[NFBNJ] Final Reminder State Convention Updates Please Share With All

Mon Oct 7 18:36:01 UTC 2019

Greetings to all!
Final reminder, state convention updates.
Please read and share with others.
All are welcome to attend with a goal to raise your expectations to live the 
life you want!
Regards,
Joe

**

Hotel updates for October 2019 state convention for distribution

Special Note: I learned that fellow national board member and President of 
the Washington D.C. affiliate , Shawn Callaway is assigned as the national 
representative for the state convention.

I have provided his biography after the state convention updates.

Greetings to all!

With slightly only a month  from the gavel striking  to begin the 43rd state 
convention of the National Federation of the Blind of New jersey, I wanted 
to provide the following email highlighting important information for your 
consideration.

As of this writing, 177 rooms have been reserved.

Remember, last year the room block was sold out prior to the room 
reservation contracted date.

Don???t hesitate, make your room reservations as soon as possible.

The block deadline date is nolater than October 18 or until the block of 220 
rooms are sold out.

Note: this is the final monthly update pertaining to items of interest as we 
need you to consider attending and making a difference to raise expectations 
to live the life we want by transforming dreams into reality!

Please consider bringing non perishable food items to donate to the Puerto 
Rican Association for Human Development, Inc., and personal items to donate 
to a non  profit to assist those in need.

Stay tuned for future emails announcing that AIRA will be free during the 
state convention.

In addition, an email highlighting canes to donate will be forwarded.

Warmly,

Joe

****

National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey 43rd ANNUAL STATE CONVENTION

November 7th through 10th, 2019

Theme: Live The Life You Want; We Got This

The 43rd Annual State Convention of the National Federation of the Blind of 
New Jersey will be held at:

Delta By Marriott formerly known as the Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel

515 US Highway 1 South

Iselin, New Jersey 08830

Access Link accessible

Cross street: Gill Lane

For those arriving via Access Link, please reserve your trip with the 
address provided and use Woodbridge as the city.

If traveling via train, the station nearest the hotel is Metro Park.

. The hotel provides a shuttle from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm.

The address to use for those driving is 4 Gill Lane. It is a bank that is 
across the street from the hotel.

The National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey is proud to have our 
Northern Chapter, Senior Division, and Technology Division as hosts of this 
year's convention.

Mark your calendars and make every effort to attend the 43rd annual state 
convention of the NFBNJ. Get Involved, stay involved, Make a Difference!

Please share with others, all are welcome!

Room Reservations

The Delta By Marriott, formerly known as the Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel, 
is now accepting room reservations for the state convention. To make your 
reservation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, please dial 732-634-3600 and use 
the group code of National Federation of the Blind/NFB 2019. The best time 
to call is during regular business hours, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. The 2019 room 
rates are $115 a night. Hotel room rates are subject to applicable state and 
local taxes, which at present is 14.625% and will be in effect at the time 
of check-out. Breakfast Buffet included in rate for up to two guests per 
room for each night of lodging.

For early arrivals, there are a number of rooms reserved for Wednesday, 
November 6th. Don't hesitate, please make your room reservations as soon as 
possible. Currently 110  rooms in our block have been reserved! Our block of 
rooms are available until October 18th, then they are released to the 
general public. In years past, the block sells out prior to the deadline, so 
please don't hesitate!

When making hotel room reservations,you need to secure via credit card.

There will be no charge to your card until you arrive at the hotel.

Refrigerators will be available in all sleeping rooms this year. In 
addition, there are a limited number of wheelchair accessible rooms and if 
needed, don't hesitate, make it known when you are making your room 
reservation.

With this said, if you are thinking about attending, if you are somewhat 
positive that you will attend, not quite sure you will attend and to those 
that know that they will attend, PLEASE make your hotel reservations as soon 
as possible.

Note: if you can not attend and you have made hotel reservations, don't call 
the hotel to cancel. Please call Joe Ruffalo at 973-743-0075. Joe usually 
has a waiting list to review as many learn about the state convention after 
the date of October 18th. if the block is not sold out, the remainder of 
rooms will be released to the public. In years past, the block sells out

prior to the deadline and therefore, Please, don't hesitate!

I???m proud to announce, national board member and President of the Washington 
D.C. affiliate, Shawn Callaway has been assigned as the national 
representative.  His biography is provided.

Shawn Callaway

Shawn Callaway was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Prince George???s 
County, Maryland. When he was a sophomore at South Carolina State 
University, a classmate was playing with a gun and accidentally shot Shawn 
in the temple. The accident resulted in the detachment of his optic nerves, 
which caused total blindness. Shawn returned to the DC area and received 
blindness training at the Workforce Technology Center in Baltimore. He 
credits a blind man named Lou Smith with providing his training and being an 
early mentor. He also credits his parents for encouraging him throughout his 
transition to life as a successful blind person.

After his rehabilitation training, Shawn earned his associate???s degree in 
psychology from Essex Community College in 1995, his bachelor's degree from 
the University of Maryland in 1997, and then his master's in social work 
from Catholic University of America in 2000. He began his professional 
career working with the homeless at Catholic Charities, and then went on to 
counsel children in the Washington, DC public schools system for the city's 
Department of Behavioral Health. He now works as a program specialist for 
the United States Department of Health and Human Services, specifically in 
programs of the Administration on Community Living and the Administration on 
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. In 2005, he married Latonya 
Rollins of Cleveland, Ohio.

Shawn had heard of the National Federation of the Blind in the mid-1990s but 
was initially convinced by a friend that the organization was too radical 
for him. In retrospect, he believes he was given bad information and wishes 
that he had become a Federationist earlier. After being invited to a chapter 
meeting by Linda Black-White, Shawn finally joined in the spring of 2009. He 
found himself leading the Washington, DC affiliate 
<https://nfb.org/about-us/state-affiliates/district-columbia>  when longtime 
leader Don Galloway died in 2011.

Shawn already had confidence in most of his blindness skills when he joined 
the National Federation of the Blind, but he says that he was still 
apprehensive about becoming a parent. The opportunity to observe and talk to 
blind parents like Mark and Melissa Riccobono and Tracy Soforenco, as well 
as a DC Federationist named Vicky Smith,  gave him confidence that he could 
be a successful blind parent. He is now the proud father of his daughter 
Camille who was born in 2014.

Shawn also credits participation in the NFB with opening up other leadership 
and community involvement opportunities for him. He has served on the boards 
of the DC Center for Independent Living and the Columbia Lighthouse for the 
Blind and has chaired the DC rehabilitation council. He currently co-hosts a 
community radio program called Open Our Eyes on two local stations. In 
addition, Shawn serves as the President of the DC Friends of the Talking 
Book and Braille Library and is a member of the DC Blind Bowlers 
Association. Shawn says, "I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on the 
NFB Board of Directors, both to give back to the organization as a whole and 
because so many past and present board members like Fred Schroeder, Anil 
Lewis <https://nfb.org/about-us/leadership/executive-team/anil-lewis> , Dr. 
Joanne Wilson, Sam Gleese, Pam Allen 
<https://nfb.org/about-us/leadership/board-directors/pam-allen> , and Ever 
Lee Hairston 
<https://nfb.org/about-us/leadership/board-directors/ever-lee-hairston> 
have inspired and mentored me.

Warmly,
Joe
We care. We share. We grow. We make a difference
Joe Ruffalo, President
National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
973 743 0075
nfbnj1 at verizon.net
www.nfbnj.org
Raising Expectations To Live The Life You Want!

Your old car keys can be keys to literacy for the blind.
Donate your unwanted vehicle to us by clicking
www.carshelpingtheblind.org
or call 855 659 9314
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