NOTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER ACB BOARD TELECONFERENCE
by Jenine Stanley

The ACB board met via teleconference on Sept. 23. Mitch Pomerantz presented a number of items in his president's report.

Haiti Relief Efforts: Pomerantz and Kim Charlson announced that funds previously allocated by the board to assist individuals and organizations effected by the Haitian earthquake would be sent to a committee established by the World Blind Union to administer relief funds.

Fall Fund-Raising Letter: Pomerantz is preparing a fall fund-raising letter to be distributed to the membership in October.

Grants: ACB has applied for two grants from the Department of Education and is part of another application to that same department, involving audio description. Grant awards should be announced for the first two by November and the third by December. ACB is looking to increase its partnerships in grant efforts as well as solo grant applications.

Deque Systems and the ACB Store: Pomerantz met with Preety Kumar of Deque Systems regarding her company's desire to assist ACB with its web site. Deque has taken on redesign of the ACB Store, free of charge. They will use Drupal, the content management software used in the general re-design of the ACB web site. The site will then be overseen by the ACB Store Committee.

Meeting with HumanWare: Pomerantz will travel to HumanWare's headquarters in Montreal to discuss ways that the adaptive equipment company can work more closely with ACB.

Cruise Fund Raiser: Pomerantz reported that ACB realized $1,600 from its recent fund-raiser cruise. There will be two cruises in 2011.

Kim Charlson reported on talks with Art as Responsa who have chosen ACB as a designated charity. The organization sells a braille dreidel.

Executive Director's Report: Melanie Brunson announced that she has hired a new assistant, Dionne Matthews. She is assisting Melanie on grant research among her other duties.

The Combined Federal Campaign has begun and the ACB CFC number is on our web site. Brunson plans to post information about the campaign and how to contribute on all of ACB lists.

Comments have been filed with the FCC regarding cell phone access and can be found on the ACB web site. As a result of the resolution concerning cell phone access and Sprint in particular, Brunson was contacted by and will meet with an attorney representing Sprint.

Eric Bridges will host a group from Korea representing one of their agencies for the blind. George Holliday recently hosted a similar group from France on behalf of ACB.

Brunson urged all board members to publicize early registration for the mid-year meeting and legislative seminar.

Bridges sent a letter to Microsoft regarding the accessibility of Windows CE for mobile devices. As a result, he has been asked to come to the Microsoft campus to discuss these issues along with others in the blindness technology field.

Board Handbook: ACD has been prepared for all board members with a number of documents as reference. This CD will serve as the board's handbook and is designed to be easily updated electronically.

Controller's Report: Lane Waters reported one staff change in the Minneapolis office. He also reported that a report on the 2010 convention will be ready very soon, well ahead of the upcoming budget process. He is finishing the audit and will have a financial report for the board's review prior to its November meeting.

2011 Drawing: The board voted to accept the resource development committee's recommendation to hold a drawing at the 2011 conference and convention, with proceeds going to "The Braille Forum," pending investigation of Reno gaming ordinances.

2014 Convention Bids: Carla Ruschival presented information on the 2014 bidding process. The Atlanta hotel withdrew its bid. She shared information about the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. The board voted to hold the 2014 conference and convention at the Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas.

Elections: The board elected the following members to serve on the budget committee: Mike Godino, Michael Garrett and Berl Colley.

The board elected Allan Peterson to serve as its representative to the public relations committee.

The board will hold its next meeting Nov. 6 and 7 in Reno, Nev.


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