Corrected: NFB Rock County Meeting Minutes January 3, 2026
Amy Snow
Greetings,
Please find corrected minutes from the NFB Rock County Meeting from January 3rd 2026 below.
Also, please remember that elections will be held next month and dues are payable anytime between now and then for those wishing to either run for a board position or to vote for those who are.
Thanks and have a great day!
Amy
NFB of Rock County Meeting Minutes January 3, 2025
Officers Present:
President Chelsea Dallin, Vice President Nikki Wolf, Secretary Amy Snow, Treasurer Ben Dallin
Members Present:
Lynzie Ashley, Dave Hyde, Lekshmi Mendez
The meeting came to order at approximately 10:13 AM. The minutes were read with the correction that the Dane County fundraiser had been concluded by the time of the last meeting, but all other information was correct. The treasurer’s report indicates a balance of $1,162.58. The PAC issue was resolved and both November and December donations came out. We are still waiting to have a check for the Red Robin fundraiser physically mailed and deposited since an electronic deposit was not possible as was originally thought.
Please remember that dues are payable for 2026. Cost is $5 per year and must be paid prior to the elections being held next month.
State Affiliate News and Committee Reports
State Affiliate News
We are locking down numbers for Washington Seminar attendance in the coming days and are working on making appointments with representatives.
As the Stat Convention draws closer, please monitor the lists for more information as it becomes available.
Please note that the affiliate is planning on meeting on the state scholarship in the coming weeks.
State Advocacy Committee
Nothing new to report at this time.
State Legislative
Nothing new to report at this time.
News from the National Office
A friendly reminder that anyone who has interest in attending Washington Seminar being held January 26-29th should reach out to Ben as soon as possible. Please monitor the lists for further information. For more information, please see the resources on the Washington Seminar page of the NFB website
Dave inquired about progress on the US Army and the potential deprioritizing blind vendors on bases. Ben reports there have been no updates, but we are monitoring the situation.
Rock County Committee Reports
Rock County Advocacy Committee
There is nothing new to report at this time.
Rock County Membership Committee
There are currently no plans or events on the calendar, but please feel free to make suggestions for gatherings or activities we can do as a group.
Rock County Fundraising Committee
- Buffalo Wild Wings does a couple of different fundraisers. One of them runs for several hours on a given day, and allows for 10% of sales to be donated to the “team” (which is what they call the organization seeking assistance). There is a different fundraiser that runs for a full month and requires some longer term planning
- Texas Roadhouse has a lot of fundraising options, including rolls, salads, and other ideas. They’ve recently begun opening at 11:00 regularly. We may wish to begin mining these opportunities since the hours have expanded some.
- Dave reports the Looking Glass has begun doing some fundraising. If anyone has information on how these work or would like to explore the opportunities, please do so and report back to us by the February meeting.
- Chelsea is thinking perhaps a spring fundraiser would be good, and maybe having it run 2-3 weeks, intersecting with the State Convention. Please monitor the list and meeting minutes for more information.
- Dane County has agreed to do a joint bowling fundraiser in Madison, which will likely take place the second weekend in January. Please monitor the list for specific information.
- Candy sales will continue and Chelsea has been attempting to order more bars, but has encountered some challenges. She will continue to make attempts.
Old Business
JTS Information
Amy has the Friends Community room reserved on January 12 at 3:30 for our meeting with Becca. There will not be a virtual option for this meeting since Becca is most interested in taking video of how the app works and having a virtual option will make this aspect more challenging.
Dave Kipp will be retiring from JTS after many years of service. There will be an open house on Tuesday afternoon. None of us on the board are available to attend, but Dave Hyde suggested that perhaps an email be sent on behalf of the organization to express our best wishes.
Milton and Holiday APH
The APS on the corner of Milton and Holiday is at least partly installed, but we are unsure whether the project is finished or still a work in progress. We will continue to monitor the situation.
Shopping Assistant
Chelsea hopes to work on creating PSAs or other means of getting students involved in community and business awareness of the need for shopping assistance in the coming months via the Leos Club at WSBVI. More information will be shared as it becomes available.
Pedestrian Safety
There is no new information on this topic.
New Business
Audio Description at Widlwood Theathers
Recently one of the members of our community went to purchase a ticket to a movie but was told that description was not available “in that theater”. It is possible that not all theaters within Wildwood have the ability to bring in the audio description that is available for the moving being shown. Dave suggested inviting a representative to a meeting to explain how the theater is set up and field questions, but Chelsea indicated that just fining someone to speak to on the phone can be challenging. We will continue to keep an eye on this concern and explore the issue as needed.
Chapter Basket
Once again, each chapter has been asked to supply a basket for the state convention auction. After some discussion, our chapter will propose a “Fitness basket”. Some ideas include instead of a basket, put items such as hand weights, yoga blocks, hand towels, healthy snacks, etc in a gym bag. We will discuss this further at our next meeting.
Farmers Market
Dave reminds us to keep the Farmers Market on our scheduling radar. We will continue to keep this item on the rolling minutes to remind us to revisit this need in future meetings.
Presidential Releases:
The Presidential Release was played and is linked below. In addition, there are also links to past releases and the Braille Monitor.
- Presidential Release #556, January 2026 (Audio for Chapters)
- Presidential Release #556, January 2026 (Chapter Transcript)
- Braille Monitor January 2026
If you have missed prior releases or publications, please visit the links below.
Meeting adjourned approximately 10:57 AM
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Snow, Secretary
Amy Snow
Greetings,
Please find below the meeting minutes for the February 2026 meeting of the Rock County Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind.
Thanks,
Amy
NFB of Rock County Meeting Minutes February 7, 2025
Officers Present:
President Chelsea Dallin, Vice President Nikki Wolf, Secretary Amy Snow, Treasurer Ben Dallin
Members Present:
Lynzie Ashley, Icy Hunt, Dave Hyde, Lekshmi Mendez
The meeting came to order at approximately 10:17 AM. The minutes were read and approved. The treasurer’s report indicates a balance of $1,152.58. Dues paid will be deposited after this meeting.
State Affiliate News and Committee Reports
State Affiliate News
Hotel rooms are now available for reservations for the State Convention and registration will be up soon. An in-person board meeting will be held on February 28th at the hotel so the board can work out logistics.
Dave Hyde will be the chair of the Resolutions Committee again this year. He has requested to have resolutions March 20th if possible and in final form.
A donation letter that can be used to solicit donations/sponsorships for auctions, door prizes, or monetary donations will be shared by Chelsea with the list. New this year is an opportunity for businesses to sponsor the event at various “levels” depending on the amount of support they provide. Members are encouraged to use this letter to support needs for convention.
A reminder that our state affiliate will be offering a scholarship for those pursuing post-secondary education or training. The due date will be February 23rd. Please see the listserv and the NFB-W’s Facebook page for more information.
Washington seminar took place the last week of January with three first time attendees. We had ten appointments scheduled but due to weather all but two canceled their in-person appointments while the other eight were held virtually. Dave stated the most responsive individual was Mark Pokan, who was particularly interested in the issues going on in the Department of Education. Others showed some interest, but nothing of significant note.
State Advocacy Committee
Nothing new to report at this time.
State Legislative
Nothing new to report at this time.
News from the National Office
Nothing new to report
Rock County Committee Reports
Rock County Advocacy Committee
There is nothing new to report at this time.
Rock County Membership Committee
After this meeting, members will have an opportunity to go out to lunch. Please feel free to join us!
Rock County Fundraising Committee
- Chelsea has indicated that she may need help with forms, for which Amy will be made available. These forms would be for fundraising opportunities from both Texas Roadhouse and Buffalo Wild Wings. Please monitor the list for further information.
- Dave reports the Looking Glass has begun doing some fundraising. If anyone has information on how these work or would like to explore the opportunities, please do so and report back to us by the February meeting.
- Chelsea is thinking perhaps a spring fundraiser for Scentsy would be good, and maybe having it run 2-3 weeks, intersecting with the State Convention (at which we may be able to have a table). Please monitor the list and meeting minutes for more information.
- Candy sales will continue as Chelsea has been successful in ordering more bars.
Old Business
JT Information
Amy shared that the meeting with Becca on January 12th was productive. Ben, Scott, Amy, and Nikki were able to share some of the challenges presented by the app and Becca was able to take video of the accessibility barriers. She shared that the company hopes to have a new version of the app available in the next month or so and she will be in touch with us when that happens to solicit feedback. Becca further shared that JT is working on stop annunciation consistency and hopes some new equipment and implementation opportunities will improve performance.
Milton and Holiday APS
The APS on the corner of Milton and Holiday is at least partly installed, but there is an annunciation only on the east side of the intersection. This is problematic since the turn lates and larger challenge is on the west side. Ben called the city and expressed concern over this since having a signal on the other corner would be even more helpful than the one they have installed. Members are encouraged to call and express their concerns.
Audio Description at Wildwood Theaters
Nothing new to report.
Chapter Basket for State Convention
Amy suggested that we don’t want a lot of “repeats” so wondered if people would commit to a specific item. Following is a list of what chapter member have agreed to donate:
- Amy - a set of Yoga blocks
- Icy - resistance bands
- Dave - power bars or something similar
- Nikki - a bag, possibly gym bag, to hold and transport donations
- Ben and Chelsea - a Dick’s gift card and water bottle.
We are hoping to have a total value of $150
Pedestrian Safety
There is no new information on this topic.
Farmers Market
Dave reminds us to keep the Farmers Market on our scheduling radar. We will continue to keep this item on the rolling minutes to remind us to revisit this need in future meetings.
New Business
JPAC
Chelsea, Tina, and others attended JPAC to see Sister Act, but the app did not work. They attempted to get help using the app for audio description and nothing was available. We will need to follow up on this to ensure that the descriptions are available and all of the connections are made. Ben indicated that there will be a session at State Convention on audio description for live performances and hopefully we will all learn more about how this works. Dave suggests reaching out to ask if anyone would be interested in presenting at a convention on live description. In any case, the membership is encouraged to monitor this situation so if this issue persists it can be addressed.
Elections
Dave Hyde took over the meeting to preside over elections.
- Nominations for president: Nikki nominates Chelsea. Ben moved nominations be closed and Chelsea be elected by acclimation, Amy seconds and the motion carried.
- Nominations for vice president: Ben nominates Nikki. Chelsea moved nominations be closed and Nikki be elected by acclimation, Ben seconds and the motion carried.
- Nominations for secretary: Lekshmi nominates Amy. Dave moved nominations be closed and Amy be elected by acclimation, Chelsea seconds and the motion carried.
- Nominations for Treasurer: Lekshmi nominates Ben. Lekshmi moved nominations be closed and Ben be elected by acclimation, Amy seconds and the motion carried.
Presidential Releases:
The Presidential Release was played and is linked below. In addition, there are also links to past releases and the Braille Monitor.
If you have missed prior releases or publications, please visit the links below.
Meeting adjourned approximately 11:33 AM