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National Federation of the Blind of Kentucky

2005 State Convention Minutes

Holiday Inn Downtown

Louisville, Kentucky

Sept. 9-11, 2005

Friday, September 9, 2005

The 2005 NFB of Kentucky state convention began with the annual Student Division meeting. Nominating committee and resolution committee meetings followed. The Merchant’s Division also held its annual meeting. The evening hospitality included a Monte Carlo night, sponsored by the Student Division, and a silent auction sponsored by the Merchants. All had a fun evening.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

President, Cathy Jackson called the meeting to order. Since Lloyd Agnew had not yet arrived due to car trouble, Cathy asked John Glisson to give the invocation. Following the invocation, we were welcomed to Louisville by Denise Franklin, President of the host affiliate, and the Greater Louisville Chapter of the NFB. Denise reported that the Louisville Chapter would be selling 2006 NFB calendars. She recognize the Louisville board For all of its hard work.

Next, our national representative, Mr. Ron Brown, president of the NFB of Indiana and a board member of the National Federation of the Blind, brought greetings from the National Office and the state of Indiana. Ron invited us to the Indiana convention on Oct. 7-9 at the Best Western Hotel in Hammond, Indiana, which is located about 20 minutes outside of Chicago.

Stephanie Brown, First Vice-President of the Kentucky student division, introduced the winners of the Monte Carlo night. Katherine Rushche was the big $25 winner; Katie Penny won $10, and Tabitha Wilkerson won $5.

President, Cathy Jackson presented the Presidential Report. She explained that funds from the Owensboro Chapter would be held in escrow until a Chapter is reorganize. Some members of the former chapter were unhappy about this, and letters were written to Dr. Maurer saying that they were robbed. They wanted to spend the money. Also, in regards to the Owensboro Chapter, as of July the Owensboro support group was still using national federation of the blind in newspaper advertisements about their meetings.

Next, Cathy explained the situation that befell the Computer User’s Division following the 2004 NFBK Convention. The week after the convention, Glen White, president and Tonia Boyd, treasurer of the Division went to the bank to change the signature card for the CUD account. They found that the checking account had been overdrawn by over $1,000 by former treasurer, John Hovel. NFBK contacted an attorney and pursued legal action. John received two years probation, and will make payments to the court to pay back the money. If John goes against the probation, he will have to spend some time in jail.

Several individuals from Kentucky attended the Washington Seminar. Issues that were dealt with included Social Security. The blind want to keep current Social Security laws as they apply to the blind. The Accessible Materials Access act for Post Secondary Education was also a big topic. Often on-line course registration and on-line courses are not compatible with access technology. Also, efforts were put forth to protect the provisions of the Randolph-Shepherd Act, that provides business opportunities for blind vendors.

In February NFB received a $40,000 contract for Newsline. Ten Kentucky newspapers are available on Newsline. Independence Place In Lexington is the fiscal agent that houses Newsline in Kentucky. We appreciate that Independence Place continues to allow Newsline to be a part of Pam Glisson’s job responsibilities.

In May a rally was held in Washington, D.C. to protest cuts and restructuring of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA).

Our third national convention is now just a memory. Cathy thanked everyone for his or her hard work in making it a success. She reported that we had two NFB Scholarship winners this year. Congratulations to Melanie Peskoe and Bo Mullins.

Cathy urged us to contact our congressional representation and ask them to support legislation for a Louis Braille Commemorative Coin to be released in 2009, the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille.

Cathy urged us to send comments to the Department of Education. Currently the Regulations are being written for the 2004 re-authorization of IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This legislation includes the Accessible Materials Access Act. Currently the regulations are vague, and could allow states to opt out.

A grant proposal was submitted to the Imagination Fund for $10,000. This money would be used for affiliate building. Cathy reported that efforts are being made to organize a chapter in Ashland. This concluded the presidential report.

Next on the Agenda was agency updates.

American Printing House for the Blind:

President of APH, Dr. Tuck Tinsley discussed the National Instructional Access Center (NIMAC). APH is the repository for electronic texts for school children. Dr. Tinsley explained the mission of APH is to identify the needs of the blind and strive to meet those needs. Currently there are 130 products in active development.

Kentucky Office for the Blind:

Steve Johnson, Director of the Kentucky Office for the Blind discussed the changes and challenges that have occurred in OFB over the past year. It has been difficult to keep qualified counselors, but changes in salaries and a new classification for counselors will hopefully make this better. OFB continues to support Newsline. Bi-Optic Driving program continues, although the state provided no funding for the program. OFB currently assists 226 post-secondary students in 45 colleges and universities. Totaling $456,000 in revenue.

Next on the agenda, members of the NFB of Kentucky had the opportunity for hands-on demonstrations of the Kurzweil NFB hand-held reader. Melanie Peskoe and Ron Brown facilitated these demonstrations.

Also, members were able to view and evaluate some of the models of the new accessible voting machines that have been certified for use in Kentucky.

The morning general session concluded at noon, and members and the board met for a luncheon and open board meeting. (See Board Meeting Minutes for more information.)

The afternoon general session began with Ron brown, president of the NFB of Indiana and a member of the NFB board of directors. Ron brought greetings from Dr. Maurer and gave a report from the national office. Items he discussed included the rally in Washington, DC to protest changes in the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). NFB lead the way, along with representatives from 40 other organizations. Over 1,200 individuals protested outside the Rehabilitation Services Administration.

He applauded the success of the second annual science academies held for middle and high school age students at the Jernigan Institute. Kentucky had one student to participate this year.

The Louis Braille Commemorative Coin Act-Kentucky has one congressman, Ben Chandler, who has signed on to the bill.

RSA- NFB has filed a lawsuit against RSA to stop them from dismantling specialized rehabilitation services for the blind. If things continue as they are, the Randolph-Shepherd Act could be jeopardized.

He also discussed the new accessible voting legislation. Efforts are being made to ensure that if a state chooses to use a paper ballot, paper ballots must also be accessible to the blind voters.

Ron discussed the Imagination Fund. He hopes to sign up 20 more Imaginators at the 2005 Kentucky convention.

The 2006 NFB National Convention will be held in Dallas, Texas, and the 2007 convention will be in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Kurzweil NFB Hand-Held Reader is now in development. Sometime in the spring there will be a training seminar to teach individuals how to use the machine, and units will go into beta testing. Each state will have 8-10 units for members to test. Plans are that the K-NFB Reader will go on sale to the public during the 2006 National Convention.

Next, Pam Glisson presented the legislative report. Pam encouraged everyone to keep up to date on legislative issues. In February 7 million dollars was received in funding for Newsline. For now, the service remains free to subscribers. We need to strive to keep this in place. Pam thanked John Glisson for all of his hard work on Newsline in Kentucky, and she especially thanked Steve Johnson for his and the Office for the Blind’s support of Newsline.

Next was the Resolutions Committee report. Members of the committee were Shannon Caldwell, Melanie Peskoe, John Glisson and Paula Caldwell.

Resolution 2005-01 dealt with the Accessible Voting Act. It urged that NFB of Kentucky be diligent and oversee that all poling facilities allow blind individuals to caste their votes independently, privately, and with the respect of the pole workers.

Resolution 2005-2 commends the staff of the Kentucky Office for the Blind on its support and commitment to serving blind citizens of Kentucky, as well as its partnership with the National Federation of the Blind.

Next on the agenda was funding the Movement. Kenny Jones reported that we raised $5,945 last year. Funds can go into the general account, or into the Cameron Fund. Various pledges were made to both funds. Next, Charlie Allen spoke about the Imagination Fund. The fund is intended to fund research projects and special programs of state and local affiliates. Charlie urged individuals to solicit donations for this fund.

General Business Session

Cathy called the general business session to order. Denise Franklin made the motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes, as they had been sent out via email and posted on Newsline. The motion passed unanimously. Treasurer, Kenny Jones gave the treasurer’s report. (See Report). There was some discussion of the treasurer’s report. Kenny clarified that NFBK gains approximately $1,000 each month from the outreach office that does phone solicitations. Kenny also gave the financial report for the expenses related to the 2005 national convention. After tallying income and expenses related to the convention, we were $853.95 in expenses over the income. (See 2005 Convention Finance Report). Ray Katon moved to accept the treasurer’s report. The motion passed unanimously.

Nominating Committee Report:

Pam Glisson presented the nominating committee report. Committee members were: Pam Glisson, Denise Franklin, Charlie Allan, Danny Perry, Melanie Peskoe, and Lloyd Agnew. However, Lloyd was unable to attend the meeting due to car trouble. The slate of officers presented by the committee was as follows:

Election of Officers:

Cathy Jackson was elected president by acclamation. Pam Glisson’s name was put in nomination for 1st vice-president. Lora Felty nominated Kenny Jones for the position of 1st vice-president from the floor; however, Kenny declined the nomination. Pam Glisson was elected 1st vice-president. Charlie Allan’s name was put in nomination for 2nd vice-president. Kenny Jones was nominated from the floor. Once again, he respectfully declined. Charlie Allan was elected to the office of 2nd vice-president. Lora Felty was accepted for the position of secretary by acclamation. Dennis Franklin was elected to the position of treasurer by acclamation.

Board members were elected as follows. Kenny Jones was accepted by acclamation. Denise Franklin was accepted by acclamation. Melanie Peskoe’s name was placed in nomination from the committee. Tonia Boyd was nominated from the floor. A secret ballot vote was taken. Melanie received 41 votes, Tonia 9. Melanie was elected to the board. George Stokes was elected by acclamation. John Glisson was elected by acclamation. Danny Perry was elected by acclamation.

Since there was still time left on the agenda, those who attended their first convention this year had the opportunity to share their experiences. Michael Freholm from the Lexington Chapter spoke. Shannon and Paula Caldwell, also from Lexington spoke. Katie Penny and Faith Manion, high school students from Louisville also spoke about their Federation experiences. Brenda Kembro, from Murray, spoke about her first state convention experience. Pat Hall, Jennifer Hall’s mother spoke about how much the Federation has meant to Jennifer. Jayne Seif, and Melanie Manion, Faith’s mother, also spoke.

Saturday Evening Banquet

Denise Franklin, president of the Greater Louisville Chapter served as the mistress of Ceremonies for the evening’s festivities.

Lloyd Agnew, president of the NFB of Henderson, gave the invocation.

Lora Felty, chairperson of the NFBK Scholarship Committee presented the Emerson Foulke Memorial Scholarship to Stephanie Brown. The Betty Niceley Memorial Scholarship was presented to Jennifer Hall.

George Stokes, chairperson of the Awards Committee presented special awards as follows:

Ron Brown, president of the NFB of Indiana and board member of the NFB, gave the Banquet address.

Drawings and raffles finished up the evening’s events.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Division Meetings.

The 2005 NFB of Kentucky state convention finished with meetings of the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB), and the Computer User’s Division (CUD).

Respectfully Submitted,
Lora J. Felty, Secretary
© 2006 NFB Kentucky All Rights Reserved
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