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July, 2006
It seems that it was just a short time ago that we were saying it would be
three months till the ACB Convention. Now, the Convention has come and
gone, and those of us who attended the Convention are back home getting back
into the routine of what we do every day. My! How that time did fly!
I usually pride myself on being prepared for meetings etc. that I plan to
attend. Well, on Thursday before the ACB Convention I was checking my
Millennium Braille Lite to see if it needed charging. I turned it on and it
wouldn't speak a word. I got absolutely nothing no matter what I tried. Of
course, I didn't have my files backed up. I did go ahead and take it to the
Convention and went to the Freedom Scientific booth to see if they might do
something with it there; however, that wasn't to be, either. It had to be
sent in. Unfortunately, all my phone numbers, contact people, etc. are in
that Braille Lite. My only hope is that the service people can save my
files. What a helpless feeling!
If you or anyone in your affiliate received a grant to attend the ACB
Convention and did not attend, please be reminded that those checks are to
be returned to the MCB office by July 31. There are a number of people who
have not as yet returned the checks. If these checks are not received in
the office by July31, the names of those to whom they were issued will be
given to the treasurer.
Although the names of a number of MCB people were called for door prizes at
the ACB Convention, Jack Lenk was the only one who was in attendance when
his name was called. I don't know just what he won; he will have to tell
you that.
The first thing I am looking forward to here in the office is our new
secretary. Her name is Sandy Mackley and she will begin on July 24. I
hired her on June 26 but since I was going to be gone for the ACB Convention
I decided not to have her start until July 24. Sandy comes to us from St.
Joseph's Hospital where she has worked since 1998 as secretary for the
Housekeeping Department. So, when you call the office and hear an
unfamiliar voice it will most likely be Sandy. I hope you will welcome her
warmly and also be patient as she will have many, many things to learn.
Since I was gone from the office for nine days, I needed to have someone
bring in the mail and water the flowers. Many thanks to Celita for taking
care of these things while I was gone.
Don't forget that amendments and resolutions are to be sent to the
Resolutions chair, Anna Schell, by August 1, so put your thinking caps on.
As you know, I have been working with Erin Kelley, actress with the Avalon
Theatre Company. The performances of "Molly Sweeney" will be held beginning
September 21 and running through October 1. For groups of ten or more,
tickets are $15 each. Otherwise, individual tickets are $25. The location
is the Union United Methodist Church on Watson Road in St. Louis.
For all those planning to attend the MCB state Convention Oct. 19-22 in
Jefferson City, you may want to give serious consideration to
pre-registering. Pre-registration closes September 15. If you have
pre-registered and at some point find you are unable to attend the
Convention, no refunds will be made after September 15. The cutoff date for
registering with the Capitol Plaza is also September 15. Be sure to tell
the hotel when you make your reservations that you are coming for the MCB
Convention. You need to do this in order to get the $64.00 plus taxes per
night room rate. If pre-registering, registration is $5; hospitality meal
is $1; and banquet is $20. No one will be considered pre-registered unless
their money is received with the pre-registration form.
Pre-registration forms can be downloaded from the MCB web site at
www.missouricounciloftheblind.org and going to the Forms and Applications link. If you do not have access to a computer, please contact the office.
The following is a reminder that affiliates must send in their membership
lists, along with their dues, by September 1. This will provide us with the
most up-to-date list of people. This is necessary for the MCB Convention.
Be sure to check your list before sending it to the office to make certain
all of your members are on the list. Perhaps you are thinking that you just
did this in January and you are correct. That list is sent to the ACB for
purposes of voting at the ACB Convention.
Affiliate dues are ten dollars plus $2.00 for each member. Members-at-large
dues are $10.00 and are due and payable by September 1, too.
Another reminder: When you or someone in your affiliate moves, be sure to
let the office know so we can keep our mailing lists current. The Missouri
Chronicle is mailed as free matter. If there is an incorrect address, the
copy is returned, but MCB is still billed for that copy. Braille copies of
the Chronicle cost $11.06 per copy. We had six Braille copies of the June
Chronicle returned. This seems to me to be a waste of money if people are
not receiving them.
Also, when someone dies, please let the office know so their name can be
removed from our mailing lists. It is a real challenge to keep mailing
lists up-to-date.
In years past the office has received calls from people who are out-of-state
asking for one of our large print calendars. As of this coming year we will
only send out large print calendars to visually-impaired people who live in
Missouri.
I recently received a notice that, effective July 1, 2006 the state of
Missouri Medical Services Division will pay for one pair of lens and one
frame every two years. These will be covered by Medicaid if the person is a
Medicaid recipient.
Update on the Blind Pension lawsuit: Depositions are being taken of the
plaintiffs. Debra Greider, our attorney with Tom Kennedy Law Firm, and
Barbara Gilcrest and John Ammann of the St. Louis University law clinic met
earlier this week with Professor Mike Alderson who is an expert in pensions.
He is going to be an expert witness for us at no cost to us. Debra and the
state's attorney, David Hart, will be meeting with Judge Brown on October 2.
Gary Gardner was the lead attorney for the state, but he has decided to
leave the A. G.'s office to pursue other interests. Debra feels that David
Hart is a most difficult person to work with. We don't know yet if the
state will want to depose me. The judge did tell the attorneys that he
didn't think our case would go to trial before December or January. Debra
and I plan to meet on Aug. 3.
Beverly Armstrong
Executive Director
Missouri Council of the Blind
(314) 832-7172
ExecDir@MoBlind.org
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