Board of Publications Meeting Minutes: June 3, 2025

The Board of Publications Chairperson, Katie Frederick, welcomed those present and called the June 3, 2025, meeting to order at 9:00 PM, ET.

Board members present: Katie Frederick, Jeff Bishop, Cheryl Cumings, Bel Collins, and Zelda Gebhard.

Ex-Officio members present: Sharon Lovering, ACB Braille Forum Editor; Rick Morin, ACB Media and IT Manager, and Deb Cook Lewis, ACB President.

Jeff moved to approve the agenda. Bel seconded the motion. Motion approved.

There were no additions or corrections to the May minutes. Cheryl moved to approve the minutes. Bel seconded the motion. Motion approved.

Sheila Young had a question about who is allowed to post a BOP Candidates’ page. She thought in the past individuals had not been allowed to post their candidates page for a position that was not open and yet this year an individual was allowed to do so. She also had a concern about the time a member can expect to receive a response to an email sent to individual BOP members. Katie replied that she tries to respond in 2-3 days. We will be exploring ways to improve the process of The BOP Candidates’ Forum later in the agenda. Currently, those anticipating possible openings may arise are encouraged to submit a Candidate’s page to qualify for participation in the BOP sponsored Candidates’ Forum. In the future if a member has a question or concern for the BOP, they can contact them via a new email.

Mary Haroyan – Was seeking clarification about the posting of committee or affiliate events on the Conversation email list. Currently the guidelines are posted on the 1^st of the month. We plan to move the monthly automatic posting of the guidelines to the 15^th of the month in the future to avoid subscribers receiving multiple guidelines on the 1^st of the month. Our new guidelines address the posting of occasional events through the use of a weekly summary initiated through the completion of a form. Otherwise, the Community Events need to be promoted on the Community Schedule.

Matt Selm – Thanked Katie for responding to his concern about the email posting of candidate information on email lists. He suggested a solution to the large numbers of redundant emails may be to consider subscribing everyone to the Announce list or Constant Contact which is already used to distribute Dots and Dashes and the ACB Braille Forum. Deb responded that Constant Contact can be used to contact members only or also include donors and friends as well. We are attempting to keep the Announce list very pure and include primarily advocacy and other announcements of high importance. It contains both members and others. She cautioned subscribers that unsubscribing from Main unsubscribes you from all ACB Groups.io lists.

Kenneth Semien Sr. – Expressed thanks for the conversation and stated that he looks forward to the following agenda discussion concerning election communication on the lists. He has some ideas and is willing to share them in writing for future consideration regarding campaigns.

Allison (from Michigan) – Asked about the preferred length of a Braille Forum article. She was told it should be between 500-800 words. Themes are suggested but not all articles need to follow the theme. Deadlines are approximately eight weeks prior to the month of the issue with September on July 23, October on August 22, Nov-Dec on September 22.

Debbie Hazelton – Thanked the BOP for their dedicated work. In reference to the announce list, she thinks she has seen some forwarding from that list to Conversation. To keep the volume of emails down, she hopes that practice will not be allowed to continue. She appreciates the Announce list that allows individuals to get valuable information without all the rest.

Amanda Selm – Asked if committees and/or affiliates have been allowed to adopt an issue of the Braille Forum. She was assured that we encourage both affiliates and committees to do so.

We hope to calcify the process and look forward to identifying ways to inform the members about this process and avoid confusion in the future.

It was suggested that in addition to the article in the Braille Forum we consider posting to the Conversation list.

This year in addition to the Braille Forum article, the information also appeared in Dots and Dashes.

Suggestions included:

• Braille Forum article
• Dots and Dashes post
• Conversation email list post about the process
• BOP to host an education session about the election process around the 1^st of the year

Perhaps we should encourage people interested in serving in a bigger capacity to file a candidate’s page that would allow them to be positioned as a candidate without necessarily declaring a certain position.

It was questioned whether a candidate should be allowed to post an announcement of their candidacy on the Conversation list.

Some of the affiliates have historically allowed candidates who have not filed a BOP Candidate’s Page to participate in their Candidates’ Forums.

Bel reported that the Berl Colley Leadership Committee hosted a call in April about the election process.

Jeff questioned if there should be guidelines for what can be posted on the email list. It was suggested that debate not be allowed.

Zelda suggested that we create a formal “second round” posting of Candidate’s pages to allow for some uniformly. It was suggested that this delayed posting include dates they were posted and not be allowed to debate or comment about other candidates or their previously stated positions. Instead of being posted on the ACB website, these could possibly be posted in a group on Dots and Dashes. Perhaps we should have them respond to a separate set of questions and allow them to introduce themselves.

Public Comment: 

Cachet Wells – Shared that if persons are interested in running, it would be beneficial to educate about the process and potential openings prior to the posting of the Candidates’ Pages.

Cindy Hollis – Community would entertain the possibility of hosting “Get to Know Me Events” for those running for an elected position.

Melody Holloway – Suggested that candidates could share their own email lists and social media to help inform the voters and promote themselves.

Sheila Young – She appreciates the conversation and the possibilities that have been shared. She likes the idea of candidates being able to host an event.

Kenneth Semien Sr. - Appreciative of the conversation. Also stated that since we should strive to elect the best candidate for the position it is important for the candidates to know who else is running and their qualifications.

Katie thanked everyone for their input. This subject will be re-visited at future meetings.

For this year, interested individuals can still run from the convention floor and can campaign informally even though some of the formal ways are not options at this time.

Some ideas for developing a promo process included:

- Develop a recording of the guidelines.

- Post to the list and schedule automatic monthly posting on the 15^th.

- Hold a call with Q and A of different scenarios about the use of the Conversation List.

- Check to see if Community will include a link to the Guidelines document or the recording on the daily schedule.

We will continue to explore ways to communicate the guidelines to the list subscribers. 

Sharon will send us the list of award winners. She will also check on the winner’s availability to attend the banquet.

Editor’s Report - June 2025

Statistics

May 2025

Braille distributed: 458
Braille returned: 4
Braille return rate: 0.87%
Braille received: 454
Cartridge distributed: 310* (waiting for final number)
Large print distributed: 1,161
Large print returned: 8
Large print return rate: 0.69%
Large print received: 1,153
Email distributed: 5,720
Bounces: 41
Spam: 0
Unsubscribes: 2
Return rate: 0.72%
Email delivered: 5,679

June 2025

Braille distributed: 451
Cartridge to be distributed: TBA
Large print to be distributed: 1,146
Email to be distributed: 5,793

July-August 2025

Braille to be distributed: 453
Cartridge to be distributed: TBA
Large print to be distributed: 1,150
Email to be distributed: TBA

Deadlines for the Next Issues

September - emergency preparedness-accessible alert devices; deadline: July 23, 2025

October - attitude of gratitude/thankfulness; deadline: August 22, 2025

November-December 2025: theme: wins for winter; deadline: September 22, 2025

June’s Table of Contents

President’s Message: A Sneak Peek at the Convention, by Deb Cook Lewis

Advocacy in Action: A Day on Capitol Hill, by Claire Stanley

Extras, Extras, Read All about Them, by Janet Dickelman

Affiliate News

Explore to Achieve More, by Kenneth Semien Sr.

Help ACB Continue to Thrive, by Michael Garrett and Jean Mann

Editorial: Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bath Water; Preserve the Affiliate Vote, by Matt Selm

Howdy, Partner! Come and Help with the Lone Star Gazette

ADA, the Beautiful!, by Pinalben “Pinky” Patel

DaVinci in Cordoba, by Anesadora Hightower

Rowing Is Life, Part One, by Caleb McKinsey

Champion for Accessibility Thomas Wlodkowski Receives 2025 Helen Keller Achievement Award

Here and There, edited by Cynthia G. Hawkins

High Tech Swap Shop

July-August’s Table of Contents

President’s Message: What We Do for Our Mental Health, by Deb Cook Lewis

Dallas 2025: Last-Minute Convention Information, by Janet Dickelman

Summary of the May 19, 2025 Board Meeting, by Katie Frederick

How to Help Members Advocate for One Another, compiled by Ardis Bazyn

15 Ways Senior Leaders Can Ensure Their Actions Align with Their Core Values

14 Impactful Ideas for an Engaging New Member Orientation, by Andrea Amorosi

Blind Women and Cancer, by Linda Adams

Appropriate Access for Guide Dog Handlers? Not Anymore, by Sila Miller

The Longest Home Run in Sandlot Baseball, by Lenny McHugh

A Birthday Gift, by Jean Mann

Editorial: The “Pros” Could Learn a Few Things from the Amateurs, by Nolan Crabb

Here and There, edited by Cynthia G. Hawkins

High Tech Swap Shop

***

I continue to put together the Dots and Dashes newsletter. The next issues will go out June 16 and 30 and will pick up again after convention on July 21st.

I’m still working with the archives/history committee on preserving and digitizing old recordings and documents from ACB events and identifying people in photos. Some of the work involves digitizing board minutes. In the old minutes, I have finished the 2000s and am now working my way through the 2010s.

I continue to record the Washington Connection, and some of the other boxes on our phone system, such as the national convention box, the scholarship information, and the state convention box. I updated the Washington Connection on May 14^th, 15^th and 21^st, and will be updating it sometime this week, too.

I have also updated the Job Connection. The new one will be posted by this Thursday.

Sharon Lovering, Editor

July-August – Mental Health and Wellness, deadline May 24

September – Emergency Preparedness and Accessible Alert Devices plus Convention Follow Up, deadline July 23

October - attitude of gratitude/thankfulness; deadline: August 22, 2025

November-December – Wins for Winter – accomplishments for the year

June – Cheryl and Bel

July – Jeff and Zelda

Janae Miller is now posted (audio and transcript).

Rick reported that there are 30-second spots available to those candidates who have submitted Candidate’s Pages. The spots should be sent to Rick and cc’d to Larry. He will start running them next week and let them run until the 30th of June. Katie sent a message to those who qualified.

He announced that ASSURE is now history. He and the team are now fully occupied with convention preparations.

Thanked Jeff for the work he is doing on the text to speech and Spanish versions.

The monthly statistics will be prepared and emailed to the BOP list.

Jeff asked how much we pay Perkins for the audio format of the Braille Forum which includes making the audio, recording on cartridges, mailing, and tracking. Sharon reported that according to our last invoice there is $235.00 studio charges, duplication $.70/cartridge.

We still need to promote the revised and adopted ACB LP Guidelines as amended with the new Name Badge guidelines. We will post to the President’s list and Leadership list.

We have a new email address for the BOP which is bop@mail.acb.org.

The meeting was adjourned.

Next BOP Meeting is scheduled for August 5, 2025, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Respectfully submitted,
Zelda Gebhard, Director
ACB Board of Publications