[Nfbwv-talk] President Riccobono's Notebook

[Smyth, Charlene R]

June 22, 2015
President's Notebook
National Federation of the Blind
Mark A. Riccobono
officeofthepresident at nfb.org<mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>
(410) 659-9314

Dear Fellow Federationists,

We are now just two weeks away from our diamond anniversary convention. I recently had the opportunity to attend a membership-building event hosted by our three chapters in the greater Baltimore area of Maryland. The renewed dialog about membership in the Federation, as well as ways to make our chapter meetings more engaging for those who do not know our jargon and the substance of our philosophy, has been very beneficial. Please continue to share techniques that you are using with me and with Jeannie Massay as chair of our Membership Committee. There are a number of meetings planned for the national convention where membership will be discussed. I hope that every affiliate has at least one individual attend the membership meeting so that growth at the local level can be a priority everywhere.

Critical actions this week:

New phone system:
We have a new phone system at the Jernigan Institute. We had training classes last week, but everyone is still getting used to the new features and the new placement of buttons. Please be patient if anyone accidentally mishandles your call; I am sure we will all be proficient with the new technology soon.


Guinness World Record Attempt:
Please continue to promote our world-record attempt on July 8 and encourage our members attending convention to pledge to participate at https://nfb.org/gwr. If you have contacts, friends, or family in Orlando, please share this event with them and urge them to come raise expectations with us.



News:

Shuttle Service between Hotels:
The National Federation of the Blind will run convenient shuttles between the Rosen Centre, the Rosen Plaza, and the DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld from July 5 through July 10 for our seventy-fifth annual national convention. The shuttles will operate throughout the day and into the evening so that convention attendees will be able to easily travel between the three properties. The bus ride between each of the properties is ten to fifteen minutes in duration. It is possible to walk between the Rosen Centre and the Rosen Plaza in about twenty minutes.

The Clarion Inn & Suites and Red Roof Inn (near International Drive) are a short walk to the Rosen Centre, therefore bus service is not provided to these properties.

Bus service will typically run in a loop between all three properties. The number of buses will increase at peak times. Occasionally, we will run direct service between two properties. Each morning, bus service begins at 7:30 a.m. from the DoubleTree and 7:45 a.m. from the Rosen Plaza. Buses will run continuously throughout the day. The last bus will depart the Rosen Centre with service to the DoubleTree and the Rosen Plaza at 11:00 p.m.

If you're worried about whether you can get to the Rosen Centre early enough on Wednesday, July 8, to take part in our Guinness World Record attempt for largest umbrella mosaic-we have you covered. There will be early bus service starting at 6:15 a.m. from the DoubleTree and 6:30 a.m. from the Rosen Plaza that day to ensure participants will be able to reach Rosen Centre in time for the event. Don't forget to sign up at www.nfb.org/gwr and receive updates as our attempt approaches!

Buses will also be coordinated to ensure members can get back and forth for the banquet. On the night of Friday, July 10, the last bus will depart the Rosen Centre at 11:30 p.m.

At the Rosen Centre, buses are departing from the "Signature 1" exit located behind the escalators on Level 1 of the hotel. These escalators are the only escalators within the Rosen Centre property and are just below the second floor walkway to the Orlando Convention Center. The bus will depart the Rosen Plaza from the Club 39 entrance just off the main lobby. The bus will depart the DoubleTree from the bus entrance.

There will be volunteers to help you at all of these locations.
Please note: The bus service is being organized by the National Federation of the Blind, not the hotels, so hotel staff may not be aware of these details. If you have questions, please speak to a volunteer at these locations. If you need any further information, please contact Tracy Soforenko at (202) 285-4595 or Brian McCann at (757) 472-2494.


Streaming Convention:
Stay tuned...information coming soon. Once it is live (early next week), the link to the information page for convention streaming will be https://nfb.org/convention-streaming-schedule.




Video:
In this video, Jennifer Dunnam, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota and manager of NFB's Braille programs, tells how she struggled with independence until she learned to travel confidently with a long white cane and became involved with the National Federation of the Blind. The video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-8NP9eW-Uw.





Dates to keep in mind:

*         July 5-10, 2015: 75th Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind

*         August 2-8, 2015: NFB STEM EQ

*         September 11-13, 2015: NFB STEM2U Leadership Academy

*         June 19-25, 2016: NFB EQ (first iteration)

*         July 31-August 6, 2016 (second iteration)

*         August, 2016: WBU-ICEVI General Assembly

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.


Mark A. Riccobono, President
National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
Phone: (410) 659-9314
Fax: (410) 659-5129
Email: officeofthepresident at nfb.org<mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>
Twitter: @Riccobono and @NFB_Voice
Web: www.nfb.org<http://www.nfb.org/>



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