GRADS Meeting Minutes November 9, 2023
Middlebrook Community Room 6:30 p.m.
Six people were present at the Grant Roberts Area Disability Supports meeting.
Boost for Teachers and Mentors
MaryLou Bullert presented the proposal for 2024. It is included with these minutes. The timeline includes: January 2, 2024-Announcements are sent out.
February 16, 2024-Applications are due.
February 29, 2024- Winners are announced.
Pick-a-Prize Raffle
MaryLou Bullert has organized a pick-a-prize fundraiser. She demonstrated how this fun raffle works. This local project will be started after Thanksgiving with the prize boxes and tickets at The Bank Coffee Shop in Milbank. Proceeds will be split equally between the food pantry and GRADS.
LifeQuest
Laura Maag from LifeQuest has requested funding from GRADS to pay for gas for out-of-town recreational events. The group plans to attend “The Birthday Club”, a play in Watertown, as well as to make a visit to the Redlin Art Center. Laura will submit a bill for reimbursement.
Laura Maag expressed concern that transportation costs to and from work will no longer be covered by the Department of Social Services. This greatly impacts individuals with disabilities who travel to their jobs.
NDEAM Review
Rachael Johnson shared the evaluation of the National Disability Employment Awareness Month event in Sisseton held on October 5, 2023. She requested input from the group for the upcoming debriefing meeting in December. Suggestions included expanding the event by inviting other schools to attend. Perhaps Milbank could host an event, too.
Newsletter
Diane Stewart requested information to add to the upcoming Grant County Arc News. We want to include a big THANK YOU to Arc for helping to sponsor the NDEAM event. We also thank Diane for including GRADS information in the newsletter.
Special Olympics
A request was made for for funding for motel costs for adult participants attending the next bowling tournament. We will discuss this again at the January 2024 meeting.
Financial Report
The checking account balance in First Savings and Trust in Milbank was $3,810.13 on September 29, 2023.
Next Meeting
The January 11, 2024 GRADS meeting will be via ZOOM at 6:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Rachael Johnson
GRADS Secretary/Treasurer