Alliance on Aging and Vision Loss February, 6, 2022 Minutes Prepared by Sharon Strzalkowski President Jeff Thom called the meeting to order at 8 PM EST. All board members and several guests were present. Treasurer Kathy reported that Mary Lee Turner of Oregon has just become a life member of AAVL, and we all congratulated her for this. We currently have 98 members who have paid dues, with additional members yet to renew. Kathy reported that there was no profit for Terrilyn in January, and that we have sold 25 cookbooks for a total of $500, with a donation of $300 as a donation for production costs. The contract for website work with Annette Carter has been signed. Doug moved and Sharon seconded a motion that Kathy and Annette work out a payment plan schedule without the need for monthly invoices; the motion passed. Doug moved and Sandy then seconded a motion to accept the treasurer’s report as submitted to the board, and this passed as well. Jeff reported on national convention plans: we will have a luncheon on Sunday ,July 3, then and a session from 1 PM to 2:15Pm on Medicare and the Nebraska health insurance for all program. The joint session on Tuesday with ACB Women will focus on various living arrangements for seniors with vision loss, with presentations by experts and member experiences on a panel. We have been asked to partner with the Sight and Sound Impaired Committee to discuss FDA rules about over-the-counter hearing aids. Jeff said that we could participate any time after 2:30 PM on Sunday or on Wednesday. The committee will take care of procuring the time slot and speakers. We discussed the idea of holding a mixer, and Terry Pacheco suggested that we merge with Nex Generation and CCLVI to cut costs and encourage more people to attend a Tuesday night event. Jeff will email these affiliates to inquire about us becoming co-sponsors with them. Paull will be asked to put out another announcement about the Terrilyn products for the Easter-Passover season, and Kathy mentioned that some new items have appeared in their catalog. Jeff and the fundraising committee recommend that we contract out 15 copies of the cookbook to be done in braille by Horizons. Terry offered to donate $100 if Horizons could do the Duxbury file for that amount. Terry would send them a word file; there are 350 braille pages at five cents a page. 15 large print copies could be done by Docucopies, a facility near Terry. Sharon moved and Kathy seconded these recommendations, and the motion passed. Jeff reported that our AAVL newsletter will be coming out soon; Lisa has been really busy till now. Anisio, Jeff and Doug had a call with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in which they urged state affiliates to become involved in elder affairs concerns. Doug reported that 10 AAA surveys have been completed, and that Niva Fairchild will prepare a report about the results at the end of February. Doug will host a community call about the state of the union of AAVL on February 27. Bob Acosta shared his experience with the Los Angeles Area Agency on Aging and his advocacy on our behalf. Terry mentioned an upcoming community call about the Affordable Connectivity program which has been expanded and amended by the FCC for low income residents needing Internet service. Kathy announced our drawing winners: Alice Reichardt as a renewing member, and Nicollete Noyes as a new member. Congratulations! Our next meeting will be on Sunday, March 6, at 8 PM EST. Peggy moved and Sandy seconded our adjournment, and all approved. The meeting ended at 9:20 PM.