[Travelandtourism] Just returned from Jamaica and Sandals Grande Riviera

Tue Aug 26 20:20:29 UTC 2014

Hello everyone:
Nelson and I just returned from our very first trip to Jamaica and we stayed at Sandals for Couples only, the Sandals Grande Riviera Beach and Villa Golf Resort, located in Ocho Rios.
We were there from August 14-21, 2014
We have videos up on our youtube page, which the link is listed here, but I also will be talking about Sandals and Jamaica on my Radio Show on September 3 starting at 8pm eastern time on www.thruoureyes.org
It will also be streaming live and you can chat with me on NFBlive.org in the NFB Travel & Tourism Room.
I am hoping everyone has been reading their e-mails about NFBLIVE.org
Please go and register it is free and the only thing you need is a computer and a headset with microphone.
Good Afternoon! NFB Live is proud to invite everyone to our Grand Opening celebration Saturday August 30, 2014.  The activities will begin at 2:00 PM Eastern in the Events Center.  If you are not an NFB Live member yet, we urge you join our chat site and you will then be able to participate in our Grand Opening's activities and the daily events on NFB Live.
We have several presentations, games and activities in store starting with the official launch of our site with mister Carl Jacobsen, mister Mark Ricabono and Doctor Marc Maurer. We will distribute several great door prizes through the day.  Below is a schedule of the day's events on NFB Live.  This schedule may change as the date of the grand opening grows near.
Please note that our activities are all in Eastern Time.  All events will take place in the Events Center unless otherwise indicated.

Schedule of Events

If you have any questions or comments about our Grand Opening celebration, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us Page.
Time:Guest:Description of Activity2:00 PM,Shelley Gagnier, Carl Jacobsen, Mark Ricabono and Doctor Marc Maurer.We will start the opening festivities with Shelley Gagnier who will introduce Carl Jacobsen who will launch our site, and will then introduce our guest speakers Mister Mark Ricabono and Doctor Marc Maurer. 
3:00 PM, Mr. Art Schreiber,Art Schreiber, one of two American reporters to travel with the Beatles on their first US/Canadian tour in 1964, will tell about his experiences.   Art, who is a long time member of the National Federation of the Blind, played Monopoly with John Lennon and George Harrison while on the tour.  Art will also explain how Paul McCartney saved his, Art's, career.
Schreiber spent more than fifty years in broadcasting.  He was with the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company for 17 years...serving as News Director in Cleveland, Chief of the Westinghouse Broadcasting Companies domestic and foreign news service in Washington DC, Assistant General  Manager of KYW Radio in Philadelphia, General Manager of WINS, New York, and General Manager of KFWB, Los Angeles.
Art woke up blind in 1982 but after many eye surgeries and joining the NFB, he continued his broadcast career.  He has written a book, Out of Sight - Blind and Doing Alright.  It is available at your local book store, Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  It's available on Kindle and all e book distributors as well.
Art covered John F. Kennedy during his  quest for the Presidency.  He was a civil rights reporter during the sixties and travelled with Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. throughout the South and reported on the Selma to Montgomery march and James Meredith's march across Mississippi for voting rights.  Schreiber also covered manned space flight in its early days.
You can hear and talk with Art about his incredible experience with the  Beatles on NFB Live during our Grand Opening.
4:00 PM,Mindy Jacobsen introduces James Gashal,James Gashel was the Director of Governmental Affairs for the National Federation of the Blind for over 30 years.  In the mid 1970’s, he, in a chance meeting on an airplane,   met Ray Kurzweil and told him that one of the biggest problems blind people had was gaining access to the printed word.  Kurzweil saw this as not only a problem but a challenge.  With the help and support of Mr. Gashel and Dr. Jernigan, Kurzweil set out to conquer the problem.  The rest as we say,  is history.
Mr. Gashel now works for KNFB Reading Technologies which developed the first hand-held reading machine for the blind. The machines continued to get smaller and our opportunities continue to get bigger.
We are proud and honored to welcome James Gashel to our Grand Opening and look forward to some exciting announcements.
4:30 PM,Mindy Jacobsen introduces J.J. Meddaugh from A T Guys.J.J. Meddaugh is the president and cofounder of A T Guys which specializes in affordable assistive technology. Hailing from Kalamazoo, he also enjoys playing the keyboard, travel, and trying out new restaurants. He is an avid Detroit Tigers fan and thinks this will be  the year they go all the way.
5:00 PM,Julie Dawson introduces James Boehm of KustomCane.Since becoming blind in 2010, Mr. James Boehm, has continually challenged himself, not allowing his loss of vision to keep him from the many available opportunities in this new chapter of his life. Mr. Boehm, former automotive restyling business owner of 15 years, now uses his experience with customization and design in his new enterprise, Kustom Cane. He designs and personalizes mobility canes, dog harnesses, and other accessories such as protectants and charms to sell on his web site. In 2012, James began furthering his education at MTSU with the intention of acquiring a masters degree in psychology; in turn, Mr. Boehm’s goals include becoming a rehabilitation counselor to empower others using his own experience with vision loss, helping others to see that life has not ended, but has just begun.
James is an active member in his community and in the NFB, serving as president of his local Stones River chapter. James started the Tennessee Association of Guide Dog Users and serves as president of the division. As secretary of the state of Tennessee’s affiliate, James serves on many committees, including the fundraising committee with the National Association of Guide Dog Users, the law and policy committee of the Human Services division, and a member of his state’s membership committee. James regularly presents and maintains an email list regarding assistive technology, with Apple products being his specialty. This year, James was a winner of one of the national 2014 NFB scholarships and two other scholarships, while maintaining a GPA of 3.9 at Middle Tennessee State University.
Mr. Boehm’s mission is to demonstrate and emphasize that with the appropriate education, attitude, and training, blindness is a characteristic, not a disability, and it should be embraced as one lives a fulfilling life. Blindness does not limit, low expectations do! We can live the life we want and be a strong contributor to society.
6:00 PM,Mindy Jacobsen introduces Dan Parker.Dan Parker grew up sighted and built and raced motorcycles and racing cars for a living. In 2005 he was the ADRL (American Drag Racing League Pro Nitrous world champion, but in 2012, he experienced a catastrophic accident in the car with which he won the above mentioned award. A coma had to be induced, from which he awoke totally blind. The usual depression and hopelessness insued, but unlike many who lose their sight, Dan found some information about the NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND and quickly came to the realization that his blindness didn't have to create insurmountable barriers and that the door to the rest of his life was still opened. His new goal would be to race motorcycles so, with information and assistance from the NFB, he built and designed one that would acomodate his needs. He has become the first blind person to drive the Bonneville Salt Flats, which he did at the speed of approximately 55 miles per hour. A student at the Louisiana Center For The Blind, Mr. Parker asserts that the only tracks for him now lead to the top!
6:45 PM,Gail Smith.Gail Smith has been embossing braille part time since the early nineties. She says that Being active in the NFB of Alabama is a big part of my life. Being secretary for the state and vice-president of our local chapter seems to keep me busy. Also I am a member of the Blind Merchants Division and we are working hard to grow in our state.
BrailleSmith offers a wide array of braille embossing services. The greeting cards are an enjoyable part of the business.  BrailleSmith is serving blind and low-vision people by providing equal access to the written word. We can supply both large print and Braille materials to meet your specifications, such as Documents, Greeting Cards, Business Cards, Manuals, Menus, and Reports, to name a few.
7:30,Shelley GagnierShelley will host NFB Live's first TriBond Game, the game where you are given three items and you and your team must find the common thread.
9:00 PM,James and Shelley GagnierJames and Shelley will host The Sounds of Music game to bring our festivities to a close.

Cheryl Echevarria, President
National Federation of the Blind's Travel and Tourism Division
A proud division of the NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND - "Live the life you want"www.nfbtravel.org
631-236-5138
cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com

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 have the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

Cheryl Echevarria is also the owner of Echevarria Travel www.echevarriatravel.com; 631-456-5394 or reservations at echevarriatravel.com and  has partnered with Braille Smith. www.braillesmith.com for all her braille needs.  Gail Smith is the Secretary of the NFB of Alabama 		 	   		  