AER Annual Meeting

October 10, 2008 at the Oregon School for the Blind

1. Attendance

26 people attended the meeting, 16 of whom are AER members (some people did not sign the attendance sheet, but heads were counted to obtain the 26 number and attendees were asked to raise their hands if they are currently AER members).

Attendance Sheet Name AER Member? Mark Moskowitz Yes Jane Johnson Yes Michael Wright No Jessica Kuehne No Mary Bjornskov Yes Richard Smouse No Julia Pitcher Yes Michael Yamada Yes Pauline Lang No Barbara Minkler No David Rumer Yes Erin Rumer Yes Don Ouimet Yes Jennifer Orton Yes James Schroeder Yes Robin Illers Yes Robyn Smith Yes Sharon Almagner Yes Jennifer Jones Yes Bob Disher Yes Carol Kaufman No Carolyn Bryant Yes Melinda Carlson Yes

1. Introduction of AER board a. Jackie L. Macy, President b. Carolyn Bryant, President Elect c. Mary Bjornskov, Past President d. Jane Johnson, Treasurer e. David Rumer, Secretary f. Nathan Tierney, Member-at-Large g. Erin Rumer, Member-at-Large 2. Membership Report--Jackie AER International is recommending that chapters put their newsletter in print and mail it out to people vs. an electronic format. People in the room were asked how they would prefer to receive their newsletters. 7 people prefer electronic newsletters while 9 would prefer to receive their newsletters in print. We will have a Bi-State AER Conference coming up on March 12th and 13th, 2009 at the Portland Airport Holiday Inn. It is a great hotel and the food will be terrific! There will be 4 tracks. Members should have received a “save the date” card in the mail. Registrations will be coming out very soon.

3. Treasurer’s Report—Jane Johnson Jane also mentioned that treasurer’s reports are available to any member that requests that information.

4. General Update a. Website—Mary B. We have moved our chapter website to the AER International website. The new website is now up and running for people to look at. b. Newsletter—Mary B. c. Upcoming 2009 conference—Jackie See info above under #2. d. Grants—Jackie There are two grants that our chapter offers: the Larry Van W. to support an AER member with their costs in providing recreational opportunities to those with vision impairments, and also the conference/professional development grant that assists with up to $500 in costs associated with attending out of state conferences. Chapter conferences are not eligible for this scholarship as chapter money is already being used for those conferences. Very few people ever take advantage of these two grants. e. Bylaw changes and vote The bylaws were handed out to everyone in attendance. Jane read out the changes that were being made to our bylaws. Julia Pitcher made a motion to pass the bylaws and Robyn Smith seconded that motion. AER members voted on this proposal with 16 voting in favor and 0 voting “nay”. 5. Elections 2009—Open Positions a. President-elect b. Newly created one-year member-at-large c. Treasurer 6. Questions/Comments None 7. Door prizes Gave away new AER tee-shirts. It was announced that anyone who became an AER member at the conference would be given a free tee-shirt.