Call to Order/Introductions
The April meeting was called to order by Deb Cook Lewis at 9:05 PM on April 2, 2019. Chairman Ron Brooks joined a few minutes late.
Members Present: Ron Brooks, Chair; Deb Lewis; Penny Reeder; Paul Edwards; Susan Glass.
ACB Employees and Contractors Present: Sharon Lovering.
Ex officio members present: David Trott, ACB Treasurer.
Guests: None.
Adoption of Agenda:
Ron reviewed the Agenda. Deb asked to give updates on the BOP Policy and large print version of the convention program.
Motion: Paul moved and Deb seconded adoption of the agenda as revised. Motion passed.
Approval of March 12 Minutes:
Motion: Paul moved and Susan seconded adoption of the March 12, 2019 minutes. Motion passed.
Open Forum:
There were no items.
Update on BOP Editorial Policy Manual
Deb reported that it was not necessary to submit any amendments to the ACB constitution. It states that the BOP will appoint someone to serve ex officio on the ACB board but does not specify how it will be done. She also noted that the Constitution does require the board meeting summary be submitted within 30 days. She will add this to the BOP Policy. Earlier in the month she sent relevant sections of the constitution to the BOP along with her findings. No motion was necessary to make the change for the 30 days since it is a constitutional requirement and the provisional status of the Policy is changed to adopted.
Update on the Large Print ACB Conference and Convention Program
Deb submitted the large print guidelines for the convention program to Janet and to Kim. Ron shared them with Sara Conrad and thanked CCLVI for their input and participation. The MN office prepared 3 samples using text from last year’s program. Deb circulated these to David Trott, Terry Pacheco and Sara Conrad. She specifically asked them to comment on the line spacing, the headings and whether the document body should be bold or normal. She received extensive feedback from David and Terry. She will provide feedback to Janet that the body text should be normal (not bold), headings should be consistently larger than the body, spacing after headings and between paragraphs should be consistent, and line spacing of 1.15” was preferred given the font and point size. She is concerned, based on feedback she received, that some of the formatting throughout the document is not consistent. She will ask Eric about whether Kelly can be engaged to oversee the formatting at least to the point of building a template. Ron will assist with this negotiation if necessary. David pointed out that the document needs to be readable for sighted individuals as well as those with low vision.
Process and Timeline for Selecting 2019 BOP Award Winners
Sharon needs all plaque language finalized before May 22. She has sent out the Braille Forum nominees for the Freeman award and one independent submission from South Dakota. The Freeman score sheets are due to Sharon by April 30. There are two nominations for the Henley award and one for the Liggett award. The deadline has passed but mail delivery is slow so it’s possible to receive more. Awards will be determined as part of the May agenda. Paul stated that he needs to recuse himself for the Liggett nomination as President of the nominated affiliate and as a major contributor to the newsletter.
Next Steps on ACB Candidates Page, Forum and Town Hall Meeting
Deb was asked to insert the schedule into the minutes as a reminder:
- Monday, April 1 – Announce details for the BOP Candidates Webpage, Forum and Town Hall Meeting in the April edition of the ACB E-Forum, via social media and by email.
- Friday, May 17 – Candidate statements for the candidates page are due to Sharon.
- Friday, May 31 – The candidates page is live.
- Wednesday, June 19 – ACB Candidates’ Forum via phone and Zoom
- Wednesday, July 10 – ACB Town Hall Meeting
Ron will host the online Candidates’ Forum. Penny and Paul will host the Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, July 10, 7:15 PM. Deb and Susan will facilitate the Writers’ workshop.
Logo and Graphics for the Dots and Dashes Publication
Sharon reported that a logo was created spelling out ACB in Morse Code and was used for the most recent issue. Deb said that it has been well received and that Terry Pacheco, who initially raised it, is pleased.
Update on June, July, and August Braille and E-Forum Magazines
June is multicultural and diversity. It is due on April 25. Articles will be solicited from Next Gen (Ron), Pride (Paul), Women’s Concerns (Susan), Multicultural Concerns (Ron), Aging (Deb). Ron will write a scoping article to include the diversity we’re not talking about—diversity of employment, interests etc. Penny will encourage Deanna Noriega to contribute a short article or poem.
The July issue will be independence including topics such as independent voting, Marrakesh Treaty, etc. Students could write about becoming independent for the first time. Paul will write a philosophical article on what independence really means. Paul will take the lead on this issue.
August is somewhat up for discussion but may be a dog theme. This would feature GDUI and would explore the legal issues for dog guide handlers as well as stories, philosophy, tips etc. If this becomes hard for a full issue, it may become a mini theme.
Chairman’s Report: Ron Brooks
- Sent email to Sara Conrad including the BOP’s motion dealing with the large print format for the ACB conference and convention program.
- Drafted pre-convention Writer’s Workshop announcement for distribution to the ACB convention coordinator.
- Participated in one meeting of the Marketing and Communications Action Planning Group chaired by Katie Frederick.
Text of Program Announcement for BOP Writer’s Workshop
Title: “Highways, Byways and Back Alleys: Transporting Your Readers to Your Message”
As with shirts, shoes and Panama hats, no one size fits all readers. Some like print, others braille, still others digital cartridge, email and podcasts. At the 2019 BOP Writer’s Workshop, the BOP’s Deb Cook Lewis and Susan Glass will share the many-facetted strategy the BOP has taken for ensuring that there is a format for every Braille Forum and E-Forum reader. Deb and Susan will also share ideas that individuals and affiliates can use for making local newsletters and other materials available in audio, digital and other formats. This will be a hands-on workshop where you can transform the BOP’s lessons into practical strategies that you can use to increase the scope and reach of your own publications.
Editor’s Report: Sharon Lovering
March 2019 Issue type: hard copy; Page count: 80
Braille distributed: 662; returned: 2; return rate: 0.3%; received: 660
Cartridge distributed: 683
Large print distributed: 2,481; returned: 21; return rate: 0.8%; received: 2,459
Electronic distributed: 6,518; returned: 4; return rate: 0.1%; received: 6,514
April 2019 Issue type: electronic; Page count: 87
Electronic distributed: 6,715 (up 3.02% from last month)
May 2019 Issue type: Hard copy; Page count: 80
Braille to be distributed: 699 (up 5.6% since March)
Cartridge to be distributed:
Large print to be distributed: 2,500 (up 0.77% since March)
I’m currently working on the May issue, aiming to have it out the door next Friday. I have also sent out the Freeman, Henley and Liggett award lists, along with the nominations I’ve received and their supporting materials. The deadline is April 1st; I will watch the mail and email for additional nominations, and if any come in, I will send them to you all. I understand there may be one more Henley nominee and perhaps a Liggett as well. The “drop-dead” date to get the award plaque language to National Braille Press is May 22nd.
Also on Monday, I will have a meeting with the history committee to discuss the progress of scanning in the historical photos at Perkins, among other things. Will fill you in during the call.
With regard to credentials, all the updates were entered by close of business March 18th. Affiliates were able to certify their lists beginning the 19th and ending on the 30th. Nancy has called the affiliates that have not yet done their certifications. Minnesota will process the certifications and send out dues notifications in the next couple of weeks.
Another project I’ve been working on is moving the files out of the large file cabinets – and the cassettes out of the cassette cabinet – in the conference room and into boxes to prepare for the new, smaller file cabinets and other new furniture in the office. This is a workout in itself! I am also cleaning off my old computer, a desktop Windows 7 machine, and have found some photos from previous years’ conventions there. I will be moving those files onto CDs or DVDs in the coming weeks. The old computer will be going out with the old file cabinets and such. I continue to fit work on identifying convention photos in during non-busy times.
Other Reports
ACB Radio: Larry Turnbull
Larry was not on the call, no data was available. Deb said that ACB Radio Management has not met.
ACB Email Lists: Bob Hachey
Leadership Subscribers March: 273; Messages: 113
ACB-L Members: 341; Posts: 103
ACB-Chat Members: 156; Posts:
20
Social Media Stats
Not available.
Public Relations: Katie Frederick
Paul reported that PR did not meet last month.
Other Business and Announcements
Motion: After discussion, Susan moved and Penny seconded to name The convention newspaper the Flower City Press. Motion passed. The name will be explained in the first edition.
Next Meeting:
The next meeting is scheduled for May 7, 2019 at 9:00 PM Eastern time.
Adjourn
Deb moved and Susan seconded adjournment. the meeting adjourned at 09:59 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Deb Lewis, Secretary