by Charles S.P. Hodge
The first portion of the July 12, 2003 post-convention board meeting was an executive session lasting from about 1:40 until 3:30 p.m. When the open session convened, President Gray announced that during the executive session, the board had had under consideration sensitive and confidential personnel matters, and that the board had authorized him to take certain unspecified actions as a result. In addition, Gray announced that the board had voted to hold its face-to-face September meeting in Washington, D.C.
Gray said, "A substantial portion of the board's time at that meeting will be devoted to a focused and directed discussion regarding certain problem issues concerning operations in the national office with an eye toward working cooperatively with the national office staff to establish goals and priorities."
All board members were present at the public meeting, as well as executive director Charlie Crawford, Melanie Brunson, Terry Pacheco, Penny Reeder, Jim Olsen, Cynthia Towers, and approximately 30 guests. In the absence of a prepared agenda, board members suggested items to be placed upon the meeting agenda while voting to defer elections of both the executive committee and the budget committee until the September meeting, and to ask the present members of those respective committees to continue to serve until their successors take their places.
In her convention report, Cynthia Towers indicated that the convention committee had had to surmount some real challenges this year, and that certain changes such as making sure that the convention information services office and the registration office are physically located near each other will be implemented for future conventions.
Towers fielded several questions from board members which centered upon suggestions for future corrective actions regarding accessibility issues, including access to information contained on printed cards in hotel rooms, making sure that all convention meeting rooms are wired for accessible listening devices, and appropriately labeling hotel rooms and convention center venues with ADA-compliant signage. Towers noted that the convention committee planned to meet by conference call within two weeks to de-brief and compare notes. Gray and the board thanked Towers and her hard-working committee for their tireless efforts which had culminated in a truly successful national convention.
In his follow-up report, budget committee chairman Brian Charlson began by reminding the board that at the pre-convention meeting, the board had taken actions which are anticipated to bridge less than half of the expected budgetary deficit for the remainder of the current budget year. Charlson then moved that the board freeze all non-essential expenditures until further notice. A number of board members had questions as to how "essential expenditures" will be defined. Charlson indicated that the chore of better defining and making decisions concerning this vital distinction would be the subject of his next motion. The board voted to adopt the budget committee's motion.
Charlson then made a motion to establish an ad hoc special budgetary monitoring committee comprised of the president, the executive director, the treasurer, the chief financial officer and the budget committee chairman, to make determinations regarding which expenditures are essential and thus authorized and which expenditures are non-essential and thus frozen until further action by the board. Charlson explained that the budget committee expects that the ad hoc budgetary monitoring committee will regularly report to the board upon its activities and various expenditure determinations. After some discussion, the board adopted the motion.
President Gray ruled that the voice votes on the two motions offered by the budget committee and adopted by the board were by more than a two-thirds majority thus complying with the requirements of the constitution and bylaws for amendments to the 2003 budget.
The board meeting was then recessed so that a meeting of the American Council of the Blind Enterprises and Services (ACBES) corporate membership could be convened. When the board meeting resumed, Paul Edwards offered to work closely with chief financial officer Jim Olsen to see to it that an accessible copy of the annual audit for 2002 in electronic format is made available to all board members. The board then approved a motion authorizing the filing on behalf of ACB of the Minnesota state charitable solicitations report.
In his report on behalf of the BOP, Charlie Hodge indicated that in light of the board's earlier action, the BOP would like the opportunity to plead its case to declare the publication of a 2003 convention issue of "The Braille Forum" an essential, and therefore authorized, expenditure. Hodge then reported that the BOP at its July 6 meeting had approved "The Braille Forum" editor's recommendation that Sarah J. Blake be chosen to undertake the duties of editor of the "Here and There" column for "The Braille Forum."
After approving the BOP report, the board approved the motion to publicly thank Jonathan Mosen for his dedicated service to ACB both as manager of ACB Radio and as an ex officio member of the BOP, and wishing Mosen the very best in his future career endeavors.
The board then turned its attention to the task of electing a voting member of the public relations committee. Billie Jean Keith, who had held this position during the previous year, had indicated to President Gray her desire not to serve in this capacity again. When the floor was opened for nominations, Mitch Pomerantz and Ardis Bazyn were nominated. On a roll call vote, there were 10 votes for Mitch Pomerantz, four votes for Ardis Bazyn and one vote for Billie Jean Keith, thus electing Mitch Pomerantz as the board's voting representative on the committee. Those voting for Pomerantz were Jerry Annunzio, Alan Beatty, Ed Bradley, Dawn Christensen, Billie Jean Keith, Oral Miller, Mitch Pomerantz, Carla Ruschival, Donna Seliger and Steve Speicher; those voting for Bazyn were Ardis Bazyn, Paul Edwards, M.J. Schmitt and Pat Sheehan; Brian Charlson voted for Billie Jean Keith.
Gray then called upon Ardis Bazyn to report for the resolutions prioritization committee. The board by consensus decided to consider only the priority one designations recommended by the committee. Bazyn reported that the following resolutions adopted by the 2003 convention had been assigned priority one ratings: resolution 2003-6, committing ACB to write a letter to the Department of Justice supporting the GDUI ADA complaint which is now pending before that department in the Iowa guide dog case, resolutions 2003-8, 2003-9, and 2003-10, the three traditional complimentary resolutions, resolution 2003-13, regarding the threat to the Randolph-Sheppard Act priority posed by language in the Defense Department reauthorization legislation now pending before Congress, resolution 2003-18 regarding reauthorization of TEA-21, resolution 2003-21 regarding ACB's participation in the establishment of a Flight 93 memorial, resolution 2003-22 regarding restoration of the regulatory requirement favoring descriptive video services, resolution 2003-23 regarding opposition to any repeal or diminution of the Kennelly amendment in TEA-21 incorporating by reference the Randolph-Sheppard Act priority for operation by licensed blind vendors of vending machines at federal interstate highway rest stops, resolution 2003-29, regarding implementation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), and resolution 2003-30 regarding detectable warning and key station requirements as part of TEA-21 reauthorization. The board approved the committee's recommendations. After some discussion, the board decided to hold its September meeting over the weekend of September 19 through 21.
In response to questions from board members, Gray gave an informal update from the public relations committee. He indicated that the committee had developed a two-pronged public service announcement (PSA) campaign, one prong composed of three PSAs developed by the committee itself and produced and mixed by Jonathan Mosen, and the second prong composed of three PSAs that were developed primarily through the efforts of Billie Jean Keith and recorded for ACB by Willard Scott. He indicated that both prongs of the PSA campaign will be pursued and promoted by the public relations committee. In addition, Gray reported that ACB received considerable television, radio and print press coverage of convention activities in the Pittsburgh media market.
A motion was made and seconded that the letter of support to the Department of Justice for GDUI's ADA complaint called for by resolution 2003-6, once composed and sent, be posted on the ACB web site and printed in "The Braille Forum." Donna Seliger suggested an amendment that was accepted by Patrick Sheehan, the maker of the motion, as friendly that once this support letter is so published and distributed, the Iowa guide dog controversy should be considered closed. The motion as amended was adopted.
With no further business to conduct, the post-convention meeting of the ACB board of directors adjourned about 6 p.m.