[Cinci-nfb] Convention highlights

Deborah Kendrick dkkendrick at earthlink.net
Wed Jul 22 12:26:15 UTC 2015


Dear Cincinnati Federation Family, 
A few days after returning from convention, I had a lovely conversation with
Paul and Bernie Dressell, sharing highlights of this year's convention in
Orlando.  It is often said that the convention is the best we have to share
and that continues to be so true!  I started this message then to all of you
and put it aside to finish later.  Later has come!
Six people from our chapter were in attendance this year (actually eight,
counting Kaiti Shelton, who was a second time scholarship winner and thus a
tenBroek Fellow, and Alan Lemly, a Mississippi Federationist who joined our
chapter as well this year.) If you weren't with us, I hope you listened to
the convention via streaming, but here are some of the highlights - both on
and off the convention floor.  
The official kickoff was the raising of the umbrellas, our amazing feat in
breaking a Guinness World Record.  
Yes, it seemed like a bit of a silly stunt, but I would not have missed it
for anything!  When I contemplated the prospect of between two and three
thousand blind  people gathering to raise umbrellas in a parking lot - not
to mention doing so in a planned design - it seemed somewhat impossible.  At
the very least, it might be utter chaos.  
Nothing was further from the reality.  It was brilliantly organized and fun.
Kevan Worley was the master of ceremonies, providing the crowd the music and
entertainment as we gathered from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. July 8 in the Rosen
Center parking lot.  
And, yes, we broke the record!  The existing record counted 2170 people
raising umbrellas, and our count was 2480!  Umbrellas were blue and white
and created the wonderful image of our new NFB logo and our slogan "Live the
life you want."  Dazzle your friends and family by having them Google "NFB
Guinness umbrella" and you can share the resulting image of what we did.  

This was President Riccobono's first convention as president and he was
fabulous.  From his presidential report to the banquet speecha all of the
business in between, he led us with confidence and style.  
The convention attracted half a million dollars in sponsorships this year
with such leading corporate entities as Google, Delta Airlines, Uber,
Microsoft and others on the list, as well as many of our own access
technology companies.  
Freedom Scientific offered a special price on JAWS and Magic to NFB
convention goers only as a 75th anniversary gift, and the line at their
exhibit consequently was always substantial.  
Many of those same companies' leaders addressed us from the podium and the
news was all good.
The music Friday morning is something I will absolutely never forget.  In a
brilliant mix of old and new Federation songs, we were entertained by a
truly remarkable mix of talent.  The energy was palpable.  
Each of us has different interests and the convention is so rich in diverse
content that no one can experience all of it, but I'll give you a few of my
own favorite highlights.  
--Participating in a Microsoft focus group.  Microsoft held many small and
large group discussions in a clear and earnest attempt to learn more from us
toward making their products more accessible.  
--NLS. The Library has a long tradition of being among us at convention, and
this year was no exception.  Because Karen Keninger recently broke her leg
and was thus unable to travel, we did not have a convention speech as
planned, but the two breakout sessions (Library Users led by David Hyde on
Monday and the lunch session led this year by Neil Bernstein on Friday) were
as lively as ever.  Because I now work for NLS myself, it was especially
gratifying to feel in action what an outpouring of love and appreciation
there is for books and the increased number of them available.  One narrator
in attendance, by the way, is married to one of our scholarship winners, so
hearing her perspective was particularly fun!)
--NEWSLINE had its usual presence and has added new publications (now over
300 newspapers and close to 50 magazines!)  Do you subscribe to NFB
NEWSLINE?  If not, you are missing something extraordinary.  Call
800-504-7300 to sign up, or call me for help and/or information.  
--Mock Trial - performed by the blind lawyers group, this "trial" is always
entertaining, but this year's "show" was especially hilarious.  Performers
included Dr. Marc Maurer, Scott LaBarre, Parnell Diggs, Haben Girma, and
many others who played the roles from judge and attorneys to key witnesses
and the result was great entertainment.  
--Deafblind division - I had never attended this gathering in the past, and
am so grateful that I did.  It was an amazing workshop, with 80 people in
attendance, and was one of the most enlightening and envigorating afternoons
of the week.  

Speaking of numbers, there were more than 2800 registered for the
convention.  There were meetings for blind lawyers, blind teachers, blind
journalist, business owners, technology trainers and enthusiasts, parents of
blind children, students, seniors, library users, braille lovers, and on and
on and on.  
The various restaurants and bars in the hotel were always teeming with
Federationists just basking in one another's company, and I know that I, for
one, consumed a ton of coffee to keep going on too little sleep!  
These are just my personally observed highlights and there are many, many
more.  
I hope all of you saw the beautiful and energetic message posted by Rachel
Kuntz about her experiences as a first-time convention attendee.  
I invite the others in our chapter who attended to add their experiences to
this conversation, and hope even more of us will attend next year.  
Let's go build the Federation!

Peace,
Deborah

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