American Association of the Deaf-Blind, Inc. Spring Meeting of the Board of Directors Teleconference May 2009 Pursuant to due notice, the Board of Directors of the American Association of the Deaf-Blind, Inc. met thru Conference call and Video Relay on May 1, 2009, Friday and Saturday, May 2, 2009. The meeting was called to order on Friday, May 1, 2009 at 12:15 p.m. (9:00 a.m. PST) Eastern Time with President Arthur Roehrig the chair and the following members present: Arthur Roehrig, President Lee Clark, Vice-President Marilyn Fernandez-Trader, Secretary Jeffrey Bohrman, Treasurer Tom Sprinkle, Board Member Emily Vera, Board Member Maricar Marquez, Board Member Mark Gasaway, Board Member Jill Gaus, Board Member Karyn Campbell, Board Member Dorothy Walt, Board Member not present Jamie Pope, Executive Director Minutes: The Board accepted the Spring 2009 minutes. (see below for list of EVP motions). President’s Report: Mr. Roehrig informed the Board that he has been working diligently on the dates and locations for the Spring Board meeting which has undergone several schedule changing and negotiations with video relay companies. Mr. Roehrig has also been speaking with the Director and Executive Committee regarding various issues over the last 6 months as well. Mr. Roehrig in closing of the meeting thanked the Board of Directors and AADB for working with him during his Presidency. Vice President Report: Mr. Clark thanked the Board of Directors for working with him during his term and wished the Board of Directors the best of luck for their upcoming endeavors. Secretary Report: Ms. Fernandez-Trader thanked all of the Board of the Directors for their sincere support this past year and over the 8 years in term as Secretary. Ms. Fernandez-Trader promises to continue working on the Fundraising committee, mentoring the next Secretary and assisting in any way with the SSP projects for AADB. Treasurer Report: Dr. Bohrman thanked the members of the finance committee for their hard work this year and AADB for working with him during his 20 consecutive years of service to the Board.Dr. Bohrman also reviewed the 2008 financial report as well as the 2009 first quarter reports. Executive Director Report: Ms. Pope and staff gave updates on the latest happenings at the AADB office. Ms. Pope informed the Board of Directors that Nextalk donated five Nextalk Workplace Solutions software licenses and give webcams to the AADB office. In addition, Ms. Pope purchased furniture that was being sold from the NAD office. Ms. Pope reported to the Board that the SSP & Technology summits still were unable to meet face-to-face due to finances, so other efforts were made to collect information. Questions were sent out to various programs across the United States searching for information about their services, funding, population served and more. Ms. Pope will have the information analyzed to figure out what AADB can do to fill the gaps and then develop possible grant proposals. Ms. Pope updated the Board that a CD and savings account was opened with Bank of America for the money from the old annuity. This was requested by the Board thru EVP last month. Ms. Pope informed the Board that Amy Parker and HKNC requested AADB to collaborate with them on setting up an advocacy training program for deaf-blind young adults, which will be held in Washington, DC this coming June during the Helen Keller Awareness week. AADB will assist but no funding will be provided from AADB Ms. Katie Logan, Administrative Assistant, informed the Board of Directors of her duties with the AADB organization and the latest happenings. It was reported that from Jan – March the office had 245 inquiries which Ms. Logan responded to approximately 187 inquires. In addition, Ms. Logan processed information, thank you letters, and membership renewals and assisted with processing new members. The Board was also informed that the office sent out 243 ballots for the presidential elections which they have received 167 votes. Mr. Pope reported that he has been working on various projects some of which are keeping the website updated, Convio, trainings on fundraising, the spring campaign and researching possible new databases. In addition, he has been working with Mr. Chad Metcalf with other areas in advertising. For instance, they are working together to develop new advertisements on-line. Mr. Pope did bring to the table about the idea of hiring someone to assist with managing the database which a contractor could but it would be to costly. Convio can do it at a lower cost which Mr. Pope will investigate further and update the Board with the final proposal but at this time the organization does not have the funds to hire any contractors. Mr. Chad Metcalf reported to the Board of Directors that the organization has received approximately $3,760 from March 1st – April 30th for advertisements. Mr. Metcalf has been busy sending out various letters and requests for advertisement and organizational memberships. A media kit was completed in the beginning of this year which has been utilized since March. He completed the layout on communication fact sheet, donation, and organizational membership and youth brochures. So far 13 different organizations have joined AADB for organizational memberships and four organizations for advertisements. Currently, Mr. Metcalf is working with Ms. Jamie Pope on finding sponsorships to assist with the Board meetings. In addition, this summer he will be working on the layout for The Deaf-Blind American magazine, 2008 annual report, and assisting with the webmaster on different fundraising projects. Committee Reports ByLaws Committee No report Finance Committee Dr. Bohrman reported to the Board of Directors regarding the need to make two line item adjustments. The Board meeting line item needs to add a line to cover for the interpreters of the meeting at a total of $5,000. Even though Life Links will donate funds to cover the interpreting cost, we still need to have this line item indicated in the budget. Another line item needs to be added for furniture with a total of $500.00. (see motion #1) Policy Committee Mr. Roehrig informed the Board that Ms. Frankel has received feedback for updating the Policy & Procedures manual which Mr. Singer has been working on and adding all the necessary modifications. The manual should be done by July 1, 2009. Hispanic/Latino Committee Committee Members: Randy Pope, Debby Lieberman, Tamara Ward, Tony Barraza, Elizabeth Spiers, Molly Sheridan and Margarita Eng. Ms. Vera reported that no other action has been done in between Board meetings. The Committee is looking at continuing to translate AADB materials. Fundraising Committee Ms. Gaus, chair of the Fundraising Committee is going to send the membership the “25 proposal” to try and get involved and assist the organization with this fundraising project. It was emphasized by Ms. Gaus that the Board of Directors need to be more involved in helping this organization raise money or the possibility of having future conferences is not going to happen. The various projects that are on the table must be dealt with as a group effort immediately. CONVIO Ms. Pope will send a report to the Board of Directors explaining the total received of $2,570 since November 2008 to present. The Board discussed their concerns regarding the loss of money AADB has undergone since Convio has started with this organization. Mr. Pope explained that it will take approximately 3 years before the organization will see a profit from this group. The benefits of Convio were explained in detail and the report that the Board will get will help clarify any other concerns the Board of Directors might still have regarding this group. Mr. Pope will write an article explaining everything about Convio to assist with clarifying several questions and possible confusions by the membership. The Board discussed other fundraising ideas but nothing definite was set in place, such as the use of EBay and Facebook or other networking tools which all would need to have careful review if considered. House Party Mr. Gasaway reported to the Board of Directors about this fundraising project he is currently working on with others from the Deaf-Blind community. Mr. Gasaway is working with Dan Arbie, chair of the Louisiana Helen Keller Deaf-Blind Awareness event on June 13, 2009 in Lafayette, Louisiana. Mr. Gasaway will have a “House Party” during this event for AADB from 2pm – 3pm. In addition, a possible 50/50 will also be done during this event or other events coming up in the near future. Mr. Gasaway will send out a flyer for this event when available. The Board of Directors discussed other ideas for similar house parties in their communities that can raise money and awareness on behalf of the Deaf-Blind community and AADB. Past events have been Baby Showers where participants would use the SHOP button through the AADB website to housewarming parties where people would bring donations for AADB instead of gifts for the new homeowners. NTFDBI Ms. Gaus informed the Board of Directors regarding the National Task Force on Deaf-Blind Interpreting. This task force has a total of 13 members with Susie Morgan Morrow and Rhonda Jacobs as co-coordinators. Ms. Gaus, Amiee Chappelow-Bader, and Rosanna Reis are the deaf-blind members on the task force. The Task Force is meeting bi-monthly via conference call to review goals and strategies. The possibility of having a certificate for interpreters is still on the table for discussion but at this time the task force hasn’t pursued this option yet. Special Thanks to DBVRS was extended by each Board member and office staff for their services and support for this Board meeting. Motions 1. Dr. Bohrman moved that the Board of Directors add a $5,000 line item for the Board meetings and a $500.00 line item for furniture. The motion PASSED 2. The Board approved the nomination of Lynn Jansen as the next Board member to fill Ms. Lago-Avery seat. If Ms. Jansen does not accept this seat, Mr. Roehrig will then ask the next candidate voted second during the nomination process. (CLOSED SESSION) 3. Ms. Marquez moved that AADB establish an AD HOC committee to develop strategies and planning for AADBs next national conference. The motion PASSED. (CLOSED SESSION) 4. Ms. Vera moved that AADB make available its audit reports to the public. The motion PASSED. 5. Ms. Campbell moved that AADB make its audit report available to the public upon request. The motion PASSED. EVP Motions... April 3, 2009 Ms. Walt moved that the AADB board approve the cash donations received from:  Sorenson $250, Northern Ca. Assn. of the deaf-blind $200, Ohio Assn. of the Deaf-blind $100 and Angela Orlando $50, to be placed in restricted funds for a raffle drawing at a future AADB conference or event. The motion PASSED. March 23, 2009 Dr. Bohrman moved that the AADB Board of Directors approve for the AADB Office to put $100,000 in a 6 or 9 month CD that has the best interest rate and the $20,000 into a savings account before April 3, 2009. The motion PASSED. March 8, 2009 Ms. Gaus moved that the full minutes of AADB board meetings, excluding details from closed meeting sessions, be available to the public after the board makes corrections and approves within two weeks from the board meeting. The motion PASSED.   Dec 9, 2009 Mr. Bohrman, moved that the AADB Board of Directors approve the withdrawal of the complete proceeds of money from the Fidelity Annuity on its maturity date of December 29, 2008 or within 30 days immediately afterwards and place the money into a savings account. The motion PASSED. Sincerely Submitted, Marilyn C. Fernandez-Trader AADB, Secretary 1