02/14/2026 - RRC Meeting Minutes

Posted by Kristi Eagle Horse on 2026-02-14 11:00 | Category: minutes

A calendar with a date circled in red marker.

The RRC meeting on February 14, 2026, focused heavily on preparations for the upcoming MAB Convention scheduled for September 11–13, where the group officially voted to adopt the theme "80 Years Serving the Blind" and discussed related presentations, t-shirts, buttons, and a public online raffle. The committee also advanced plans for the Summer Orientation Program (SOP), coordinate weekend activities like a picnic and open house, and approved a $50 reimbursement for Ed Worrell to enroll the chapter in Give Great Falls to connect with local donors. Additionally, updates were provided on the launch of the Braille Buddies program, an upcoming Chapter Chatter Zoom event, the completion of the chapter website, and a call for candidate bios for the 3rd District representative position before the meeting adjourned at 12:27 PM.

CALL TO ORDER: 11:05 AM by Ed Worrell

ROLL CALL: Ed Worrell, Becky Worrell, Kristi Eagle Horse, Jessica Trumpower

ZOOM: Dexter Penwell, Wava Goetz, Chris Broadhurst, Phoenix Robinson, Satin LaRance, Crissi McLaughlin, Juli Brandvold, Angela Tabb, Kathy Reed, Janet Jones

JANUARY MINUTES: Jessica moved to approve, Kristi seconded, minutes approved.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Becky read the report. Kristi moved to approve, Phoenix seconded. Report approved.

OLD BUSINESS:

1. Convention update: Convention is Sep. 11-13.

  • Marshall, the contact for Holiday Inn, retired, and Page replaced him. Ed is working with her.
  • The presenters are working on bids.
  • Aaron Nordstrom, the keynote speaker, is preparing his presentation.
  • Ed is checking into online service (Give Better) for an online raffle of the music lessons Aaron Nordstrom is donating. The cost would be the transaction fee when someone pays for a raffle ticket. the music lessons are worth $100.00 per lesson. There was discussion of how much a raffle ticket should cost. The group decided on $10.00 per ticket. The raffle will be open to the public, with a QR code at music stores, etc.
  • THEME: Juli asked what the theme of the convention should be. Ed said he was asking the presenters for titles of their presentations, so theme could possibly be based on those. After discussion and various suggestions, the group decided the theme should be “80 Years Serving the Blind”, to honor the 80 years MAB has existed.
  • T-SHIRTS: The group discussed what the t-shirts should say, and concluded they should echo the convention theme. Kristi is thinking of artwork for the shirts. Jessica also suggested buttons, which would say the same thing. the possible cost of the buttons would be $2.00-2.50.

Juli motioned that the theme should be “80 Years Serving the Blind”, Kristi seconded, motion passed.

2. SOP UPDATE: June 16 - July 11, at the Ursuline Center. RRC will help with the weekend events.

  • PICNIC: After discussion, the group decided that the picnic would be held on the Ursuline grounds, by the gazebo. Also discussed was obtaining chairs, possibly bringing out chairs or getting inexpensive chairs. The possibility of making it a barbecue was also discussed briefly. Another idea was to ask for food donations, possibly from Albertsons.
  • GIANT SPRINGS: A walk at Giant Springs was discussed. It was brought up that the walk could be reserved.
  • BOWLING: Ed will work with Melanie Beagle on the possibility of bowling.
  • SWIMMING: The Peak or the Great Falls Pool were discussed, ad well as the issue of insurance. We need to talk to Jocelyn and/or Melanie Beagle about this, and get more information.
  • BLACK EAGLE DAM: After a bit of discussion, we just need to get more information.

3. SOP OPEN HOUSE: Ed is coordinating with Melanie. We need to work on getting the word out, possibly getting flyers out to doctors offices and senior centers by May. Open house to be held in 3rd week of program, time to be determined. Also,it was mentioned that we could get on public radio to promote the Open House.

4. CHAPTER WEBSITE UPDATE: Ed stated that the website was finished. He said the minutes for RRC were there, from the beginning of the chapter, and that he wanted to get more photos up, etc. The link is mabrrc.org.

5. GIVE GREAT FALLS: Give Great Falls (Chamber of Commerce) will align us with donors and like-minded businesses. The fee is $50.00. This would allow RRC to find donors and sponsors more easily. Ed stated he would put it on his personal credit card. Kristi moved to join Give Great Falls, Wava Seconded. Kristi also moved that RRC reimburse Ed the $50.00, Wava seconded. Both motions passed.

NEW BUSINESS:

1. BRAILLE BUDDIES: Our first Braille Buddies was on Feb. 5. Phoenix, Satin, Kristi, Juli, and Ed were there. We made a good start, but we are working the bugs out as we go. Online is not possible right now, Janet and Crissie offered to help with that. It’s possible we may have beginners in person, and later have advanced online. The schedule is the first and third Thursday of the month, at 3 PM, at Ed’s office.

2. CHAPTER CHATTER: Chapter Chatter will be Saturday, Feb. 21, at 11AM, on ZOOM. The topic is “tips, tricks,life hacks”.

3. MISC: Chris Broadhurst announced that he’s the new 3rd District representative until September. He called for people to get their names in if they want to run for this position. The bios are due by May.

8. ADJOURNMENT: Kristi moved to adjourn the meeting, Phoenix seconded, motion passed. Meeting adjourned 12:27 PM.