Board of Directors Meeting Minutes from March 6, 2022
NORTH DAKOTA ASSOCIATION OF THE BLIND, INC.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
March 6, 2022
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Trampes Brown, Ali Engraf, Rebecca Anderson, Helen Baumgartner, Mickey Teubner, Doug Stip, Milissa Miller, Allan Peterson and Zelda Gebhard
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: None
GUESTS PRESENT: Mary Stip, Paula Anundson, Janelle Olson, Tony Scherer, Tim Kachel, Whitney Engbrecht, Lexee Steffan, Loris VanBerkom, Gerald Byron, Carol Marshall, Jenny Hunt & Michelle Zentz.
CALL TO ORDER: Trampes called the meeting to order at 6:32 pm via Zoom.
ROLL CALL: Helen took roll call.
GUEST TOPICS: None
REPORTS:
President: Trampes reported on events in collaboration with NDVS/SB transition students and a Minot school. The ACB Legislative meeting and seminar is next weekend. Anyone interested can sign up to attend virtually. There is a $20 registration fee. After March 9th, the late registration fee will be $30.
Secretary: Mickey made a motion to approve the January 9th board minutes as amended, seconded by Missy. MC.
Two benches were ordered for Camp Grassick from Convert-A-Bench January 19th, delivered January 21st.
Correspondence:
On January 22nd a sympathy card was sent to Missy Miller for the loss of her mother, Janice Baker.
On February 22nd a sympathy card was sent to Michelle Engraf for the loss of her mother, Lucille Zalesky.
On February 24th a sympathy email was sent to Ali Engraf for the loss of her grandmother, Lucille Zalesky.
On March 1st, a Thank you card was received from Michelle and Ross Engraf for the sympathy card mailed to them.
On March 4th a sympathy card was sent to Donna Hepper for the loss of her husband, Rudy Hepper.
Treasurer: Allan made a motion to approve the corrected Treasurer’s report, seconded by Missy. MC
Development Director: Allan reported GHD raised $46,271.82, of which $20,200 was match funds.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Camp: Missy reported the passing of the COVID guidelines will help the committee move forward on contacting instructors and getting classes established.
Communication: Trampes reported the committee has met and will be meeting more often to get the website and social media updated. Rebecca asked that the committee consider having more than one person have access to the passwords for GoDaddy and other accounts.
Financial Committee: Allan reported the committee has reviewed what is in the treasury and are meeting with a financial advisor on March 8th. A proposed budget for 2022-2023 will be developed to send out with the Call to Convention packet.
Legislative: Allan reported the ACB Legislative meeting and seminar are being held March 12th – 15th. Appointments with our North Dakota Congressional delegation will be scheduled to advocate for chosen legislative priorities.
Membership: Ali reported she is still working on membership renewals and updating current member’s email addresses. Linda Clarey, sighted; Kelly Clarey, visually impaired; and Kaity Young, sighted, all from Fargo, were presented for membership. Ali made a motion to approve their applications, seconded by Allan. MC
Olga Neal Memorial Committee: Helen inquired about the board’s decision to have plaques put on the benches as a follow up to the 2021 NDAB Convention. Helen will contact Jenny to determine if there is a good place to adhere the plaques to the benches. An article will be resubmitted to the May Promoter for ideas to spend the remaining funds in the Olga Neal Estate.
Nominating Committee: Michelle presented the following slate of officers to be voted on at the convention in June: President – Trampes; VP – Ali; Treasurer – Rebecca; 3-year board member – Gerald Byron and Cole Roberts; Editor – Beth Bakke Stenehjem; ACB Delegate – Amy Osvold; and Alternate ACB Delegate – Missy.
Constitution and Bylaws: Michelle reported the committee has 17 proposed amendments to address during the convention, of which some are clerical and one allowing the possibility of having virtual/hybrid conventions added to our Constitution.
Awards: Paula reported an Ed Christensen recipient has been chosen and two Advocate of the Year nominations made. Mary reported she has not received a nomination for the Bob LaPage award, but there will be one coming in the mail. Karla Pederson has been nominated for Friend of NDAB.
Convention 2022: Missy reported that caterers have been found who will be serving a plated meal. Friday night will be a mixer at the hotel. Saturday night will be a night out of the hotel for the banquet. Missy will check into getting AIRA services.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
Raffle: Allan is not prepared to make a proposal for a raffle at this time, but maybe later in the year. Shereen Faber’s family is giving a donation from the raffle tickets they purchased to be used for a coffee break at the convention in Shereen’s memory.
NDAB Business Cards: Ali reported that the majority of the board does not want business cards. For this reason, the board decided to wait until after the board elections to see how many board members want business cards.
Sympathy Cards: The Secretary Manual will be updated to indicate who will be receiving a sympathy card.
NEW BUSINESS:
Covid Guidelines: Board discussion was held on the draft of the guidelines for COVID. Missy outlined the history of how the guidelines were drafted. The guidelines which are adopted at this meeting will apply to all NDAB activities, knowing that there may need to be changes made in the future as COVID conditions change. Ali made a motion to approve the guidelines as present, seconded by Helen. Jenny reported that she has not yet put a policy out for COVID for upcoming camp sessions. Her policy is subject to change at any time as things with COVID change. She will be taking the mandates out of the policy they used last year. Jenny is sure there will be test kits provided by the Health Dept., so tests will be available for NDAB’s use. The part of the guidelines mentioning arranging a ride home will be removed and placed in the camp medical document. A statement will be added stating the guidelines are subject to change at any time as COVID conditions change. MC
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting is scheduled for April 3rd, 2022, at 7:00 pm.
ADJOURN: Allan made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Missy. MC
The meeting was adjourned at 9:01 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Helen Baumgartner, NDAB Secretary