[NFBOK-Talk] 2018 National Federation of the Blind Oklahoma Convention - April 12-15, 2018

Fri Mar 2 21:59:49 UTC 2018

Please join us in Tulsa for the National Federation of the Blind  Oklahoma
44th Annual State Convention 

April 12 - 15, 2018 

Standing together with love, hope and determination

Doubletree @ Warren Place

6110 S. Yale Ave. 

Tulsa, OK 74136

918-495-1000 

Sessions will focus on Education, successful Employment, blind people
successfully following their dreams into the STEM fields and other
interesting professions, developing the skills of blindness, living a
healthy life and many more. Truly, there is something for everyone!
Business meetings and activities are planned for the Oklahoma Association of
Blind Merchants, the Oklahoma Association of Rehabilitation Professionals
and the Oklahoma Association of Blind Students. We also have wonderful
presentations from visitors to Oklahoma as well. Read below about our
national representative, Carla McQuillan  and special guest, Dr. Cary
Supalo. 

Hotel reservations

Room reservations must be made by each participant. The room rate for a
single King is $89.00 + tax, two Double beds are $99.00 + tax. In order to
receive the NFB of Oklahoma rate you MUST make your reservation by March
30th, 2018. You may book by calling the doubletree directly at the number
listed above for reservations or by booking online at the following link: 

<https://secure3.hilton.com/en_US/dt/reservation/book.htm?inputModule=HOTEL&
ctyhocn=TULSYDT&spec_plan=CDTFBO&arrival=20180410&departure=20180416&cid=OM,
WW,HILTONLINK,EN,DirectLink&fromId=HILTONLINKDIRECT>
https://secure3.hilton.com/en_US/dt/reservation/book.htm?inputModule=HOTEL&c
tyhocn=TULSYDT&spec_plan=CDTFBO&arrival=20180410&departure=20180416&cid=OM,W
W,HILTONLINK,EN,DirectLink&fromId=HILTONLINKDIRECT

Convention Rates and Packages: 

Convention Package 

Preregistration - $110.00 thru 5:00, Monday, April 9, 2018, At the Door -
$125.00 beginning 7:00 PM Thursday, April 12, 2018 

Includes Registration, Boxed lunch for Friday, Boxed lunch for Saturday and
1 Banquet meal for Saturday evening. Please help us make convention go as
smoothly as possible by pre-registering. 

A la Carte Pricing (Listed below are pre-registration rates. At the door add
$5 to each.)

Registration - $25.00 

Friday Boxed Lunch - $25

Saturday Boxed Lunch - $25 

Saturday Banquet Meal - $45.00 

*If you require specialized meal ACCOMODATIONS, please indicate so on your
registration. If you do not indicate such we cannot guarantee special meal
accommodations. 

You may register and pay online using a Pay Pal account or credit card.  You
may also preregister and pay at the door.  The following link will take you
directly to the registration page on our website: 

 <http://nfbok.org/2018-online-registration/>
http://nfbok.org/2018-online-registration/

Should you have questions about convention registration please contact
Glenda Farnum by phone at 405-255-6482 or by e-mail at
<mailto:gfarnum at cox.net> gfarnum at cox.net. 

Should you have questions about the NFBOK 2018 convention, would like to
exhibit at or sponsor our convention please contact Mike Floyd,
918-345-0875.  Mike is serving as Chair for this year's Convention
Arrangements Committee. 

We are proud to welcome Carla McQuillan as our national representative this
year. Carla is the president of the National Federation of the Blind of
Oregon and serves on the National Federation of the Blind Board of
Directors.  

Carla was born and raised in Southern California in the early 60's, the
youngest of 4 children. In the summer before fifth grade, Carla lost a great
deal of vision but did not notice it until she started school in the fall
and was unable to read the chalkboard from the front row.

Because of her remaining peripheral vision, Carla did not "look blind", so
she was not taught Braille or any other alternative techniques of blindness.
She had very little experience with blind people. The only blind person she
knew was her brother, and he was forever using his blindness as an excuse
for standing on the sidelines. Carla knew that this was not the life she
wanted and was determined to do everything in her power to convince the
world that she was not blind.

After high school Carla went to Humboldt State University in Northern
California. There she met her husband Lucas. They were married in the summer
of 1981 and moved to San Diego for Lucas's master's degree program. Though
Carla had not completed her bachelor's degree, she was more than happy to
put her college career on hold and work to support the couple. Her one year
of college had not been very successful. Without the ability to read Braille
and eyesight too poor to read print, Carla, who had been an A student in
high school, saw her grades drop.

She got a job as a Montessori Preschool teacher in San Diego while Lucas
completed his master's degree. Their daughter Alison was born in 1983. In
1985 the family moved to Illinois. Lucas enrolled in a doctoral program at
the University of Illinois, and Carla decided to complete her bachelor's
degree. With Lucas' encouragement, Carla asked for accessible textbooks and
decided to learn Braille. The staff at the university's disabled student's
services office told her how difficult Braille would be to learn and how
inefficient it would be. Discouraged and defeated, Carla wondered if there
was any hope for her future. Fortunately she learned of a scholarship
program through the National Federation of the Blind. She won a scholarship
from the organization's Illinois affiliate in 1988. The state convention
changed her life. Her negative attitudes about blindness and about her own
potential to be a successful professional were replaced by confidence and
self-assurance that remain a hallmark of her character today. 

After both graduating with High Distinction from the University of Illinois
in 1988, the McQuillans completed their family with the birth of their son
Duncan. They moved to Oregon to be near Carla's family. Carla started her
own Montessori preschool, which later expanded to include 3 schools and a
Montessori Teacher Certification Program. Carla served as President of the
National Federation of the Blind of Oregon from 1992 until 2006, when her
business responsibilities became too demanding. She also served on the NFB's
national board of directors from 1998 until resigning from that position as
well in 2006. She was re-elected president of the Oregon affiliate in 2012
and still serves in that capacity. She is the director of NFB Camp, the
program that offers child care during the annual convention of the National
Federation of the Blind. Carla was again elected to the national board of
directors in 2016.

"I had such horrible misconceptions about blindness for most of my childhood
and early adult life," Carla says. "I thought I knew what blindness meant,
and I didn't want any part of it. The National Federation of the Blind
taught me that blindness was only as limiting as I allowed it to be. My
friends and colleagues in the movement have been more than ideal role
models; they have saved me from a life of regret and underachievement." 

We are also proud to welcome Dr. Cary Supalo to our convention. Dr. Supalo
holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Purdue University, is the developer of
Independent Science, a company which seeks to make Science, Technology and
Math (STEM) fields accessible to blind students and currently works for ETS,
Educational Testing Services working to make high stakes testing accessible
to the blind. Dr. Supalo also happens to be blind. 

A full agenda is soon to be available online at  <http://www.nfbok.org>
www.nfbok.org

I hope you can make it! 

Warm regards,

Jeannie 

Jeannie M. Massay, President

National Federation of the Blind 

Of Oklahoma

405-600-0695

 <mailto:president at nfbok.org> president at nfbok.org 

 <http://www.nfbok.org/> www.nfbok.org

Follow us on Twitter @NFBOK

Follow us on Facebook @nationalfederationoftheblindok

Live the life you want!

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work
together to help blind people live the lives they want.

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