 2018 at 9 p.m. Eastern time if the post-convention survey results are available. If not, the next meeting will be on January 8, 2019.
Adjourn
Deb moved and Paul seconded adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 10:15 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Deb Lewis, Secretary