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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>January 15, 2020<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Memo To: Executive Officers, Board Members, Chapter & Division Presidents & Others<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>From: Frank Coppel, President<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Positive Note 1744<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Greetings Fellow Federationists:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> The 2020 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will take place in Houston, Texas, July 14 to July 19, at the Hilton Americas-Houston hotel, 1600 Lamar Street, Houston, TX 77010. Make your room reservation as soon as possible with the Hilton Americas-Houston. Call 1-800-236-2905 to reserve your room in the main hotel. If you wish to stay in our overflow hotel, the Marriott Marquis Houston, the number to call is 1-877-688-4323. The 2020 room rate at our main hotel is $105 per night and applies to singles and doubles as well as triples and quads. Hotel and sales taxes in Houston are 13.38 percent and 8.25 percent, respectively. The rate for the overflow Marriott Marquis is slightly higher at $119. As with our main hotel, hotel and sales taxes are additional, and the nightly rate covers up to four in a room. Both hotels will take a deposit of the first night's room rate for each room and will require a credit card or a personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against your card immediately. If a reservation is cancelled before Friday, June 1, 2020, half of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will not be made. Rooms will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations may be made before June 1, 2020, assuming that rooms are still available. After that time the hotels will not hold our room block for the convention. In other words, you should get your reservation in soon. Both hotels offer complimentary in-room wireless internet (though the Marriott requires a free-to-establish Marriott Bonvoy account) and fitness center access for all guests. All rooms are furnished with mini refrigerators along with many of the usual amenities such as in-room safes, irons and ironing boards, and hair dryers. After the day's events, you can get your swim on at either hotel. The Hilton has an indoor pool on the 23rd floor, while the Marriott features an outdoor pool adjacent to its Texas-shaped lazy river pool. Both hotels have several on-premise dining outlets with a broad range of additional options within a short walk from the front door. The schedule for the 2020 convention is:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Tuesday, July 14 Seminar Day<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Wednesday, July 15 Registration and Resolutions Day<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thursday, July 16 Board Meeting and Division Day<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Friday, July 17 Opening Session<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Saturday, July 18 Business Session<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sunday, July 19 Banquet Day and Adjournment<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Please do not forget to purchase your tickets to attend the fifth annual Sweetheart dance sponsored by the NFB of SC which will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2020 at the Federation Center of the Blind from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The evening promises to be a fun and enjoyable experience with a professionally catered dinner, door prizes, music and dancing. Tickets to this event will be $25 per person and all proceeds will go to the NFB of SC. Please make checks payable to NFB of SC and mail to: NFB of SC, 119 S. Kilbourne Road, Columbia, SC 29205. Please note the memo line for Sweethearts Dance. Deadline to purchase tickets is Wednesday, February 5, 2020. In the past, members, chapters, and divisions have been very generous donating door prizes for this special event. Door prize Contributions can include gift cards, cash or assembled gift baskets. Please contact Jennifer Bazer at 803-960-9977 or jhipp25@sc.rr.com if you would like to contribute a door prize. If you have any questions regarding this fundraising event, please contact Debra Canty, Sweetheart dance Chairperson, at 803-775-5792 or via email at debra.canty@frontier.com. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> If you have not done so already, I strongly encourage you to pay your $10 state dues as soon as possible as the deadline to receive dues is January31, 2020. When you submit your $10 state dues, it is extremely important you provide accurate contact information such as, name, address, phone number and email address if applicable. These things do change and if we do not have accurate information, we and our national office cannot keep you up to date on what’s going on. Our national office is requiring each state affiliate to submit a spread sheet listing members and their contact information. Once the national office receives this information, members listed on the spread sheet will receive a membership medallion which will signify you as a member of the NFB. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> We have an announcement from Cayte Mendez, Chairperson of the NFB national scholarship committee. “Every year, the National Federation of the Blind awards more than $120,000 to blind scholars across the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in recognition of their achievements and professional aspirations. The scholarship program is our commitment to academic excellence and leadership among blind students, and each winner is awarded on the basis of academic excellence, community service, and leadership. The application process opened Friday, November 1. Review the scholarship application checklist and the scholarship program FAQs. Share this opportunity that invests in the future of blind people. Learn about the eligibility and requirements of the 2020 scholarship program.” I would hope many of our students from South Carolina are taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity and are applying for one of these national scholarships. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day, we raise the expectations of blind people because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want: blindness is not what holds you back. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Final Thought: Transforming our dreams into reality: “Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and accomplished the impossible.” <o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>