David Trott
1018 East St.
S. Talladega, AL 35160
Home: (256) 362-5649
Cell: (256) 375-4205
Email: [email protected]
1. Introduce yourself and list the office for which you are planning to run. Explain why you wish to serve as an officer of the ACB.
I am David Trott, I am seeking your support for my second term as Treasurer of the American Council of the Blind. My career background has been in business and services for the blind. Over the past 40+ years I have devoted my life to community service. I began my affiliation with ACB in a local chapter, in 1978, and since that time I have worked tirelessly toward the betterment of the lives of the blind. I have served in every office on the local and state level as well as on the ACB Board, and I currently serve as treasurer. I have worked in and held offices in many other organizations, among them, The Lions Club and our Alumni. Our Alumni is still one of the strongest in the country. Also, I have served on the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Blind Services Advisory Committee and The Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind Regional Center Advisory Group, I serve on the Resource and Development Committee for ACB and I have chaired this committee in the past. There are many other committee’s and task forces where I serve. I will be glad to discuss them with you. I currently serve as officer liaison to several committees and on two of the ACB Action Plan Groups.
2. Summarize any experience, knowledge, skills and/or abilities you have which qualify you to serve in the office for which you are seeking election.
In my time as Services Development Coordinator at Alabama Industries for the Blind I work with contracts, budgets, employees and supervising day to day operations of the various programs that were my responsibility. I worked with legislators and private sector businesses to acquire funding and educating these entities that blind, deaf, and deaf/blind employees can perform the duties of their jobs. My time on the ACB Board has given me a good background in the ongoing operations and projects of ACB. My many years of service to the blind of Alabama has given me the experience to advocate successfully. My financial background along with my work on the ACB budget committee will also be an asset in this position. Mostly my combined knowledge and experience along with my love for ACB will aide me in being a good treasurer for you.
3. What do you consider to be your strongest contribution to ACB at either the national, state, special-interest affiliate or local chapter level and why?
The Legacy Endowment, although I did not accomplish this alone, I worked tirelessly to make sure that it was established and funded. In my position as treasurer, I worked with both the Investment and the Budget Committees, to ensure that thee Legacy Endowment would grow and be a major contributor to our annual budget. As the Legacy Endowment continues to grow this will give ACB longevity and a more substantial budget. Notwithstanding the many accomplishments, during my tenure as a board member and treasurer, I consider the Legacy Endowment as one of ACB’s crowning achievements.
4. What do you consider to be the most important challenge facing ACB? How will you work to address it?
It is imperative that we put forth an all-out effort to grow our membership. We realize the value of recruiting younger members, and this is important, but we need to work on members of all ages. We constantly face the challenge of maintaining chapters and members in rural areas. I am looking for ideas and I will work with others to help develop ways to maintain and grow membership in these areas. We need to develop chapters that are not based on the physical presents of members but allow them to be active participates via phone and social media. Lastly, we need to grow our at large membership and find ways for them to be productive members and help them to enjoy the benefits of being a member of ACB. If ACB is to grow in importance as the organization that companies, government agencies, and others come to for our expertise on blindness we need to grow our membership significantly.