Serving the blind and low vision population of South Central Kentucky
A chapter of the Kentucky Council of the Blind

The meeting was started at approximately 7:10 pm at the Bowling Green Library. The Treasurer's report was not given because the Treasurer, Lisa Newton, was not in attendance. In like manner, the group voted to dispense with the reading of the minutes from our last meeting because the Secretary, Lori Piorkowski, was not in attendance.

Members present included Ron & Palma Milliman, Kim & Mike Parsley, Darlene Winkenhofer, Max &&Sue Robinson, and we had two guests: Kathy & Dave Dortch from Daytona Beach, Florida. Old business was discussed. The first thing on the agenda was the PSA written by Lisa Newton and produced by Max and Sue Robinson. After it was played for everyone in attendance to listen to it, everyone agreed that it was very well done but needed some slight editing to get the correct name of our organization. A discussion also ensued about adding some background music to the PSA. Max and Ron volunteered to do the editing and Max would write some background music that could be faded in and out, and have it all ready for our final approval by the time of our next meeting, which will be Thursday, March 11. Max and Ron agreed to supply the CD ROMs that would be needed to distribute the finished PSA to the various radio stations in the area.

Turning to new business, the next important issue discussed was setting organizational goals or objectives for the year. Among those goals discussed were: Completing the PSA project, developing a relationship with local Lions Club groups, creating a SCKCB web site, planning the TV program in August, public relations, fund raising, and expanding membership.

One way suggested to expand our exposure and to help educate the public was by sending letters to school principles and counselors offering to go and speak to certain student groups. We felt that this was a very good way to reach out to the public and help educate people in general, especially children, about blindness. It was agreed this would be an excellent project to pursue.

President Ron Milliman, also pointed out that another good way to expose more of the public to our organization is to develop a working relationship with some civic organizations such as the Lions Club, since the Lions Clubs are especially known for helping people with vision problems. It was agreed that we would pursue a relationship with the various Lions groups in the BG area. President Milliman would initiate the contacts since he had already researched the contact information and report his results to the group at its next meeting.

The issue of raising funds was brought up again. It was suggested that we first designate specific items that we would need funds for and then decide how much funds need to be raised. The items listed are as follows:

Stationary/Mailings (+-$200.00)
Web site hosting & domain registration (initially donated by Ron Milliman)
Plaques (for awards)
Advertising/Publicity

President Milliman made the comment that some banks and major stores have a policy of donating a minimal amount, such as $50 to certain organizations that approach them for donations. It was felt that this might help to raise some funds quickly and should be pursued.

Kim Parsley pointed out that we might be better received by other organizations and businesses if we offered them some form of special recognition. She suggested we might look into giving awards or plaques as recognition. The cost was discussed, and President Milliman suggested we might consider giving certificates of appreciation that could be printed out by a regular printer and then, framed as a way of minimizing the initial cost of such a project.

Our member from Glasgow, David Welch, offered to help us with a fund raiser, which consisted of a Spring concert, possibly in early April. The group thought it was an excellent idea, but was concerned about the short time left to plan and execute such a project. It was suggested that we delay this project for a while as a fund raiser, since we felt that there wasn't enough time to do a good job with this suggestion for this Spring.

The TV program, which we are committed to put on the local Access Channel in August, was briefly discussed. It was felt that with some good advanced planning, we could put on a very informative 30-minute program about blindness and our organization.

Since much of what we want to accomplish requires letterheads and envelopes for sending out professional-looking letters and materials, and since it was also agreed that it would be nice if we all had SCKCB business cards we could give out to help authenticate our legitimacy as members of the SCKCB, Mike and Kim Parsley agreed to create a beginning inventory of such materials for us.

The meeting was adjourned at or about 8:25.

Respectfully submitted, Palma Milliman