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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Dear Cincinnati Federation Family, </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">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!</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">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. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">The official kickoff was the raising of the umbrellas, our amazing feat in breaking a Gui</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">n</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">ness World Record. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">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. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">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</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">8</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> in the Rosen Center parking lot. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">And, yes, we broke the record! The existing record counted 2170 people raising umbrellas, a</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">n</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">d 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 Gui</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">n</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">ness umbrella” and you can share the resulting image of what we did. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">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. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">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. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Freedom Scientific offered a special price on JAWS and Magic to NFB convention goers only as a 75</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><SUP><FONT FACE="Calibri">th</FONT></SUP></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> a</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">n</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">niversary gift, and the line at their exhibit consequently was always substantial. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Many of those same companies’ leaders addressed us from the podium and the news was all good.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">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. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">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. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--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. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--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</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">feel</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">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!)</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--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. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--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. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">--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. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">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. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">The various restaurants and bars in the hotel were always teeming with Federationists just basking in one another’s company, and</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">I know that I, for one, consumed a ton of coffee to keep going on too little sleep! </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">These are</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">just my personally observed highlights and there are many, many more. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">I hope all of you saw the beautiful and energetic message posted by Rache</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">l</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> Kuntz about her experiences as</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> a first-time convention attendee. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">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. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Let’s go build the Federation!</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Peace,</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Deborah</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
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