by Christopher Gray
Affiliate presidents and many other ACB members have highlighted the need for communication between ACB’s leadership and the general membership of the organization. I have the distinct impression that you want to know more than has sometimes been printed in “The Braille Forum” about specific ACB business and that you want an exposure to discussions of general topics of interest to our movement. With this in mind, this month’s President’s Message will focus on ACB business, upcoming activities, and committee appointments.
One of the larger jobs for ACB’s officers to undertake is to keep the committee structure of ACB vital and functioning. Our bylaws mandate a large number of standing committees. In addition, we have other committees that help the organization carry out its work and realize its mission as prescribed by you each year at convention. Each committee can request a budget to perform its work, and each committee must have a mission statement detailing what it hopes to do in the next year or meaningful period of time related to its particular job.
To assist committees in their work, each has an ACB officer who is specifically dedicated to helping them achieve their goals and manage their budget. In addition, each committee has a staff liaison within ACB’s national office.
I am posting below a list of officer coordinators and their committees. This list is furnished so that you know where to go when you want to provide input to a committee or volunteer for a committee assignment.
Chris Gray: Advocacy Services; Convention Program; Executive; Internet; task forces as required.
Steve Speicher: Constitution and bylaws; Credentials; Future of ACB; National Alliance of Blind Students; Nominating; Scholarships.
M.J. Schmitt: History; Information Access; McDaniel; Membership.
Donna Seliger: Convention Selection; Convention Coordination; Mississippi Project; Public Relations; Resolutions; Sight and Sound.
Ardis Bazyn: Awards; Environmental Access; Multicultural Affairs; Women’s Concerns.
On Thursday of the 2001 national convention, the ACB Government Employees affiliate held an employment seminar. Out of that seminar came a request to the ACB board to create an employment task force. Mitch Pomerantz made the motion at the post-convention board meeting to implement this request; the motion was adopted. Here are the appointed members to that task force. Because this group is of a more long-standing nature than some task forces, their full contact information and make-up will appear on the standard ACB committee list when released in the fall.
Mitch Pomerantz: ADA Compliance Officer, Los Angeles City Department on Disability (public sector)
Peter Altschul: Diversity Coordinator, Reuters (private sector)
Paulette Bartelt: Independent Living Coordinator, Independence First (agency)
Denise Colley: Project Coordinator, NW Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (agency)
Darian Hartman: Assistant Employment Specialist, IAMCARES (agency)
M.J. Schmitt: (retired from the private sector)
Samantha Schmucker: Personnel Management Specialist, U.S. Department of Agriculture (public sector and recent college graduate)
Naomi Soule: District Supervisor, Rehabilitation Services for the Blind, State of Missouri (public sector)
Donna Smith: ADA Information Coordinator, Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (agency)
Another task force that has been created has to do with how ACB addresses the concerns of guide dog users who attend the national convention. As our numbers grow, and as more blind people use guide dogs, problems arise that may require ACB to manage more specifically how guide dog issues are addressed. To help us with this, a task force has been set up with the help of Guide Dog Users, Inc. Its members are Debbie Grubb, Chair; Ginger Bennett; Margie Donovan, and Sheila Styron. These are all active GDUI members, extremely knowledgeable about ACB convention matters, and Debbie Grubb serves on the ACB board as well as president of GDUI.
The charge to the guide dog task force is to draft a set of recommendations for consideration by the ACB convention committee, budget committee, and board of directors with regard to all issues surrounding guide dog relief areas. Proposals are to be at the policy and operational levels, giving the task force the broadest scope possible for their work. In addition, a position description is to be proposed for the guide dog representative to the ACB convention coordination committee. The task force is being asked, if possible, to have a report prepared for distribution to the ACB board of directors at the September meeting.
The ACB board of directors will be holding its fall meeting on September 22-23, 2001 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. All meetings will be held at the Holiday Inn Mountain View. We are pleased also to be participants in a membership development program on Friday, September 21 with our growing New Mexico affiliate. Their president, David Armijo, is working with the ACB board and the membership committee to develop a program that is sure to assist all those who are blind in New Mexico.
As you can see, ACB’s committee and task force structure is coming together for the next two years. Our committee structure, which allows us to tackle specific issues and to call on the talents of our members in a very meaningful way is part of what makes this organization truly democratic and representative. In a separate letter of information that is being mailed to affiliate presidents, I am asking them to identify three to five key members from their states for consideration on standing and other committees of ACB. If you're interested, let your affiliate presidents know of your wishes.