by Penny Reeder
The April 30, 2024 meeting of the ACB Board of Directors commenced at 7 p.m. Eastern. All board members were present, as well as executive director Scott Thornhill; CFO Nancy Marks Becker; Voting Task Force co-chair Patrick Sheehan; and convention coordinator Janet Dickelman. The meeting was streamed live by ACB Media, and the link to the podcast is https://pnc.st/s/acb-business/6cf31da7/20240430-acb-board-meeting.
After roll call, review and approval of the meeting agenda, and approval of minutes from the March 2nd board meeting, President Deb Cook Lewis introduced the meeting’s Mission Moment, during which Deb, Scott, and several board members highlighted aspects of the D.C. Leadership Conference they especially enjoyed.
Scott told the board how much he enjoyed meeting so many participants who represent organizations that partner with ACB on advocacy and legislative priorities.
Kenneth Semien Sr. said that he particularly enjoyed meeting several first-timers and leadership fellows. Many board members mentioned how much they had enjoyed visiting ACB’s new office and interacting in person with staff and members from across the country.
Deb said that a review of the Leadership Conference survey results will be on the agenda for the July 5 board meeting.
In her president’s report, Deb said that some reports that have traditionally been presented at both the convention board meeting as well as during general session will be presented this year only at the board meeting. Because all board meetings are streamed live by ACB Media, and recordings are made available as podcasts, anyone who wants to hear these reports has ample opportunity to do so.
Resolutions will be discussed and voted upon on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings of the virtual convention week – June 25, 26, and 27 – and proposed constitutional amendments and bylaws will be handled on Friday evening of the virtual convention week, after their first reading on Tuesday, June 25. Record votes on resolutions and constitutional amendments will be scheduled for July 1.
ACB has hired a new parliamentarian. Her name is Julie Palm. She will be available via Zoom during all the proceedings that take place during the week of June 24, and available in person during elections for the Board of Directors and the Board of Publications.
Deb asked the board to think about ways to solicit and receive input from members. Anticipating that there is likely to be a resolution on this topic, she said that one approach that has been effective in the past has been to provide a Google telephonic number and a specific e-mail address where members can leave feedback, which can then be made available to board members, either as copies of the e-mails and voice-mail attachments that members have sent, or as collated summaries. The board very successfully employed a similar approach, Terry Pacheco pointed out, when the code of conduct was being discussed and debated.
At the behest of the ACB Board of Directors, Kenneth Semien Sr. recently prepared a description of expectations, policies, and procedures which guide officers and directors as they work to govern ACB and assure the organization’s prosperity and effectiveness. Although the board had initially considered adopting the document as an official board publication, after discussion, they decided to accept Kenneth’s well-written description, and to encourage all candidates running for board seats in the coming election to become familiar with the document, but not to adopt it as official policy right now. This will give the board more time to evaluate the list of responsibilities Kenneth has included in the document. The document will be posted on the ACB website, and it will be included in an issue of “The ACB Braille Forum.” (Editor’s Note: It appeared in the June 2024 issue.) The board encourages candidates to become familiar with the document and to consider what is expected of directors as they reach their own decisions about whether to run for office.
Deb noted that ACB needs to develop similar descriptive documents to describe ACB’s expectations with respect to how committee and steering committee members and staff do the work of the organization. “This document has so much to contribute to that effort,” she said. “But it’s just one piece of a bigger endeavor. We need to provide orientation and guidance to those who are serving as volunteers and our staff.”
Scott spent a few minutes describing several conferences that he and staff members had attended during recent weeks, including the assistive technology-focused conference held annually in Anaheim, Calif., on the California State University-Northridge campus (CSUN), which director of advocacy and governmental affairs Claire Stanley and development officer Kolby Garrison had attended; and the VisionServe Alliance Conference held this year in Kansas City, which Scott, Dan Spoone, Claire, and Doug Powell attended. Both conferences offered tremendous opportunities for learning, sharing information, networking, and strengthening ACB’s partnerships with others in the blindness field and community.
Scott told the board that administrative assistant Kaitlyn Herrera is leaving ACB to accept a position more directly associated with sociology, which has been her field of study. ACB recently hired Hannah Park, whom Kaitlyn is currently training, to take on the administrative role in the Alexandria office. Scott and Nancy told the board that finding and hiring an accountant to work in the Minnesota office continues to represent a challenge for ACB. CFO Nancy Becker reported that the in-person audit of ACB and ACBES was conducted between March 25 and 28th. Once again, ACB and ACBES received a clean audit, which is the highest rating organizations like ours can receive.
She said that initial certification of ACB affiliates’ members had just wrapped up, and she expected to complete the credentials report soon. If new members are added to affiliate membership rosters before the close of business on May 24 (the record date), they will be eligible to vote at convention.
Nancy reported an increase in certified members this year. She told the board that the scholarship committee is ahead of schedule, and that she would soon be notifying this year’s winners. She complimented all of those who updated membership records for their affiliates this year.
Nancy also noted that the link for registering for this year’s Brenda Dillon Memorial Walk is now up and running on the website.
In her convention update, Janet Dickelman reported that registration for members will cost $45 and open on May 13; registration for non-members will cost $60 and open on May 20. Registration will run through June 17. If you wait to register until convention, the cost will be $55 for members and $65 for non-members.
Janet said that ACB has hired leaders who will manage Kids Club at the Jacksonville convention, and she is hoping that registrations for lots of children will be coming in shortly. She recommended that people use a credit card, not a debit card, when registering for your hotel room.
Our banquet speaker will be Judge David S. Tatel, who served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1994 until 2023. He is blind, and the author of the book, “Vision, A Memoir of Blindness and Justice.”
After Janet’s report, Patrick Sheehan and Jeff Thom, co-chairs of the ACB Voting Task Force, presented proposed standing rules for the 2024 ACB convention to the board for their consideration and favorable recommendation. Koni Sims read the proposed rules aloud, while Jeff summarized recommended procedural changes included in the rules proposed for 2024. After discussion, the board voted to send the standing rules to the membership with a favorable recommendation for their adoption.
The final agenda item, which invited directors to update the board on their involvement with specific committees, gave Koni Sims an opportunity to describe her participation on the International Code Council 117.1 American National Standards Institute (ANSI) International Building Code (IBC) subcommittee, which investigates and ultimately approves regulations which will make various aspects of construction and the built environment more accessible to people with low vision. Koni was recently invited by other subcommittee members to share her expertise as a person with low vision. She was the only person on the subcommittee representing a blindness organization, and of the five recommendations which she presented on behalf of ACB, four were adopted.
The meeting adjourned at 9:48 p.m. Eastern.