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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>If you have pre-registered for the national convention, you should already have received the information below just a few minutes ago. If you did not receive it and feel you should have, check your SPAM of junk folder. If you don’t find this and you want to be sure to receive any updates that are sent to those attending the convention in person, please write to me at <a href="mailto:president@nfbmn.org">president@nfbmn.org</a> and I’ll make sure you are on the list.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>The convention is less than one week away. This note contains information about the convention that you should have before you leave. Much of it is specific to Minnesota and is therefore not in the convention agenda. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>We have a wonderful mix of people attending the convention in person. Some of you are members of the NFB of Minnesota and some of you are not. Therefore, this note is going to our news list as well as to many of you who have registered for the convention. It could happen that some of you get this twice, so please understand that is to make sure everybody gets this information. Others of you are wondering who I am since we have not had a chance to meet. I am hoping to change that at the convention. Please write to me if you have any questions at <a href="mailto:president@nfbmn.org">president@nfbmn.org</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Be sure to get a copy of the convention agenda soon. You can get a braille or print copy when you pick up your registration materials, but it is available in a number of formats at <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><a href="http://www.nfb.org/convention">http://www.nfb.org/convention</a><span class=MsoHyperlink> along with other convention information.</span></span><span class=MsoHyperlink><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><a name="_Hlk138662645"><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p><span style='text-decoration:none'> </span></o:p></span></span></a></p><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk138662645'></span><h2><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Attending for the First Time?<o:p></o:p></span></span></h2><p class=MsoNormal><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>If this is the first time you are attending our national convention, here are a few suggestions that I hope will help. Take some time to visit our convention website at </span></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><a href="http://www.nfb.org/convention">http://www.nfb.org/convention</a><span class=MsoHyperlink>. In addition to our convention agenda mentioned above, you will find other information about the national convention as well. The first three days of the convention, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, consist of many separate smaller meetings of committees and divisions. There are meetings that address many areas of interests. Although some divisions have a membership process, meetings are generally open to anybody. The second three days, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, are when we meet as one large group in general sessions. We will be sitting together by state. The banquet is on Thursday evening and is the final event of the convention. Be sure to read the section on exchanging your banquet tickets later in this email if you want to sit with people you know.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p><span style='text-decoration:none'> </span></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>You might find it helpful to attend the Rookie Roundup, an event for first-timers, on Saturday evening at 8:00 in Lanier Grand Ballroom A and D. This is an example of one of many useful pieces of information in the convention agenda. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p><span style='text-decoration:none'> </span></o:p></span></span></p><h2><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Minnesota Caucus</span><o:p></o:p></h2><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Each year at the convention, each state holds a state caucus. At our Minnesota Caucus, we will meet to get questions answered, discuss any issues that have come up, and to get to know one another. Our caucus will take place on Monday, July 3, at 5:15 PM in Room 330. You will notice from the agenda that many of the meeting rooms are numbered rather than named in this hotel. I mention this to assure you that we are not cramming our caucus into a hotel room but have a room that should contain our caucus comfortably.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><h2><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Banquet Ticket Exchange<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>When you pick up your banquet ticket with your registration packet, that will give you a meal, but not a specific place to sit. In order to sit with other people that you know, your ticket needs to be exchanged, along with tickets from those with whom you wish to sit, for tickets that have a table number. If you want to sit with others from Minnesota, we have a process to do that. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Judy Sanders will collect all of the banquet tickets from people who would like to sit at a table with others from Minnesota. She will bring them to the Banquet Ticket Exchange where tickets will be exchanged for new tickets that have a table number. Your new ticket will then be returned to you using the list that she and Kayde Rieken have maintained.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>If you want to sit with Minnesota but wish to form a small group, choose somebody from your group to act as a group captain. When Judy returns your tickets, we will return all tickets for your group to the group captain to distribute. If you don't need to be part of a smaller group, you don't have to have a group captain. We will make sure partners can sit together, for example. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Before you turn in your ticket, please braille your name, and your group captain if needed, on your banquet ticket and turn it in to Judy Sanders by the end of the opening general session on Tuesday morning. Judy works many hours at the Information Desk near the registration area so you can find her there much of Sunday and Monday as well. In addition, there will be time to turn in your ticket at the Minnesota Caucus at 5:15 on Monday as mentioned earlier in this note. If you need help brailling this information on your ticket, Judy or others will help you. After the tickets have been exchanged and Judy and Kayde have divided the tickets into groups and such, the tickets will be distributed to the group captains and to individuals who are not part of a groups. This usually happens at the Tuesday afternoon general session.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><h2><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Exhibit Hall Table<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Every year, the NFB of Minnesota and BLIND Incorporated share a table in the Exhibit Hall. The table this year is A35. Part of the purpose is to provide information about our training center, BLIND Incorporated, and it is also a place where we can display some products. Please check with Yadiel Sotomayor if you are interested in working at the table at<span style='color:black'> </span><a href="mailto:ysotomayor@blindinc.org">ysotomayor@blindinc.org</a> or by calling him at 318-278-9881, but please do it soon. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><h2><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Products at the Convention<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>We will be bringing several products to the convention. Because of sales tax laws in Texas, we are giving these products to people if they make donations rather than “selling” them. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>The Metro Chapter is again bringing our well-known Minnesota Word Scramble. For a donation of $5, a person can get a print or braille sheet with twenty words to unscramble. All persons who return the sheet to Metro Chapter members by Thursday noon and have all words unscrambled correctly will have their names placed into a drawing for $50. Please contact Judy Sanders for more information about the Word Scramble.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>This year, we will also have some more of our NFB of Minnesota "drink the drink you want" print/braille coasters, to distribute in exchange for a $5 donation per coaster. Our Minnesota Association of Blind Students will also be making t-shirts available for a donation. Some of these products will be available at our table on Sunday July 2 and Monday July 3, and they will also be around the convention. Our treasurer Jennifer Dunnam will be able to take donations by credit card, either with a physical card reader or by sending a link. Be sure to tell people you meet at the convention about our word scrambles, t-shirts, and coasters!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><h2><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>BLIND Incorporated Event<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Each of our three national training centers sponsors an event where people can learn about the training that is offered. The event that our Minnesota training center, BLIND Incorporated, is holding is called "Training Champions with the BLIND, Inc. Team," The agenda description says " Join the staff of BLIND, Inc. for this interactive event sure to help you learn how attending blindness skills training will help you become an all star!" This event will take place on Sunday morning, July 2, at 9:00-10:30 in Room 343 B.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><h2><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Wrapup<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>As I figure it, this will be my 50<sup>th</sup> convention, so they are clearly an important part of my journey as a blind person. The convention offers many opportunities to meet people from throughout the country and even the world. If you are new to blindness, it is a golden opportunity to try out the skills you are developing among friends. Please know that we are hear to help when you need it, give you advice if you want it, and to let you go it alone if you are taking this golden opportunity to refine the skills you need to live the life you want. Have a great convention.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Best regards,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Steve Jacobson, President<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.nfbmn.org/">www.nfbmn.org</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>(612) 872-9363<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Pronouns: he, him, his<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.nfb.org/">www.nfb.org</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Live the life you Want.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>