Board Meeting Minutes
March5, 2025 BITS Board Meeting Minutes and Reports
1. Call to Order – Jeff Bishop
2. Roll call – Secretary Robin Frost
Present:
President
Jeff Bishop
Vice President
Brad Snyder
Secretary
Robin frost
Treasurer
Diane Scalzi
Directors:
Michael Babcock
John McCann
David Edick
Mervin Keck
Members Present:
Danilo Valerio, Omar, Chris Duffley, Nicki Keck, Deborah Armstrong, Alex Stone, janet wright, Karen, Larry Watkinson, Pamela Francis, Rosanna Beaudrie, Paul Miller, denise colley, Lauren Bradford, Ann McKay-Bacon, Karen’s iPhone (2), Lori m m, Chanelle Allen, Jason Castonguay, Martys iphone, Miriam Huff, Ryan Mann, Lauren Burger, Nicolette Noyes, Donna Clarke, Jenny’s iPhone, Brian B, Juliana Belle Mills, Debbie Ralston, Mary B Ritter, Toni Cuttill, Kayla Bentas, Janice, Belinda Collins, Janice Revill’s iPhone, Betsey Doane, Debbie Hazelton, Scott Edwards, Tony Thurman, Roberta, Doug Hunsinger’s iPhone, Andrea Conner, Marcia Moses, Liz B, Hayley Edick, Kolby Garrison, Michael Doise, Sunni Ricks, Nasreen,
3. Adoption of proposed agenda and Approval of Consent Agenda – Jeff Bishop
John McCann moved; David Edick seconded.
The motion carried unanimously.
4. Adoption of February 5, 2025, Board meeting minutes – Robin Frost.
John McCann moved; Diane Scalzi seconded.
The motion carried unanimously.
5. Financial Updates
A. Treasurer’s Report – Diane Scalzi
The Treasurer indicated her submission of an amended report for January necessitated by an explanation of charges for Zoom services. All other aspects therein remain unchanged.
(Secretary’s note) This amended report has been added to the February Minutes for future reference.
BITS Treasurer’s Report – Feb 1-28, 2025
Checking:
Beginning balance: $48,540.97
Credits:
1 regular member dues payment: $20.00
2 transfers from PayPal: 3,592.27 *1
Stripe deposit: $2,402.53
Total credits: $6,014.80
Debits:
Zoom large meeting: -$53.00
Sendwp subscription for web email: -$9.00
Transfer to savings: -$24,000.00
Total debits: -$24,062.00
Ending balance: $30,493.77
PayPal:
Beginning balance: $0.00
Credits:
25 regular member dues payments: $500.00 *2
4 BITS life member dues payments: $800.00 *3
5 international member dues payments: $100.00
Total Credits: $1,400.00
Debits:
PayPal fees: -$51.59 *4
Transfer to checking: -$914.17
Refund of overpaid life membership dues payment: -$200.00
Total debits: -$1,165.76
Ending balance: $234.24
Stripe (Jan 25, 2025-Feb 24, 2025)
Beginning Balance: $0.00
Credits
Amount collected less Stripe fees: $2,412.60
Total credits: $2,412.60
Debits
Bank deposit: -$2,402.53
Fees: -$10.07 *5
Total Debits: -$2,412.60
Ending balance: $0.00
Savings account:
Beginning balance: $37,131.63
Credits:
Transfer from checking: $24,000.00
Interest: $0.40
Total credits: $24,000.40
Debits:
No debits
Total debits: $0.00
Ending balance: 61,132.63
Total for all accounts: $91,860.64
*1 Includes $ 2,678.10 transfer from January and $914.17 transfer from February.
*2 One member overpaid by $20.00. Membership extended one year and increased number of regular member dues payments in this report to 25.
*3 Includes 2 international life membership dues payments.
*4 For information on PayPal fees, visit https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/paypal-fees.
*5 For information on Stripe pricing, visit https://stripe.com/pricing
Submitted for audit
Prepared by Diane Scalzi, BITS Treasurer March 4, 2025.
John McCann moved that Diane Scalzi be made Assistant Secretary for the purposes of conducting financial transactions to meet the requirements set forth by JPMorgan Chase; Brad Snyder seconded.
This motion was ratified by unanimous electronic vote on March 7, 2025 and is also documented in the supplemental Extract associated with these minutes under separate cover with the title
03-1-March 5, 2025 BITS Board Meeting Minutes Extract For The Purposes of executing Financial Transactions.docx
Which says in full:
“For the Purpose of enabling treasurer Diane Scalzi to handle Financial Transactions in cases where Chase Bank, NA, requires that she be designated as secretary:
At the March 5, 2025 meeting of the BITS board of directors, the following motion was duly made and seconded:
Resolved:
that for purposes of executing financial transactions, Treasurer, Diane Scalzi is hereby deemed to be Acting Secretary per the requirements of Chase Bank, NA.
On March 7, 2025 this motion was adopted unanimously by the emailed votes of all directors as permitted by § 29-406.21(a) of the DC Nonprofit Corporation Act of 2010.”
6. President’s Report – Jeff Bishop
- Renewals are in full swing. Encouraging members to renew their membership
- Encouraging everyone to read the Presidential Report – Everyone
See packet appendices for full report.
7. Committee reports:
Communication:
Email Management Committee – Mervin Keck
The Chair highlighted 2 items beyond that which were included in his report. Firstly, he invites anyone with resources to suggest, for the benefit of others utilizing the various discussion lists to feel free to contact him with those suggestions. He also indicates if members have more than one email address showing for the various lists on Groups.io he may contact them to discern which address they would like to be utilizing.
See packet appendices for full report.
Publications Committee – Rosanna Beaudrie
The Chair reminded people of the new email address through which the Publications Committee can be reached:
See packet appendices for full report.
Chat Management Committee – David Edick
The Chair suggested having special chats during CSUN through which those in attendance could report in for the benefit of those not there.
See packet appendices for full report.
Presentation and Outreach:
Convention,
Presentations
and Scholarship Committees – Brad Snyder
Presentations:
The Chair highlighted on going presentations which remain well attended and received.
There will be no MacBites due to CSUN. And Basics With BITS will not occur the last Saturday in March to make way for ACB Community’s 5th birthday celebration activities. He also welcomed a new member to the Presentations team.
See packet appendices for full report.
Convention:
Like last year there will be 6 presentations during the virtual portion of the convention along with the addition of in-person educational opportunities and the return of the in-person reception again. This year there will not only be a raffle for those at the reception in-person but also for those who participate in the convention virtually. A $250 Amazon gift card will be offered for each raffle.
The Convention Committee is requesting a budget of $1,000 for the reception related expenses and $500 for the cost of the raffle prizes.
See packet appendices for full report.
Scholarship and Membership Grant Committee:
The committee has met 3 times and has established goals and objectives and continues to finetune the concepts for implementing that with which they’ve been tasked.
See packet appendices for full report.
Education Committee: Debbie Armstrong
The Chair continues to welcome anyone who wishes to join in the facilitating of Basics With Bits presentations.
See packet appendices for full report.
Technical Infrastructure and Organization:
IT Infrastructure Committee – Larry Watkinson and Michael Doise
Michael Babcock moved that we approve the purchase of $1,000 setup fee and $5,000 for a one-year license for 5 channels of Remote Incident Manager (RIM) services to facilitate helping students in BITS classes and others who may have needs for computer related assistance; David Edick seconded.
The motion carried unanimously.
The Chair also reminded members who have not renewed that on March 15th those who have yet to renew and whose memberships have expired will be removed from BITS Groups.io lists.
The Chair alerted the Board to the fact that Kayla Bentas paid out of pocket to purchase some RIM time to assist students in the HTML course with conflicts caused largely by antivirus packages.
David Edick moved that upon presentation of receipt BITS reimburse Kayla Bentas $200 to cover the cost of the RIM plan she purchased; John McCann seconded.
The Motion carried unanimously.
See packet appendices for full report.
Budget and Finance:
Auditing and Budget: Jeff Bishop and Diane Scalzi
President Bishop asked Merv Keck to be sure that Taylor Arndt and Larry Watkinson get added to the email lists for this committee.
Fund Raising: Ann Bacon
The Chair indicated that upon request Blind Girl Designs can augment shirts with pockets for those who want them. She also mentioned her committee has an email address:
for submission of selfies of people using tech wearing BITS branded apparel.
She also highlighted the survey her committee has created to gage interest in various potential ideas for BITS branded items.
See packet appendices for full report.
Membership:
Membership Committee – John McCann
The Chair reported that less than ten people wrote back in response to his renewal letter indicating that they’d not be renewing this year. He also acknowledged the efforts of the I.T. Team for helping those who needed assistance with the membership renewal process.
As of this date certified members stands at 752.
See packet appendices for full report.
9. Old Business
None was heard.
10. New Business
The Convention Planning Committee needs to request Board approval for the following:
1) $1000 for expenses related to the BITS Reception at the convention in Dallas.
2) $500 for raffle prizes, consisting of 2 $250 Amazon e-gift cards.
These amounts mirror that which was approved for last year’s reception and raffle prize.
Vice President Snyder moved that a budget of $1,500 ($1,000 for reception and $500 for 2 raffle prizes) be approved; Diane Scalzi seconded.
The motion carried unanimously.
Discuss organizations that wish to give back to BITS with special offers – Everyone
By consensus the Board endorsed having the I.T. Team list available discount offers to members once logged in; and in future may also indicate the potential thereof generally on the BITS home page to attract greater interest.
11. Member Comments and Questions
Member comments and questions were heard and addressed.
12. Date and time of next Board meeting – April 2, 2025 8:00 PM ET.
13. Adjourn
Vice President Snyder moved to adjourn the meeting; David Edick seconded.
The meeting adjourned at 10:15 PM ET.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin Frost, Secretary,
Blind Information Technology Specialists.
Committee Chair Reports
Fundraising Committee
BITS IN ACTION: The committee is preparing to pilot a procedure for featuring photos of members wearing logo-branded apparel while using accessible technology. These images will be showcased on the website in the coming months.
We invite the Board, Chairs, and their respective committee members to participate in this initial phase from March to April.
The IT team is finalizing the designated email address for submissions, which will be announced soon.
Blind Girl Designs: Update – It is now possible for you to customize your order for a T-shirt or sweatshirt, including options for a pocket or larger sizes if needed. Visit Blind Girl Designs or call Tricia at 862-448-1011 for more details.
Product Line Survey: The survey will soon be available for the Board, Chairs, and committee members to complete and submit as the preliminary phase. IT, (thank you Michael Babcock) has made an accessible link for all members on the website, with the goal of launching soon for broader feedback. For the month of March, we would like the Board, Chairs and their members to use for our initial analysis.
https://bits-acb.org/survey/
Our next meeting is the 2nd Sunday of March at 7:00 pm EST.
Ann, Chair
Presentations Committee
BITS – Presentation Committee Report for March 2025
Submitted March 5, 2025
The following presentations were held during February:
Saturday Feb 8 – Basics With BITS – Joplin.
Tuesday Feb 11 – Mac Bytes – Managing Email with Mailboxes and Rules.
Saturday Feb 22 – Basics With BITS – Mastering the Groups.IO Web Interface.
Wednesday Feb 26 – Apple Bytes – Facebook on iOS.
The following presentations are scheduled during March:
Saturday Mar 8 – Basics With BITS – Untangling Working with Folders on Windows11.
Wednesday Mar 19 – Mastering Microsoft Teams with Melissa Wolf.
Wednesday Mar 26 – Apple Bytes.
Note:
1. There will not be a Mac Bytes presentation during March, because Brad will be attending CSUN.
Mac Bytes will return in April.
2. There will not be a Basics With BITS presentation on March 22, so as not to conflict with the ACB Community 5 Year Anniversary celebration, that is scheduled for March 22 at 3:00 PM Eastern, which is the same date and time for Basics With BITS.
Coming Up in April:
Wednesday April 9 – Braille Screen Input in iOS 18.
Also, beginning in April, Basics with BITS will begin a series of presentations with a focus on basic skills that are essential to using a Windows computer efficiently. These presentations will be based on some of the material from the BITS MS Office Training course.
The Presentations Committee continues to meet monthly on the 3rd Tuesday of each month.
Report Submitted by:
Brad Snyder
Presentations Committee Chair
Convention Committee
BITS – Convention Planning Committee Report for March 2025
Submitted March 5, 2025
The Convention Planning Committee continues to meet twice monthly on the 2nd and 4th Saturday afternoons of each month, as we prepare for the upcoming ACB National Convention.
We have scheduled 6 sessions during the virtual portion of the convention with a focus on social media and AI.
The following are the proposed sessions:
(Note – all times are Central)
Session 1 – Thursday June 26 at 10:00 AM.
Topic: Slack
Session 2 – Friday June 27 at 10:00 AM.
WhatsApp on Mobil
Session 3 – Saturday June 28 at 10:00 AM.
WhatsApp on Desktop with JAWS Scripts – presented by Brian Hartgen.
Session 4 – Thursday June 26 at 1:00 PM.
iBug Today – AI apps on iOS.
Session 5 – Friday June 27 at 1:00 PM.
Amazon – presenter TBD. (Jeff is working on this).
Session 6 – Saturday June 28 at 1:00 PM.
Mastodon and Blue Sky. with presenter Merv Keck.
virtual Presentation titles and descriptions are due to Janet Dickelman by March 20.
We have also tentatively scheduled a BITS Reception during the in-person portion of the convention in Dallas on Wednesday afternoon July 9 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM.
Details for the reception are still being worked out with Janet Dickelman.
We are also proposing both a virtual and in-person raffle drawing to be held in conjunction with the reception.
We are proposing that both drawings feature a $250 Amazon gift card.
We are seeking Board approval of a budget of $1000 for reception expenses, and $500 for raffle prizes.
BITS is planning a multi-day series of education sessions focusing on AI, that will take place during the in-person portion of the convention in Dallas.
This event is scheduled to take place Wednesday July 9 through Saturday July 12.
Jeff is the lead on planning for this event.
The Convention Planning committee is scheduled to meet again this Saturday March 8, and will continue to meet twice monthly until the convention begins in late June.
Report Submitted by:
Brad Snyder
Convention Planning Committee Chair
Scholarship & Member Appreciation Committee
BITS – Scholarship & Member Appreciation Committee Report for March 2025
Submitted March 5, 2025
The Scholarship & Member Appreciation Committee has met twice since the last Board meeting, on February 15 and March 1.
With our goals and objectives defined, we have been brain storming ideas for beginning to achieve these goals.
One idea we are working on, is a grant fund to help provide dues payments for members who are dealing with financial hardships, that affect their ability to pay annual dues.
We are hoping to have something on this that we can bring to the Board soon.
The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Saturday March 15.
Report Submitted by:
Brad Snyder
Scholarship & Member Appreciation Committee Chair
Education Committee
Membership Committee
BITS Membership Committee Report
March, 2025
As of 12:00 pm MST on March 5, 2025, our membership count stands at 996, broken out as follows:
2024 expirations: 246
2025 expirations: 535
2026 expirations: 87
2027 expirations: 5
BITS life Members: 123
Total: 996
Hence, our guaranteed membership count as of the above-stated date is 750, (996 minus 246).
Another observation: of the 623 persons who participated in last year’s dues moratorium, (two are now deceased), 402 have elected to renew their memberships; giving us a retention rate of 64.5% for this group.
Respectfully submitted:
John McCann
Chair: BITS membership committee
IT Infrastructure Committee
We have now trained Content Editors who have now been issued MS 365 accounts in order to work with the One Drive for our data storage.
Now that we have trained Content Editors, clean-up of the wording, dates, and descriptions of the media audio area has begun. As the work of editing is being done, we are getting ready to move our efforts towards Publications.
We have been providing technical support to the HTML Class as well in office hours.
One of the Committee Members on their own have purchased a chunk of RIM in order to support our members using office hours to gain the knowledge to work with the material presented in the HTMLL class. Jeff will talk about how this has become essential support of the members and how it can be used going forward.
MS licenses have been purchased for Fundraising and Publications and they have been installed for the users.
Alias emails for Fundraising, Publications and Membership are now up and functional.
Publications Committee
Publications Report for the month of February
Publications met in the month of February for our regular monthly meeting. Masterdom remains the same as last month at 268. Right now, mastodon is the social media of choice. Robin continues to post events and topics of interest on mastodon. Maryann posts topics and events on our Facebook page. We currently have 110 members on face book. If you are a BITS member you can join the BITS Facebook community by logging into face book and searching for BITS.
I am pleased to announce that publications now has an email address. If you would like to write to the publications committee, please write to publications@bits-acb.org.
The winter BITS bulletin is being put together and will be going out soon. We will post topics and ideas for the spring bulletin later this month. Thank you to those who have sent in articles for the winter bulletin.
We have been working with the IT committee on the publications page that will go up on the web site soon.
Publications will be collaborating with the fund-raising committee on the BITS in action fund raiser to take place at this year’s convention. Please visit the blind girl designs website to purchase apparel that you can wear for the BITS in action event.
As you can see here, there is a lot to look forward to this year. BITS is an exciting place to be right. Now.
Rosanna Beaudrie
Publications Chair.
Email Management Committee
BITS Bytes:
The weekly summary of all things Blind Information Technology specialists posts to the Bits list each Friday. If you are not receiving the weekly summary, you may not be subscribed to bits@bits.groups.io. This is a low traffic list for general messages just like BITS Bytes. The subscribe address is:
Bits+subscribe@bits.groups.io. We have lots of options for stimulating topical discussion. But our low traffic bits list is the place to find out what is going on everywhere in BITS.
Meet Your Officers, Board, and Chairs:
Last month we mentioned that we were waiting on Chairs to select their Co-Chairs. Those selections have been made and we are off and running. As we introduced you to your Moderators, we can’t wait for you to meet your chairs, co-chairs, Officers, and Board of directors. We are aware there will be overlap. Not only with current leadership positions but with last year’s biographies. We promise to give you something interesting to read.
WhatsApp:
The link provided above is for the BITS Community. We are still renaming some groups and eliminating others. However, WhatsApp is again growing. Email Management has been looking after the groups and assisting members when possible.
We have also added the HTML group for Class Members. This group is by admin approval so please feel free to join the group if you are taking the Markdown, HTML, and WordPress Course with BITS.
Mentoring:
We are continuing to move forward with our Mentoring Program. David Edick is taking lead, while the program continues to technically fall under Email Management. However, the Program has been divided into a core group of team leaders which currently include David Edick, Debra Armstrong, Jeff Bishop, Nicki Keck and Mervin Keck as well as another group for all Mentors who will be volunteers that are matched with Mentees. Our core group will be working with IT to best accomplish this task.
We have more than 100 members on our Mentoring list which has been designed for anyone in need of a gentle, helping hand with technology. Anyone wishing to subscribe to Mentoring either to ask for assistance or to lend a gentle, helping hand
The Mentoring subscribe address is
Mentoring+subscribe@bits.groups.io.
I am very excited at the possibilities of having a Mentoring Program within BITS. Our options are virtually unlimited. We are off to a fantastic beginning and 2025 has a long way to go.
I would like to thank President Jeff Bishop, Co-Chair, Jason Castonguay, Debbie Hazelton, David Edick, and Nicki Keck for their excellent and essential work on our Team.
If anyone would like to contact me privately in regard to issues related to Email Management, or if you have a question and wish to email me privately, my email is:
Respectfully submitted:
Mervin Keck
Email Management Team, Chair
Chat Committee
over the last month we had chat on weekends, both Friday and Saturday. additionally, we had a BIG chat on the day of the Big Game February 9th.
we continue to have new people and every night seems well attended. we have had a lot of people join us on the 9th who are not usually able to attend Fridays and Saturdays.
We invite you to join us during chat every weekend and contribute to the various topics. you help shape the conversation. Chat is not the same without you there.
you will find the connection information posted to the events list on the day and time of each Chat. in addition, subscribing to the events list lets you receive announcements of all other BITS events as well.
Thank you kindly,
David
Inactive Committees
Audit Committee
Budget Committee
BITS Bylaws Committee
Nominating Committee
Zoom Meeting Information
March 5, 2024 – 8:00 PM ET
Meeting ID: 133 060 658
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Presidential Report
March 5, 2025
Blind Information Technology Specialists (BITS)
Presidential Report for the Upcoming Board Meeting
Acknowledgments and Gratitude
First and foremost, I want to extend my deepest appreciation to our incredible leadership team, education team, and hosting team. Your dedication, time, and passion are what make BITS truly special. Whether it’s guiding discussions, fostering learning, or ensuring that our platforms remain welcoming and engaging, each of you plays a critical role in the success of our organization. Thank you for all that you do!
Commitment to Serving Everyone
As we move forward, I urge all of us to reflect on why we are here and who we serve—everyone. Our mission extends from the highly proficient who seek advanced discussions to those who need fundamental guidance. We must continue to strike a balance, ensuring that BITS remains a place where every member, regardless of skill level, feels valued, supported, and empowered.
Introducing BITS Computing Office Hours
To further our mission of education and mentorship, I am asking the Education and Mentoring teams to develop a plan for BITS Computing Office Hours. This initiative will provide members with one-on-one assistance from knowledgeable experts, offering direct support in navigating technology challenges. This new benefit will reinforce our commitment to accessibility, learning, and community support.
Membership Survey for Growth and Improvement
Listening and growing are essential to BITS’ continued success. To that end, I am requesting that the Membership Committee, in collaboration with other teams, launch a membership survey. The survey should be designed to collect meaningful and open-ended feedback that allows us to evaluate how well we are meeting our members’ needs. Your voices matter, and we want to ensure that BITS evolves in ways that serve you best.
Membership Renewal Reminder
For those who have not yet renewed their membership, please note the following deadlines:
- February 15 – Website access was restricted for non-members.
- March 15 – Email list access will be removed for those who have not renewed.
We value each and every one of you and hope you choose to remain part of the BITS family. Your membership supports the work we do and keeps our community strong.
Closing Thoughts
BITS continues to thrive because of its members, its leadership, and the passion we all share for technology and accessibility. Let’s keep pushing forward, ensuring that BITS remains a space where everyone can learn, share, and grow. Thank you all for your dedication and contributions.