by Rose Wilkinson Chief Executive

This notice of Special Meeting of Members is conveyed to Ordinary (financial voting) Members on behalf of the Board of Blind Citizens NZ. The purpose of the Special Meeting of Members is to enable further discussion about the Board’s Membership Subscription Review proposal. 

The Board is grateful for the feedback received from members, Branches and Networks in response to its discussion paper. All feedback was considered by the Board at its meeting on 26-27 March 2023. Following consideration, and recognising the proposal cannot be supported without significant alteration, the Board is upholding its commitment and calling this Special Meeting of Members to enable further discussion and perhaps a decision to occur.

This Special Meeting will be held via Zoom at 6pm, Tuesday 6 June 2023. You can join using the Zoom option that best works for you.  Note that you do not need to have a computer or mobile phone to join. A landline telephone works just as well. 

Here are the options from which you can choose to join the meeting by ZOOM:

  • if joining by phone (landline or mobile), you can call either
    04 886 0026 or 09 884 6780;
  • if joining by internet, the link you will need is here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84440986850?pwd=MGlGNCtoSk5Ea2NNcURFaVB0K3d6UT09
  • if prompted for a meeting ID at any time, enter 844 4098 6850 and press # (hash right of zero);
  • if prompted for a participant ID at any time, just press hash;
  • if prompted for a passcode at any time, enter 427971 and press hash.

Reminders will be provided via Branches, Networks, Blind Citizens NZ’s bulletin on TellMe and email lists.

2023 Annual General Meeting and Conference
Challenging Others, Challenging Ourselves

The Board has confirmed the dates and venue for this year’s AGM and Conference. We will be at the Naumi Hotel Auckland Airport, To make the most of everyone’s availability, and mindful of people’s travel time and the success of last year’s event, this will again be held over two days. We start at 9am Friday 13 October and will finish following our Conference Dinner the evening of Saturday 14 October. Business sessions and guest presenters will be spread across the two days. 

Financial assistance for ‘first time’ attendees

The Board is allocating funds to support ‘first time’ attendees. Funding for ‘first time’ attendees is about providing financial assistance forOrdinary (voting) Members. 

Other than attending the entire event for the first time in-person, there are three conditions that a ‘first time’ attendee must meet before they can be considered for financial assistance. 

The first is the requirement to make a financial contribution (determined on a case-by-case basis). 

The second is the commitment to attend the full two days of the AGM and Conference, whether on a daily basis, or staying at the Naumi Hotel Auckland Airport. 

The third is that you are an Ordinary (financial voting) Member. 

If you meet these requirements and would like to take advantage of this opportunity, please contact the Chief Executive for further information via one of the following options:

  • Email: admin@blindcitizensnz.org.nz and put “2023 first-time attendee” in the subject line;
  • Post: PO Box 7144, Newtown, Wellington 6242; 
  • Phone: 0800 222 694;
  • Fax: 04-389-0033.

Applications for financial assistance for first time attendees close 4pm, Thursday 3 August 2023. The Board will make a final decision about the number of members it can support following the close of expressions of interest.

Registration details (costs etc.), will be publicised in our June Focus issue. They will also be available from our National Office, Branches and Networks by the end of April. To lighten the load a little with paying your registration costs, you can take advantage of the option to pay by instalment. You can find out more and put a payment plan in place by contacting National Office. Each situation is considered on a case-by-case basis.

In the meantime we hope you will save the dates and start planning to come along.