The ACB Board of Publications met via teleconference on Monday, February 6.
Members present: Chairperson Paul Edwards, Nolan Crabb, Marcia Dresser, Judy Jackson, and Ken Stewart; ex officio members Berl Colley, Bob Hachey, and Ron Milliman; ACB staff/contractors: Annette Carter (Web Administrator), Sharon Lovering, Steve Obremski, and Larry Turnbull. Several guests also participated on the call.
Chair Paul Edwards called the meeting to order at 9:15 PM EST. Ken moved and Marcia seconded adoption of the meeting agenda as amended; the motion carried. Ken moved and Judy seconded approval of the minutes of the January meeting as distributed; the motion was adopted.
Fund-raising Brochure
The group discussed the draft of the ACB planned giving brochure with Steve Obremski, and suggested several changes to the wording. Marcia moved and Judy seconded approval of the brochure with the proposed alterations. The motion carried. We will try to find some appropriate photos which would be good for positive publicity.
Editor's Report
The March issue of The Braille Forum has gone to press. We discussed the fact that Sharon, as editor, has the authority to decide when articles will be published in the Forum. Space is at a premium, since the magazine is just 32 pages. We have started to receive submissions for the three awards.
Public Relations Committee
Ron Milliman reported that the committee had an open conference call, attended by 31 people, to discuss using newsletters to promote an affiliate. The next call is planned for April, with the topic of how affiliates can use social media to promote themselves. The August call, regarding Web site content, will be co-sponsored by the Membership Committee. Ron put a blurb in the Forum and on the Leadership List stating that the PR Committee is ready and willing to help affiliates with marketing and public relations; two affiliates have received assistance so far. Ron will remind affiliates of this offer from time to time.
ACB Radio
Twice a week, on Sundays and Wednesdays, Larry posts the ACB Radio schedule to the Leadership List; we have gotten a few more listeners as a result. Larry, Paul, and Marlaina Lieberg are writing a tutorial on listening to ACB Radio on portable devices. Team Talk is now being used for the chat rooms instead of Talking Communities because Team Talk is a lot more stable. There are two new programs on ACB Radio Mainstream. "Viewpoints Plus," done by an upstate New York radio reading service, airs Wednesday at 10:00 PM EST, and "Let's Talk Low Vision," done by CCLVI, airs Friday at 10:00 PM EST. The Auction Committee hopes to hold a two-hour holiday auction in December on ACB Radio, with bids taken via email or by phone. All proceeds will go to ACB Radio.
Leadership Institute
Berl Colley reported that plans are set for the Leadership Institute on July 6. Folks can register on the convention registration form at a cost of $50. This workshop will run from 8:45 to 5:00. The speakers have not yet been finalized. They will take the first fifty, or possibly sixty, people who apply, and the sessions will be recorded for possible broadcast on ACB Radio. The ACB Board of Directors allotted $6,250 for this training; the committee hopes to recoup some of that through grants and donations.
ACB Web Site
Nolan Crabb is now the chair of the Web Site Task Force. Jenine Stanley will remain on the task force, which will provide continuity. Nolan will set up a meeting within the next couple of weeks. Anyone wishing to post something on the ACB Web site must get permission from Nolan and Melanie Brunson. One of Annette's many duties as Web administrator is to work on the low vision component of the Web site. She has experience with this because she used to work on the CCLVI site. Annette needs a description of the ACB logo to put on the site. If we don't have a description on file somewhere, she will compose one. The Constitution and 2011 resolutions should be up on the site by midyear. Natalie Beyers has taken over our Twitter feed, which has about 250 followers.
Midyear Meetings
The BOP will meet on Friday, February 24 at 7:30. The BOP Saturday presentation will be at 4:30 for 30 minutes. We will discuss what the BOP is doing, affiliate newsletters, and the process involved regarding the proposed name change of The Braille Forum. Presenters will be Paul, Nolan, and Marcia.
Old Business
We held a brief discussion about content of The Braille Forum. There is no way to please everyone. The question was raised: Is the Forum a news publication for blind and visually impaired people in general, or is it an in-house publication of record?
Submissions for all three awards are due by April 15. BOP members must have our award evaluations in to Sharon by April 30.
Paul and Nolan will have the copyright statement ready shortly.
The meeting adjourned at 11:25 PM EST.
Because the BOP is meeting at midyear, there will be no meeting in March. The next teleconference will occur on Monday, April 2 at 9:00 PM EDT.
Respectfully submitted,
Marcia N. Dresser, Secretary