[Nfbn-announce] Announcing the NFBN 2012 State Convention

[NFB of Nebraska Info]

Announcing the 2012 National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska state
convention

Dates: October 12 – 14, 2012

Location: Ramada Inn, 301 2nd Avenue, Kearney NE

Reservations: (308) 237-3141, mention NFBN for reduced rate

Cost: Room: $75.00 per night

Save money by pre-registering before October 7th! Prices for each of
the convention items listed will increase by $5.00 per item if you
choose to register at the hotel.

ADVANCE REGISTRATION PRICES PER PERSON:
 Convention registration $15
 Banquet $35
 Senior division luncheon $10
 Student division luncheon $20

Online and mail pre-registration are available! To complete your
registration, visit www.ne.nfb.org. Online registrants will have the
luxury of paying by credit card through PayPal. If you prefer to pay
by check or money order with a paper registration, feel free to print
out the form from the website above, or fill out the attached
registration form and mail them to: Cheryl Livingston, NFBN Treasurer,
1026 S. 35th Street, Lincoln, NE 68510.

This year, your state affiliate has once again arranged for a bus to
convention. The bus will depart Omaha in the late afternoon of October
11, 2012, and will arrive at approximately 8:30 in Kearney. The bus
will be making major stops in Omaha and Lincoln, with additional stops
being scheduled for passengers along the route. The cost of the bus
will be $75.00 per person, round trip. The bus will then depart
Kearney for the return trip early Sunday afternoon, on October 14,
2012. Please contact Ward Kinney at Fontenelle Tours to make your
reservations. A specific schedule will be provided in the coming days.

All reservations are to be made through Fontenelle Tours, and the dead
line for making your reservation is currently set for September 30,
2012. Reservations will be on a first come, first serve basis, and it
is critical that we have a minimum of 33 passenger reservations by
this date, otherwise, the bus will have to be cancelled. Your
reservation is confirmed upon receipt of your payment, and payment may
only be through check, money order, or payment order authorization
from the state of Nebraska. Fontenelle Tours does not accept credit
cards. When making your reservations, please indicate the type of
payment, and whether you are having your travel expenses paid through
the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Clients
of the Commission should discuss these details with their counselors
prior to the making of reservations. Commission staff members should
also have their own personal reservations made directly through
Fontenelle Tours. Payment Order Authorizations must be for the full
amount of $75.00.

To insure that possible problems at any of the pick-up points along
the route on the day of departure can be managed effectively, all
passengers are asked to provide their home address; a cell or home
telephone number, where they can be reached; and their personal or
work e-mail address if available. Should an individual be late
arriving to the scheduled pick up point, and we do not have a means by
which to contact the person directly, it will not be possible to delay
the bus for more than a few minutes. Please help us to assure that you
will have every opportunity to successfully meet the bus.

There is only seating for 40 passengers available, and therefore, to
insure yourself a seat, please make your reservations early. Some
seats may still be available after the deadline, due to cancellations,
so you are certainly encouraged to check if you are running late in
making your reservations, but remember that the bus filled up very
quickly last year.

Please contact Fontenelle Tours at the address and phone number below.
 Fontenelle Tours
 4624 Navajo Street - Suite 15
 Council Bluffs, IA 51501-8383
 (712) 366-9596

NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE:
 This year’s National Representative will be James Gashel. Born in
Iowa in 1947, Jim has devoted his professional life to advocacy for
blind people like himself, and has been a vital member of the NFB
since attending the Iowa Center for the Blind, as a student of Dr.
Kennith Jernigan in the nineteen sixties.

Jim began his career as an advocate with the Federation in 1974,
working tirelessly for nearly thirty-four years to shape critical
legislation, and rising through the ranks to become director of
governmental affairs and then executive director for strategic
initiatives. Jim's Federation work has led to significant changes in
virtually every law directly affecting blind Americans: including the
Social Security Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Randolph-Sheppard
Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and many others that have
made a truly positive impact on the lives of thousands of blind men
and women. More than this, he has earned the respect of Congress
members and the heads of Federal agencies alike, helping bring the
needs of the blind to the forefront of change and opportunity.

Jim is now vice president for business development at KNFB Reading
Technologies. He first met Ray Kurzweil in April 1975 and through this
relationship, organized and raised the funds necessary to test and
launch the original Kurzweil Reading Machine, released in 1977 as the
world's first text-to-speech reading system for the blind. Jim's
employment with K-NFB Reading Technology, Inc., brings him full
circle, in his career, in his final position with the
Federation--executive director for strategic initiatives--he led the
public introduction and launch of the Kurzweil--National Federation of
the Blind Reader, the world's first truly portable text-to-speech
reading device for the blind. As part of this effort he raised and
administered the funds necessary to support pre-release beta testing,
product announcement, and public promotional efforts to bring the
product to market in 2006. He then joined KNFB Reading Technologies
Inc. in April 2007, and has since been directly involved in the public
introduction of advanced models of the KNFB Reader, and the Bleo
digital book reader.

CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS:
 Below is just a sampling of the notable events and activities you’ll
find at the 2011 NFBN convention:

• Technology demonstrations and presentations • NFB-NEWSLINE® - New
Features and Enhancements • Education and Braille Literacy Initiatives
• Parents of Blind Children Meeting • Luncheon and Seminar for the
Senior Blind • Luncheon and Meeting of Nebraska Association of Blind
Students • NABS Idol • Audio Dart-Master Tournament • Art creation and
appreciation as a blind person

Make your plans to join us October 12th-14th in Kearney! The 41st
annual state convention promises to make a difference and change
lives! Come be a part of the excitement! The above is a rough outline
of the convention events; the full and finalized convention agenda
will be posted on the NFBN website soon.

 If you would like to be an exhibitor or if you would like more
details, please contact President Amy Buresh at (402) 465-5468 or
president at ne.nfb.org.
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