[Nfbmt] NFB of Montana - for those who are planning or considering going to Washington Seminar, Jan 26

Tue Dec 16 17:31:00 UTC 2014

hi rik I'm looking forward to going to d.c. and I'm hoping for the best 
but understand that we have a lot of work to do and we do need to be 
vigilant. I hope you can go. It would be great.
On 12/15/2014 11:50 AM, Rik James via Nfbmt wrote:
> You folks probably already have this information. At least I hope so.
> But I just thought I would do a copy and paste from the cyber pages of 
> The Braille Monitor.
> You know, the deadline approaches rapidly. This Friday I believe. 
> Everyone must Contact Diane McGeorge. Not the hotel.
>
> I am not yet certain if I can go myself. We have a very big concert 
> here in Bozeman at the end of that week. And I just may have to rely 
> upon you all to do this.
> If I do go, I will provide my own transportation and lodging in any 
> case. I remember last year how incredible it was. And I am very 
> curious to find out how the newly remodeled hotel will be.
> So, stay tuned. And get cracking!
>
> Side note, for what it is worth or not worth. I am not very enthused 
> or optimistic about support we might gain for our issues among our 
> newly elected congressional or senate representatives. It is not about 
> party affiliation, really. But just what I have been able to discern 
> from the campaigns and the way our populace seems to be heading, or 
> not heading. Still, if we can get some good contacts this year from 
> each of their offices, this will be really important for us to bring 
> home and share. OK?
>
> I was tracking this last week's congress stuff pretty routinely by 
> listening to C-SPAN.
>
> I hope I will be proved wrong by the forthcoming voting records of 
> Misters Zinke and Daines. I know politics will be what it will be and 
> we must continue to do what we can with who we have as to our 
> representation. It is upon each of us to be as informed as we can, no 
> matter what.
>
> In any case, I strongly believe, that whoever goes from our 
> affiliate,  and however we are applying our energy and scarce 
> resources to go to the national meeting, I appeal to each of us to act 
> all year long locally. We each must be vigilant. Gathering together in 
> the nation's capitol is also an essential part of our movement. So, 
> please hop on and let's ride that train to Congress.
>
> Thanks.
> Rik James
>
> from the December Monitor...
> 2015 Washington Seminar: What's New in the Rooms and Reserving Yours 
> by Diane McGeorge
>
> From the Editor: The following message comes from Diane McGeorge, who 
> organizes much of the logistics of Washington Seminar:
>
> This is a reminder about making your hotel reservations for the 2015 
> Washington Seminar. Our deadline with the hotel is December 19, 2014, 
> and, although I know most of you are busy as we approach the holiday 
> season, we would certainly appreciate getting your reservations as 
> early as possible.
>
> Sleeping room rates are $180 for single, double, triple, or quad 
> rooms, and the tax rate is 14.5% per night. The address of the Holiday 
> Inn Capitol is 550 C Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024. We would like 
> to have representation from all fifty states, so please encourage 
> members from your state affiliates to attend.
>
> The Holiday Inn Capitol in Washington DC has undergone a great number 
> of changes since our last visit, including becoming completely 
> non-smoking. All of the sleeping rooms have been completely renovated, 
> giving them a classy and fresh look and feel. The rooms with two beds 
> have been upgraded from double beds to queen beds and can no longer 
> accommodate rollaway beds. All king rooms will have walk-in showers 
> instead of bathtubs with showers. All rooms will also have 
> laptop-sized safes in the closets.
>
> All of the meeting rooms have also been renovated, and along with the 
> new look are new names. We will no longer have any meeting rooms or 
> office space on the second floor.
>
> The former Apollo and Mercury rooms are now sleeping rooms and are no 
> longer available to us. The communication center and office for our 
> Washington Seminar will now be found in room 353. The Columbia 
> Ballroom is now called Capitol Ballroom, and the Discovery Ballroom is 
> now called Congressional Ballroom. Saturn/Venus is now called House 
> Room, Jupiter is now called Senate Room, and Mars is now called Caucus 
> Boardroom.
>
> The hotel restaurant, too, has undergone changes. The buffet has been 
> moved to provide more guest seating. The Deli Express is no longer. In 
> its place you will find a new public seating area, complete with 
> device-charging stations. You will find the new Lobby Market to the 
> right as you face the front desk. You will be able to grab snacks 
> there 24/7. They are expected to provide frozen dinners, ice cream, 
> little boxes of cereal, milk, and that type of thing. They are hoping 
> to have coffee in the lobby as well.
>
> With all of these changes, the hotel has removed soda and snack 
> machines on each floor, but you can still find ice machines on each 
> level. Keep in mind that Starbucks will still be in place, so you can 
> get your coffee as well as their usual fare.
>
> I hope you have made your requests for meeting room space, since these 
> meeting rooms fill up very quickly. If not, please notify us prior to 
> December 10, giving us the name of your meeting, the number of people 
> you expect in attendance, and the type of room setup you wish to have.
>
> Following is the information I will need to make your hotel reservations:
>
> Your dates of arrival and departure. First and last names of any 
> roommates that might be sharing with you-please spell first and last 
> names of each person sharing the room, and please include arrival and 
> departure date for each person. Please specify how many beds you wish 
> to have in the room, either two queen beds or one king bed. Please 
> indicate if you need an accessible room. Rollaway beds are $15 per 
> night, but can now only be used in a room with a king bed, since the 
> regular rooms will have two queen beds and will no longer accommodate 
> a rollaway bed. Refrigerators are standard in all guest rooms at no 
> additional charge. Per the hotel contract, individual cancellation 
> must be made seventy-two hours prior to date of arrival to avoid one 
> night's room plus tax cancellation charge. You must get in touch with 
> Lisa Bonderson or me to make changes to your reservation as soon as 
> possible to avoid such a charge. Please do not contact the hotel to 
> make your reservations. I submit all the reservations for the 
> Washington Seminar. You may call (303) 778-1130, extension 219, to 
> make your reservation, or you may email your reservations to Lisa 
> Bonderson at < lbonderson at cocenter.org >. We will confirm receipt of 
> your reservation either by return email or by telephone, so be sure to 
> give us your telephone number and your email address. .
>
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