North Dakota Association of the Blind, Inc.
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
July 17, 2023
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Trampes Brown, Lexee Steffan, Rebecca Anderson, Helen Baumgartner, Elias Youngblom, Gerald Byron, Janelle Olson, Allan Peterson and Zelda Gebhard
GUESTS PRESENT: Mary Stip & Michelle Zentz,
CALL TO ORDER: Trampes called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm via Zoom.
ROLL CALL: Helen took roll call.
REPORTS:
President: No report
Secretary: Allan made a motion to approve the Convention minutes, seconded by Gerald. MC with suggested changes. Gerald made a motion to approve the post-Convention minutes, seconded by Allan. MC with suggested changes.
On July 6th, a sympathy card was sent to Amanda Schultz Garcia, for the loss of her mother, Carmen Grove Suminski, NDAB member.
Treasurer’s Report: Helen asked for clarification on the difference in charges paid to MailChimp. Allan made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report, seconded by Zelda. MC
Development Director: Allan reported we have been approved to be a part of GHD for 2024. The participant fee has been paid. Since June 1, 2023, $7,250 has been raised, mostly from Charitable Gaming.
Membership: Lexee presented two returning adult members: Mark Kueffler of West Fargo, visually impaired and Menuka (Jyoti) Rai of Grand Forks who is blind. Janelle moved to approve the returning applicants, seconded by Allan. MC
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Sports and Rec: Lexee reported the fall retreat will be held Sept 1 – 3, 2023.
Camp: The board discussed the need for NDAB to have a waiver signed by campers. The board requested that the Committee work off of the Elks Camp Grassick waiver and bring it to the board for approval.
Convention: The secretary needs to update the Convention Handbook reflecting the change in the stipends voted on at the Convention. Helen brought up the issue of 3 members being denied attendance at the convention because they tried to register after the deadline. Zelda suggested the acceptance of late registrants for the convention, up to the day of the convention, be added to the handbook. Elias suggested a statement be placed on the registration form alerting convention attendees that if they register late, they may not have meals provided.
Legislative: Allan reported ACB passed two resolutions. One encourages affiliates to develop a policy on prohibitive behavior and another for states to provide funding to support AIRA. Zelda reported that the reporting process for lobbying expenditures is now accessible.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
Consent Agenda: The board decided not to pursue using a Consent Agenda at this time.
Membership Handbook: Zelda made a motion to approve the Membership Handbook as modified, seconded by Janelle. MC
NEW BUSINESS:
Editor’s Handbook: Zelda made a motion to approve the Editor’s Manual as modified, seconded by Janelle. MC
NEXT MEETING: Monday, October 2nd at 7:00 pm.
ADJOURN: Allan made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Lexee. MC The meeting adjourned at 9:33 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Helen Baumgartner, NDAB Secretary