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MCB OFFICE NEWS
MCB OFFICE NEWS
October/November, 2006
Another MCB convention has come and gone. Many thanks to the Blind of Central Missouri for a job well done. Also, I can’t say thank you enough to those who gave so much help behind the scenes before, during and following the convention. Please know you are appreciated very much and it would be extremely difficult for us to hold our convention without your help.
The office reopened on Tuesday morning following the Convention. Tuesday and Wednesday were very busy days for us with answering many phone calls and putting the pieces back together after the convention. Thank you letters are to be written; all those expense forms to be processed and checks to write; and, of course, beginning to fill those many requests we have received for the 2007 calendars.
On Wednesday, October 25, I went to the 4300 Goodfellow location (which is a federal government location) to speak on behalf of ACB for the Combined Federal Campaign rally. The Campaign is held from Oct. 4-Nov. 15. Federal employees may choose from a list of better than two thousand charitable nonprofit organizations to which they would like to make a contribution. I had asked Naomi Soule to go since she is a Board member of ACB; however, Naomi was not able to go, so I went on behalf of ACB. It seemed appropriate to me since as members of MCB we are also members of ACB. ACB is #2802 in their listing.
As I reported at the Convention, I do plan to make application for MCB to be on their listing beginning next year.
I regret to have to report that our office secretary’s mother-in-law passed away on October 27 from lung cancer. Mrs. Mackley had just celebrated her 90th birthday. Our condolences to Sandi and Ed and their family.
On October 28 I attended the appreciation dinner given by Tower Club for four of their long time members-- Marie Kelley, Carl Mack, Ray Campbell and Bill Jackson. Thanks to Jesuita Tabor for inviting Tom, Sharon and me to come. The dinner was held at Romines Restaurant. Thanks for the good time and good food.
Upcoming board meetings: The Winter Board meeting has been set for December 2, 2006. The hotel we have contracted with is the Holiday Inn, Forest Park in St. Louis. We have been there a number of times in the past. The Board meeting will begin at nine a.m., so you will need to come in on Friday, December 1. The Board meeting will be held at the MCB building, 5453 Chippewa Street. The building is a short distance from the hotel; however, too far to walk. Please let the office know who will be coming to represent your affiliate. If your regular representative is not able to attend, you must let Kathey know of their replacement. The affiliate president appoints the replacement. In the event it is an officer who is unable to attend, then the MCB President appoints an alternate for that meeting.
Board packets have been mailed.
All expense checks have been written. The last ones left the office on Thursday, November 16. All thank you letters have also been written.
Spring Board meeting: The Spring Board meeting has been scheduled for April 13-14 at the Holiday Inn in Joplin where the MCB Convention will be held next October. The dates for the 2007 Convention are: October 4-7. Yes, that is a little earlier than usual, but our Bylaws do require that the state convention will be held in October.
Request for affiliate grants: If your affiliate has not yet sent in your request for your affiliate’s 2007 grant, please do so right away. We will be handling those requests at the December 2 Board meeting. Please note: Grants will not be sent until after February 1, 2007. Only those affiliates who have sent in their updated affiliate membership list in January will receive their grant. The updated membership list must be received in the MCB office on or before February 1, 2007. Please, please do not add or adjust a previous membership list. Send a clean list of your membership as of January 2007. Your cooperation will really be appreciated in this matter.
Office Closing: Please remember that the MCB office will be closed on November 23 (Thanksgiving Day) and the Friday following. We will reopen on Monday, November 27.
Bylaws correction: Please note: A correction has been made to the MCB Bylaws of 2005. In Article VI: Finances, section 4 was mistakenly put into the Bylaws. So, now the Bylaws have been corrected to omit the section 4 which began “Any disbursement or change of MCB investments…”. The corrected Bylaws will read “Corrected November 2006”.
2007 Calendars: Because the office receives requests for multiple numbers of calendars, the office is sending calendars to visually-impaired Missourians only. These seem to be a very popular item and we have had frequent requests for them to be sent to people in other states. We do pay for these calendars. They also have “The Missouri Council of the Blind” printed on the top, so they are intended for Missourians.
I would encourage our affiliates to contact local nursing homes, retirement centers and assisted living centers to see if they are going to be requesting them. If they want a significant number, they need to phone Bev Kaskadden in January or early February to give her the number they need. In turn they can be drop shipped if it is a large quantity.
The calendars come in boxes of 75, with three rolls of 25 to a box. It is difficult for the MCB office to ship large quantities of calendars since we must purchase mailing tubes which are costly.
Chronicle editor: Hopefully, all of you know by now that Bill Benson has been appointed as Chronicle editor. His email address is: billben@sbcglobal.net
MCB building: Our building is really going to have a lot of use the first weekend in December. RITE will be holding its December meeting and Christmas party here on Friday, December 1. Then the Board will be using the building all day on Saturday, December 2. On Sunday afternoon UWB will be hosting a game day.
On another note, all of the carpets in the building will be cleaned, hopefully before all of the first weekend in December.
Fundraising: I have sent a letter to the Executive Director of the Missouri Funeral Directors Association, asking for permission for the MCB to place memorial envelopes in various funeral home establishments throughout the state. Frequently, family members and friends would prefer to give a memorial in lieu of flowers. We are asking for the opportunity to place envelopes designating the Missouri Council of the Blind as a possibility for a memorial gift. Should MCB receive any of these memorial gifts, a card would be sent to the family stating the name and address of the donor. In addition, a letter of thanks would be sent to the donor.
Another reminder: Don’t forget that the MCB office will be closed Christmas week. That is, from December 25 through January 1. We will reopen on January 2, 2007.
THE PEOPLE WE CAN’T HELP: I received a call from a man who identified himself as Mike. He stated he is in need of a medic alert dog. He went ahead to tell me that he has shrapnel in his head from having been in Viet Nam. I asked if he is blind to which he replied he is not, but he again stated he was in need of a medic alert dog. I told him we work with people who are legally blind and those dogs are called guide dogs. I went ahead to say I thought he was looking for a service or support dog. I told him I thought the Veterans Administration might be able to tell him how to go about getting such a dog. Unfortunately, he told me they had been the ones to refer him to us. Feeling at a loss of where I might direct him, I referred him to Paraquad. Hopefully, he is able to find the help he is seeking.
Happy Thanksgiving from the MCB office staff.
Bev Armstrong
Executive Director
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