[Ohio-Talk] The Difference a National Convention Can Make, by Alex French

[Andra Stover]

What a great experience Alex! I love being a part of the NFB. Thank you for
sharing this SUZANNE.

On Wed, Feb 12, 2020 at 8:15 PM Suzanne Turner via Ohio-Talk <
ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> The Difference a National Convention Can Make
> by Alex French <>
> Editor's note: The following article speaks for itself. I was one of the
> people that Suzanne Turner asked to talk with Alex. It was clear that he
> needed what he could learn from the national convention. We got to work to
> make it happen for him. Here is his story of what he learned at convention:
>
> It's June 25, and I'm in a dark place. I had recently had a doctor's
> appointment in which I was told that there wasn't any noticeable
> improvement
> in my eyesight. I had a brain tumor back in December, and the resulting
> surgeries left me in the dark, literally and figuratively. I am now totally
> blind after having perfect vision for twenty-nine years of my life. I was a
> firefighter, expecting to buy my first home with my seven-year-old
> daughter.
> Instead, I was moving back in with my parents, effectively unemployed, and
> learning how to live as a blind person. Enter the National Federation of
> the
> Blind.
>
> When I discovered that I might never have eyesight again, I began to do
> some
> research to determine my best route to regain my independence. I discovered
> the Louisiana Center for the Blind, BLIND Inc., and the Colorado Center for
> the Blind. So I decided to contact each and gather some information. This
> was how I learned about the National Federation of the Blind. I had decided
> to contact the Cleveland chapter of the NFB since it wasn't far from my
> home. In this conversation I learned that the national convention was just
> two weeks away. Newly blind, I had no idea that this organization even
> existed or that they had a national convention. Suzanne Turner, the
> Cleveland chapter president, said that I should try to attend because it
> would be a life-changing experience. She was absolutely correct. But, with
> only two weeks before the convention, how would I pull this off? That's
> when
> I learned how amazing this organization really is. Suzanne reached out to
> some contacts within the organization, and they found me a room. Not only
> did they find me a room, but someone was gracious enough to cover the cost
> of the convention, because they believed the experience would be so
> life-changing for me. Moreover, my mom happened to be off work that week.
> The stars seemed to be aligning for me. My mom and I were able to find
> flights and would be attending our first convention together.
>
> As for the convention itself, it was life changing for me and also for my
> mom. This was really our first time being around blind people. We live in a
> small town and had never met another blind person. At convention we met
> some
> amazing people. In line to check in, I met a guy my age living in Chicago
> and attending school there. I also met a gentleman from Boston who lives in
> New Jersey and works as a regional sales manager for a major company. We
> met
> a school-age girl who was part of the CCB summer program. She was there
> alone. These were just the people I met checking in.
>
> I got to attend multiple seminars, including a Sports and Recreation
> meeting, where I learned about blind baseball and blind hockey. I also
> attended an empowerment seminar, where multiple speakers discussed how they
> are able to overcome the low expectations of the general public. We met
> blind lawyers, doctors, and teachers. I quickly learned that I could do
> anything I wanted. My blindness didn't have to hold me back.
>
> This was equally important for my mom to learn. To this point she had seen
> me go from completely independent to learning how to navigate the house
> alone again. There was a veterans' division, so I got in touch with them as
> well since I had served 10 years in the Air Force. It was there I learned
> about the veterans' ceremony, in which they introduce all of the blind
> veterans. The blind veterans also did a presentation of colors, with a full
> color guard. This ceremony left my mom in tears.
>
> This was just the start. We decided to explore the exhibit hall, where we
> learned about all the assistive technology available today. We also met a
> lifelong guide dog user who gave me his number so I could contact him with
> any questions if I decided to get a guide dog. Perhaps more important to my
> mom, we met one of the owners of Two Blind Brothers, a clothing company
> completely designed by and for the visually impaired. My mom was elated. As
> we walked away from their booth, my mom turned to me and said, "I can
> totally see you doing something like that." It was a truly powerful moment
> for me. The next day was our last unfortunately; we had to leave early
> because of a death in the family.
>
> We decided to attend the LCB luncheon, where I met even more amazing
> people,
> including Pam Allen, the executive director of the center, and half of the
> staff. I also met Caroline, who has become my best friend and has even
> started helping me learn Braille. We have grown very close and continue to
> help each other grow stronger and spread the word about the NFB. Later that
> night, we met with fellow Ohio people for dinner, including Ohio president
> Richard Payne, the Cleveland chapter president, Suzanne Turner, and the
> Akron chapter president, Dave Berch. It was an awesome way of ending my
> first convention.
>
> The experience overall was absolutely unbelievable. I would highly
> recommend
> taking a trip to the national convention to anyone who could possibly make
> it. It truly was life-changing, and this is only half of what I actually
> wanted to share about the convention to further express how life-changing
> the experience was. Since attending, I have learned to ride a bike as well
> as race my daughter in the swimming pool. This organization is amazing, and
> I'm happy to say that because of the connections I made at convention and
> the help of its members I'm attending LCB this fall. This is just my first
> experience with the NFB, but it will be one of many more to come. My mom
> and
> I are already looking forward to next year's convention.
>
>
>
>
>
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