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September, 2006
Membership Lists and Dues:
Many thanks to all of our affiliates who sent
their membership lists and dues by the deadline date of September 1.
Unfortunately, we have one Special Interest Affiliate who has not sent in
their list and dues. It is the Randolph Sheppard Vendors. I believe I am
correct in saying that all of their members are members of one of the
Regular Affiliates, so whether or not they will be able to vote at the
Convention in October is not an issue. However, our Bylaws do require
Special Interest Affiliates to submit their membership lists and pay dues.
Randolph Sheppard Vendors, we still need to hear from you, please.
Convention Pre-registration:
There has been a great response from our
members with regard to pre-registering for the October Convention. The
deadline for pre-registering is September 15. If you find that you will not
be able to attend the Convention and have already pre-registered, your
request for a refund must be received by the office no later than September
15. The office will prepare the name badges for those who have
pre-registered. Those badges, along with the list of members in good
standing and eligible to vote, will be sent to the host affiliate (Blind of
Central Missouri). The host affiliate will also have the list of names who
have signed up and paid for the banquet and hospitality meal by
pre-registering.
Board Meeting:
A number of you have called the office, asking when the
Pre-Convention Board meeting will be held. It will be at one p.m. on
Thursday, October 19. By beginning at one p.m. all Board members should be
able to travel on Thursday morning. This would eliminate the cost of a
fourth night's lodging and the per diem that would be incurred by coming on
Wednesday.
Handouts:
I would like to ask those of you who receive mailings prior to
the Convention to please remember to bring them with you to the Convention.
The office will be mailing a packet to the Board members early in October
of materials you will need to have for the Pre-Convention Board meeting.
They will be mailed First Class to ensure their being received. Since the
Proposed 2007 Budget needs to be included in that mailing and our last
Finance Committee meeting is not until September 25, this is the reason for
not being able to mail until early October. There will be a limited number
of copies of handouts at the Convention. Last year myriads of paper were
thrown away because the handouts were not taken. In the event a member
wants a particular handout and the supply has been exhausted, all they need
to do is call the office and we will be glad to send the handout requested.
This is an effort to save on the cost of paper and to be environmentally
responsible.
Reading Format Preference:
Many thanks to those of you who have chosen to
receive information by e-mail. Of course, we know that those of you who do
not have computers cannot make this choice. The office would like to have
as many e-mail addresses as possible. There are a few of our members who
have opted not to give us their postal address; however, if you have e-mail,
that would still allow the office to contact you. The MCB Office News is
posted to the Missouri-l list each month.
MCB Building:
Our building is certainly being used. In addition to the
usual monthly meetings UWB held a movie night on September 2. Patti
Schonlau is using the building for a christening on September 17 and the
Guidedog Users of Missouri are holding a fundraiser on September 23. Along
with Tom Armstrong and Donna Weidlich as members of the Building Committee,
Angelo Trapasso has been asked and agreed to serve on the committee. The
opening and closing responsibilities for use of the building can be and are
shared by these three people.
Molly Sweeney:
September 21 will soon be here. That is the opening night
of Molly Sweeney written by Playwright Brian Friel. This play is produced
by the Avalon Theatre Company and will run September 21-October 1. The
Avalon Theatre Company focuses on socially relevant and timely plays and
lesser-produced musicals. Two of those days, Sunday September 24 and Sunday
October 1, will be matinee showings at three p.m. Evening showings at 8
p.m. Tom, Sharon and I plan to attend on Saturday evening, Sept. 23. Molly
Sweeney is an Irish woman who was blind from the age of ten months. The
person playing Molly Sweeney is Erin Kelley. Erin has worked with many St.
Louis professional theatre companies, including the Muny, the Black Rep and
Stages. The play is being given at the Union United Methodist Church on
Watson Road between Pernod and Oleatha in St. Louis. Individual tickets are
$25. Groups of ten or more are $15. There will be Braille and large print
programs available. The MCB office has been given very nice publicity in
the program. The MCB office was responsible for producing the Braille and
large print programs. To call for tickets, phone 314-351-6482. The Avalon
Theatre Company is a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit corporation.
MCB web site:
If you look at our MCB web site and go to the link "Forms and
Applications", you will note that some changes have been made in how the
information is presented. Now there is one link for each program i.e. all
information for Special Services is in one link. There is no longer three
separate links for the guidelines, application and release of information
form. When you download the guidelines, you will also be downloading the
application and release of information form. It is important that all of
the information is read in order to complete the application and release of
information correctly. The same applies to Health Benefits, Adaptive
Technology, Summer Camp and Scholarship.
Speaking of our web site, if you know of any upcoming event that would be of
interest to blind people in Missouri, please let me know. We will ask Denny
to put it on our "Upcoming Events" link.
Signers:
If any one is coming to the MCB Convention in October and is in
need of a signer, they must let the office know by September 29. This is
costly and we will only provide such if there is a definite need.
2007 Calendars:
The office has received the shipment of the 2007 large
print calendars. I am assuming that all of our affiliates and others who
have placed orders have received theirs, too. Should an affiliate run out
of calendars and they have additional requests, please feel free to call the
office and we can send them out to the individual/nursing home etc.
Thrift stores:
Bill Coleman has been rehired by Henderson Management
Company to be the general manager of the six thrift stores.
In the office:
We in the MCB office are busy updating membership lists,
compiling convention lists, preparing badges for those who have
pre-registered, copying various materials for the Board meeting and the
Convention and working with the Holiday Inn Forest Park Hotel to arrange for
the November/December Board meeting. Oh yes, I believe we have the
Chronicle mailing lists pretty well in shape, though updating mailing lists
is an ongoing effort.
See you in Jefferson City in October.
Beverly Armstrong
Executive Director
Missouri Council of the Blind
(314) 832-7172
ExecDir@MoBlind.org
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