ACB Leadership Meetings
by Ardis Bazyn
[This was published in the RSVA Venderscope for spring, 2019.]
At the Presidents' Meeting, Kim Charlson, ACB President, gave opening remarks and Eric Bridges, ACB Executive Director, outlined logistics. Kelly Gasque, Executive Assistant and Multimedia Design Specialist, announced the website (www.acb.org) update and how ACB is developing a coordinated Affiliate web presence for the future of including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. She suggested affiliates adding mission statements for the organization and committees with photos, Facebook page links, LinkedIn, etc. If affiliates need help placing a new logo or getting the latest ACB logo, they can contact Kelly. You can send an image to her for design changes. Send your website and Facebook or LinkedIn pages to Kelly. Add a calendar of events to your site as well.
Jeff Bishop, ACB Board of Directors, updated audience members on ACB Radio and ACB Link. Use www.acbradio.org or 605-475-8130. You can activate Alexa with ACB Radio using ACB link. Just tell Alexa to get what you want. Say "open ACB radio mainstream," open ACB radio treasures," "ACB radio interactive," "ACB live event." All channels will likely be on Alexa by ACB convention time.
Paul Edwards and Deb Lewis, Board of Publications elected members, provided an overview of 2019 key BOP Initiatives including themed issues of the ACB Braille Forum and E-Forum, modernizing the BOP Editorial Policy Manual, ACB Awards, the Large Print convention program, ACB Town Hall and Candidates' Webpage and Forum.
Carla Ruschival, Treasurer, Kentucky Council of the Blind, and ACB Mini Mall Chair, listed ACB Mini Mall offerings and the 2019 Crossroads Leadership Training Workshop. To purchase from the mini mall, call 877-630-7190 or go to http://mall.acb.org
The mini mall catalog is part of the February ACB Braille Forum issue and will be in 3 issues each year. December was the biggest month ever for the mini mall. She mentioned a few new products: 4 port wall charger, quick charger for iPhone 8 or higher, power banks with ACB logo that lights up when charging, thumb drive bracelet- 32 gig, and a thumb drive bag.
Two break-outs occurred. One on membership incentives was led by planned Membership Development: Strategic Action Team on Affiliates and Membership chaired by Rebecca Bridges. The second one on fundraising was planned by the Fund-Raising: Strategic Action Team on Development and Fund-Raising chaired by Tom Tobin.
Janet Dickelman, Chair, Strategic Planning Team on Meetings and Conventions and Carla Ruschival presented the latest on ACB's Professional Development (CEC) Programs relating to employment, self-advocacy, low vision, and social skills are relevant. CEC are available from Saturday through Wednesday. Members can join the continuing education email list: continuing-education-subscribe acblists.org. Sign-ups will be added when received. Members are responsible for getting to sessions on time, staying for the entire session, and tracking the beginning code and ending code, unique for each session. Required forms must be returned. ACB is working on recording sessions to offer them online. Sign up for convention emails at acbconvention-subscribe@acblists.org.
Janet also gave convention updates for 2019 in Rochester, NY and 2020 Schaumburg, IL. This year's dates are July 5-12. One member benefit offered this year is getting to register before nonmembers. Members may register between May 22-25. Then anyone can register until June 22. Convention dates for 2020 are July 3-10 in Shaumburg, IL. The hotel is close to O'Hare airport. In 2021, the convention will take place at the Hyatt in Phoenix from July 23-30.
Nancy Becker, ACB Chief Financial Officer, spoke on affiliate organization practices. she urged affiliates to follow their Constitution and Bylaws. She said organizations need insurance for liability. All officers and board members should sign confidentiality and conflict of interest forms. 990 forms need to be filed and accessible to anyone. Officers should have copies. She suggested checking your affiliate contact info for your current president and officers. Affiliates should have a timeline for their budget, events, and certifying members.
Zelda Gebhard, DKM First-Timers Committee, Cindy LaBon, and Anthony Ackerbie spoke on the DKM First-Timers Program and the Leadership Fellows Award opportunities for 2019. ACB and affiliate sharing fund-raising activities overviews were given by Dan Spoone as Resource Development Co-Chair, Donna Brown as ACB Walk Chair, Michael Garrett as Monthly Monetary Support Member, David Trott for ACB Braille Forum Raffle, Dan Dillon, for ACB Angels Tribute, and Tom Tobin for Legacy Endowment and Giving Societies. The Walk goal for 2019 is $100,000. Donna suggested writing letters to friends and families. Michael suggested inviting members to join MMS. Members wishing to pay tribute for someone on the Angels Wall need to have donations of $500.
Steven Mendelsohn, President, American Association of Visually Impaired Attorneys explained Five New Tax Benefits for People with Disabilities in the New Tax Law:
1. Take advantage of the ABLE Act. You can transfer from 529 fund to an Able account. Contributions can come from family or from work. If earning under $35,000, a person can contribute more than $12,000.
2. If permanently disabled, a person can be free from loans for education but the amount will be counted toward income. It can be changed by saying it's not taxable so watch for technicalities.
3. Take advantage of the Family Medical Leave Act. Employers can choose to pay these wages and then take a tax credit. The 2018-2019 demonstration project should be extended. The employer needs to file an application and it has to be written correctly.
4. The standard deduction doubled. For 2017 and 2018, medical deductions were changed to 7.5 and in 2019 the medical deduction goes back to 10 percent. Check last year's filing to see if you might be eligible for a refund. Blind still get a double deduction.
5. IRWE itemized deductions can be used. Miscellaneous deductions were abolished but these were not. IRWE are not limited to over 2 percent for work related expenses. In a civil rights lawsuit, attorney fees counted as income. Remember, an accountant may not understand disability deductions.
[I highly recommend that you talk to Steve!]
The next topic was using Zoom Cloud meetings. Brian Charlson, Chair ACB Information Access Committee, told how your affiliate can use it to improve communication and save money. Jeff Bishop, ACB Board of Directors, Larry Turnbull, Managing Director, ACB Radio, and Judy Dixon, Member, ACB Information Access Committee told how the Zoom Cloud meeting could be used for a limited time basis for free. The 40 minute conference can be for up to 100 participants.
The cost is $14 per month charged monthly or annually for $12 per month. You can mute all on the phone or mute an individual. It allows participants to raise your hand to speak. The Pro version allows you to bring a person's volume up. You have more options. Jeff connected with his iPhone, opening with Zoom app. Anyone can make the call with phone, computer, and iPhone. It's saved in the cloud and can be saved in MP3 and saved as video. The $14 month unlimited is for 100 people. It's a small fee to increase to over 100.
Joel Snyder, Director, gave an update on the ACB Audio Description Project. A movie screening of Bird Box occurred in the evening.
2019 Legislative Seminar
Kim Charlson, President, Eric Bridges, Executive Director, Claire Stanley, Advocacy and Outreach Specialist, and Clark Rachfal, Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs gave welcomes and intros. Panelists Jeff Bishop, Tom Tobin, and Chris Gray spoke on "Living with Diabetes." They discussed issues faced by blind and visually impaired persons with diabetes.
Stephanie Willis, Esq., Crowell and Moring, explained the legal implications: how to legally approach discrimination of those living with diabetes". Tony Stephens, Executive Director, Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance followed with a brief discussion of potential legislation to ensure the rights of blind and visually impaired people with diabetes.
Mark Richert, Director of Public Policy, gave an update from the National Disability Institute. The guest luncheon speaker was Matt Handley, Esq., Handley Farah and Anderson. Tony Stephens also reviewed the low vision devices legislation. Will Schell, DAC Designated Federal Officer, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Disability Rights Office, FCC told what's new at the federal communications commission. A panel spoke on an autonomous vehicles discussion and proposed legislation before the production and regulation of such vehicles. Panelists included Carol Tyson, Government Affairs Liaison, Disability Rights and Education Defense Fund and Reagan Payne, Manager, Emerging Technologies Policy, General Motors. Kevin Mills, Board Member, AmericaWalks spoke on building a relationship with AmericaWalks.
Blind and visually impaired Americans continue to experience access issues. The three issues discussed during the seminar are below.
Autonomous Vehicles: The potential for the use of autonomous vehicles for people who are blind is closer than ever. It is critical these cars remain fully accessible, so individuals who have the most to gain through such technology are not forgotten. Blindness organizations and the auto industry supported legislation to establish working groups to focus on accessibility and prevent discrimination in operating such vehicles based on disability. ACB calls on Congress to move forward with legislation continuing to drive this technology forward.
Accessible Durable Medical Equipment: Advancements in health technology have resulted in a watershed of durable medical equipment (DME) monitoring vital health activity and conditions such as diabetes, one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. A failure by the DME industry to make devices accessible has raised serious health concerns by those living with such conditions who are blind and visually impaired. Devices such as glucometers have notoriously been a challenge for diabetics who are blind. This can all change through the development of accessible DME interfaces like smartphone apps and other devices capable of using nanotechnology incorporating simple accessibility solutions. Congress can play a role in ensuring such technology adheres to the latest software technology standards, such as Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) provide assurances accessible DME devices make their ways into the hands of individuals who are blind and visually impaired.
Low Vision Aid Exclusion: In November of 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) promulgated a regulation with a detrimental impact on the lives of countless individuals who are blind or visually impaired. The Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Acquisition Rule contains a provision entitled "Low Vision Aid Exclusion" which states all devices, "irrespective of their size, form, or technological features with one or more lens to aid vision or provide magnification of images for impaired vision" are excluded from Medicare coverage based on the statutory "eyeglass" exclusion. ACB knows this extremely restrictive reading of the "eyeglass" exclusion has resulted in the denial of vital assistive devices for seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries who may have disabilities. The expansion of the eyeglass exclusion has prevented access to devices such as handheld magnifiers, video monitors, and other technologies utilizing lenses to enhance vision. Advocates should discuss this issue with your representatives. Stress the importance of these materials to older individuals' ability to continue to live independently.
