by Mike Duke
The board of directors of the American Council of the Blind met on September 20 and 21 at the Holiday Inn Central in Washington, D.C. President Chris Gray called the meeting to order shortly after 9 a.m. on September 20. Despite travel inconveniences caused by Hurricane Isabel, only two members, Dawn Christensen and Jerry Annunzio, were absent.
A motion to reconsider the board policy of not allowing absent members to participate via telephone conference was adopted. After discussion, a motion was adopted to waive the policy for only this particular board meeting. Christensen joined the meeting via telephone shortly thereafter, and participated thus throughout the remainder of the meeting. Numerous attempts to reach Annunzio were unsuccessful.
The meeting agenda, which included an executive session, was discussed, modified slightly, and adopted.
Brian Charlson moved to grant a request that Susan Crawford, who was neither a board member nor a staff person, be allowed to remain in the room during the executive session. The motion failed on a roll call vote of 4 in favor, 9 against and 2 absent. Those voting in favor were: Alan Beatty, Billie Jean Keith, Pat Sheehan and Steve Speicher. Those opposed were: Ardis Bazyn, Ed Bradley, Brian Charlson, Paul Edwards, Oral Miller, Mitch Pomerantz, Carla Ruschival, M.J. Schmitt and Donna Seliger.
The board meeting recessed at 9:50 a.m. to begin an executive session, which lasted until nearly 1 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 2:20 p.m. with first vice president Speicher presiding during the brief absence of President Gray. As the meeting convened, ACB staff members and guests were recognized.
Minutes from the pre-convention and post-convention board meetings were approved. Reports from committees, staff, and the board of publications were presented. Each report was discussed and accepted by voice vote.
Staff members prefaced their presentations by noting that, because none had received meeting agendas which would have indicated the board's desire for their reports in advance of the board meeting, their reports would be of a less formal nature than usual. Penny Reeder reported that the number of e-mail subscriptions for "The Braille Forum" is constantly growing. The 48-page limitation is forcing more material to be held back for later use.
Representing the board of publications, Mike Duke reported that President Gray has reappointed Charlie Hodge as BOP chairman, and Adrian DeBlaey as the appointed BOP member. His report continued with several recommendations for improving the published convention program, the Convention Ear news service, and the convention newspaper. The board of publications requested that a meeting be quickly scheduled with Hodge and the essential expenditure review committee to discuss the possibility of publishing a convention issue of "The Braille Forum" in 2003.
President Gray rejoined the meeting and assumed the chairmanship. He reported that an announcement concerning the outcome of the board's several recent executive sessions (see below) could be expected within seven days.
Melanie Brunson reported that advocacy work has begun on the resolutions passed by the 2003 convention. Some of this work has involved meetings with Congressional staff. ACB continues its Congressional dialogue concerning the Rehabilitation Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Transportation Equity Act. Brunson is working with RSVA on vending issues, and is closely monitoring attacks on the Help America Vote Act and its funding. Other ongoing advocacy issues include program funding, free matter regulations, attacks on the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the ACB currency case. Video description legislation has been introduced in the Senate and sponsors are still being sought in the House.
Paul Edwards discussed Carl Perkins Funds as they relate to high school and college funding of readers and other services. A motion directing Brunson to keep watch on attempts to withdraw this funding passed unanimously.
Charlie Crawford added discussion of the work that ACB has done on the transportation appropriations bill, and of our success in the Visudyne case. In his executive director's report, Crawford remarked on the difficulties and inconveniences caused by the renovation of the building where the ACB staff works. A request has been filed with the landlord for economic relief in light of these issues. After the collapse of the old computer network, a new network is being assembled and should be fully functional by the time this report is read.
The first draft of the 2004 budget has been given to the president, the budget committee, and chief financial officer. The proposed total budget is $1,296,000, approximately $80,000 less than the budget for the current year. Two office staff positions remain vacant, and will not be filled within the near future.
The ACB Store continues to expand, and to pursue links with other suppliers for increased marketing opportunities. Terry Pacheco reported that the store sales items are currently being routed through her office. She continues to receive many questions about the availability of braille and recorded editions of "People of Vision." Pacheco's department has updated the ACB constitution to incorporate changes which resulted from the convention's actions, and the affiliate presidents list has been updated and is ready for distribution. Because decisions about committees have yet to be made, the updated ACB committee list is not yet available.
Work continues with FundFlow toward fundraising efforts, which will involve collaboration with affiliates. (See Dodge Fielding's report in the October 2003 "Braille Forum.") In addition, a "friend-raising" reception will be held on October 23. It is hoped that this event will bring ACB together with various enterprises and organizations that are potential donors. Several Combined Federal Campaign presentations have also been scheduled.
Approximately 25 members are contributing a total of $586 per month through the members' monetary giving program. A legal opinion will be sought on whether a proposed name change for the program may be a trademark infringement.
After a discussion of the logo sticker currently affixed to the ACB cane, a motion to instruct California Canes to supply 80 percent of the ACB canes with a permanently affixed logo and 20 percent with no logo passed unanimously.
A discussion of the history committee and the "People of Vision" book project revealed that approximately 200 copies of the book have been sold thus far by ACB. The recorded and braille editions are expected to be available through NLS as well as the ACB Store. The history committee is continuing its outreach work with college and university libraries, and will encourage ACB affiliates to purchase copies. A motion to sunset the present history committee after these outreach projects have been completed, and then to establish a new committee charged with the collection and preservation of history, was adopted.
Paul Edwards reported that ACBES is barely making its target contribution to ACB. All obligations to ACB are current through September. An increase in these obligations for 2004 is unlikely. ACBES is maintaining a careful watch over the cost of doing business within each store location. A profit-sharing arrangement is now in place for management and employees in most stores, and will soon be implemented in the others. The ACBES board will meet via telephone in October.
Treasurer Ardis Bazyn and chief financial officer Jim Olsen continued the discussion of monetary matters with the treasurer's report. They reported that shipping and handling costs for ACB Store items are being carefully monitored and adjusted. The store now has a toll-free order number. Olsen reported that total revenue for the year, through mid-July, was $603,384. Expenses through the same time period amounted to $746,202. ACBES has transferred $68,904. A motion to transfer money from board reserves into the general fund was adopted.
Brian Charlson reported that a draft budget for 2004 has been received. Work to finalize this budget is now in progress. A motion to maintain the same spending level as last year for the first quarter of the new fiscal year was adopted.
The budget committee reported progress toward establishing a budget-center process. Work continues on the revenue-center process, and toward getting a budgetary handle on convention expenditures. Second vice president M.J. Schmitt commended the budget committee for its tireless work on a very difficult ongoing situation.
Carla Ruschival reported that the contract for the 2005 convention in Las Vegas has been signed. Work has begun on the contract for 2009 with Orlando. Bids are now being sought for 2008, 2010, and 2011. Ruschival reported that several hotel chains are also interested in hosting our board meetings and legislative seminars. These extra meetings may then be held at a lower cost, and can be used as negotiating tools for future contracts.
Charlson, Bazyn, and Sheehan were re-elected to the budget committee. The officers and board members then divided into two groups in order to elect their respective members to the executive committee. Following this action, the meeting recessed until 8:30 a.m. on September 21.
The Sunday session began with the president's report. Gray reported that the AllinPlay ACB Poker Tournament, held over Labor Day weekend, was great fun, and that it drew substantial online publicity for ACB. It drew 225 participants with as many as 70 people playing at one time. The winners were from Singapore, the United States, and Scotland.
He said that after big disappointments with descriptive video and Visudyne issues, we have seen encouraging developments on both fronts in the last month. In addition, we expect to see positive developments in rehabilitation reauthorization and other legislative areas. He encouraged all members to continue their hard work on all advocacy and legislative fronts.
Work continues on the development of the idea of a second ACB magazine which would target doctors' offices, and which could also be used as a fundraising instrument. Gray said that the publication would initially be an expensive project, but could be expected to become self-funding, primarily through advertisement sales. Gray is discussing this project with some interested publishers, and hopes to soon see positive action.
Gray reported that Dave Williams is keeping ACB Radio alive and well as interim director. The search continues for a permanent director of this important service.
Within the discussion of the president's report, Carla Ruschival and Melanie Brunson both reported that the recent setbacks as outlined above have also brought ACB new members and a greater number of referrals on certain issues.
The proposed budget tracking processes will be shared with the board for discussion and action soon. The committee list will also be finalized and distributed as soon as possible. Gray encouraged board members and officers to maintain an ongoing dialogue with committees.
Following the acceptance of his report, Gray announced that M.J. Schmitt, Donna Seliger, Alan Beatty, and Carla Ruschival now make up the executive committee.
Dawn Christensen led a brainstorming discussion about establishing board goals and priorities. She challenged all board members to strive to accomplish the mission of the American Council of the Blind. The board discussed several crucial elements in its responsibility to the organization including financial matters, membership services, carrying out the wishes of the convention, considering and making changes to the employees' handbook, providing checks and balances for the organization, mediating between the national office and the officers, providing greater board visibility during conventions, and mentoring (especially of students).
The members' monthly monetary giving program was discussed at length. Personal contact was suggested as one way to make this program work better, and to recruit new members. The discussion of this project continued after a brief executive session and mid-morning break.
The Sunday morning executive session began around 10 a.m. and lasted about 20 minutes. (See the announcement following this report.) When the board reconvened in public session about 10:45, discussion of the monthly giving program continued. One member asked for clarification as to whether this program would be substituted for the annual fall fund-raising letter. Gray reported that this substitution would indeed be carried out.
Free matter regulations may prohibit the inclusion of the membership giving form within "The Braille Forum." It could, however, be included as part of the convention pre-registration mailing since that mailing is post paid. The editor suggested that the board promote the program by telling their personal stories about why they choose to participate in ACB and to support the organization financially within the pages of "The Braille Forum." Similar features could easily be part of ACB Reports. After a discussion about the possibility of instituting a hierarchy of membership gift premiums, a motion to refer the idea to the resource development committee for further study passed unanimously.
Steve Speicher asked if ACB had a definitive answer as to whether the abbreviation for the suggested name of "Members Giving More" would be a trademark violation. Brunson agreed to clarify the question as soon as possible. A motion to have the board recess rather than adjourn at the end of the meeting time passed unanimously.
The meeting concluded with a brief discussion of the currently available brochure and resource sheets. The board recessed at 11:30 a.m.