Date of Meeting: November 13, 2021
WHEN: : 1:00 TO 4:30 P.M.
Where, Virtually
The meeting was called to order at 1:00 p.m. Following introductions, the following announcements were made.
Jerry Berrier welcomed everyone and stated he had nothing new to report.
Jeanette Kutash announced that minutes would be out soon.
Bob Resnick announced that our treasury was in good shape.
Tim Cumings announced that all was well with our zoom participation and he would be playing many of the pre-recorded demos for this meeting.
Regarding elections, Jerry Berrier was nominated for Vice President; Steve made the motion and several people seconded; he was elected by acclamation.
For Clerk, Jeanette Kutash's name was placed in nomination; Steve made the motion that she be elected by acclamation, Tim seconded this, and she was elected unanimously.
Regarding Treasurer, Bob Resnick's name was placed in nomination; Jerry moved that the nominations be closed and he be elected by acclamation; several accepted this, and the vote was unanimous.
Regarding Webmaster, Tim Cuming's name was placed in nomination Jerry made the motion to elect him by acclamation and Jeanette and others seconded this. He was elected unanimously.
Frank Ventura's name was placed in nomination for President; Jerry conducted this election. Tim moved that nominations be closed and Frank be elected by acclamation. Tim seconded, and Frank was elected unanimously.
Frank thanked all for such a smooth election. Jeanette thanked the nominating committee for their work.
Bob Resnick stated that our treasury was in good health. He told people that to pay dues you should go to the website and enter on the Paypal button to pay dues with either a Paypal account or a major credit card. Dues are $20.00. If you pay this month and are a first time member you will be considered as having paid for 2022. There is a link on the website to the email which is: vibugtreasurer@outlook.com where you can contact him if you have any questions, difficulty paying, or need to arrange alternate ways of paying and Bob will be happy to assist.
Frank Ventura and Bob Resnick stated One of our projects for 2022 is to mentor anyone who would be interested in becoming treasurer.
Tim Cumings stated that for broadcasting this meeting we are using zoom and he is using a mixer called the Zoom Podtrack P4. for recording the meeting and to play many of the audio demos for this meeting.
Jeanette Kutash had nothing to report except that people have been great about keeping the noise down which makes transcribing minutes easier which is appreciated.
Jerry Berrier welcomed all and stated that there were no new members but as we were approaching the end of the year we would be talking about new members soon.
Frank reminded people to make sure they were on the support list if they are currently members.
He also talked about the need to refrain from putting emails on the list that can be construed to be of a political nature. The tech support list is for that. If you have an announcement that you think is of interest and a technology announcement, we have two resources, our announce list for anything that is not of a selling nature and announcements can go on that list. The other option is for a paid resource and those can be put on our resource page.
Jeanette Kutash led a discussion about the VIBUG Holiday Party as an option in January 2022. It was decided that people were interested but would prefer that all who attended were vaccinated. We also discussed a mask-wearing policy during the event. Jeanette Kutash and Nina Kagan will organize this event. There will be two door prizes drawn and they will be sent to the winners by email. All agreed that we should contact the Corrib Pub in West Roxbury if this is an option. The date will be January 8th unless it is not available.
Steve Dresser announced that the latest release of the firmware for the BS6 was released this week. In addition to bug fixes, there is a podcast player; you can take advantage of some third-party apps including a Bible Program and a Sound Editor Program. You would update through the utilities menu and do the upgrade Braillesense Option. It will give you online or if you wish to download the software. If there is a newer version it will ask you to confirm that you want to upgrade. You must plug in the charger, but in a few minutes you will have your new version.
David Kingsbury announced that on Tuesday at 3:00 RTAG and MBTA staff of the Ride will talk about the transition between routematch and adept. On November 23rd the Carroll Center will have their annual technology Fair. Jonathan Mosen will speak regarding advocacy as it relates to technology. David will speak about windows and jaws and PC tips and tricks from his new book which will come out in December.
By special request VIBUG officers and members talked about the current state of being able to scan and read printed words using a technology known as OCR.
Following these presentations, the meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Jeanette Kutash, Vibug Clerk