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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Dear TABSters,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The seventy second annual National Convention of the National Federation of the blind will commence in exactly: , and We as part of the hosting affiliate have a major role in this year’s convention. I would like you to keep a few things in mind as you prepare for Dallas:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>1.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>Register: If you have not done so already, I encourage you to officially join your Federation family by registering at the National Convention. We currently have 198 Texans preregistered, but I’m sure that number can change if you register. Please refer to the agenda for times and locations to register.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>2.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>Texas Caucus: if you can, I would like to encourage you to attend the Texas Caucus Saturday morning at 9:00 AM. This meeting is for all Texans who are attending the National Convention, this will give us the opportunity to welcome first timers, receive up to the minute announcements, and learn how we can assist our state affiliate in insuring that this convention runs smoothly. The meeting will be held in the Steuben Room, in the Atrium Mezzanine. Please come, TABS is a large student division with a dynamic membership, and your energy and enthusiasm will be greatly appreciated at this meeting, and throughout the convention.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>3.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>NABS Social: The National Association of Blind Students will be hosting a social Saturday from 9:00 Pm to midnight in the Affiliate Action suite, 2372. Come mingle with students from all over the country, come get to know the NABS board, and make new friends as well as reconnect with old ones! (This will be a great opportunity for any first timer students to get to know NABS.)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>4.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>NABS Annual Seminar and Business Meeting: the National Association of Blind Students is one of our national parent organizations, and as a state division of NABS I would really like to encourage every Texan student that is attending convention to be present at this meeting. In addition to fabulous door prizes, like the grand prize of an 8GB iPod Touch, this meeting will feature inspiring speeches from students all over the country, as well as informative presentations from companies like Learning Ally, Bookshare, etc. You will also have the chance to elect the leaders of the NABS board for the following two year terms, so come and join the Texas delegation on Sunday July 1, registration opens at 6:15 PM, and remember that if you register before 6:45 PM you’ll be doubling your entry into the door prize drawing. You can save yourself a lot of time and hassle by preregistering here: <a href="http://www.nabslink.org/drupal/civicrm/event/register?reset=1&id=2">http://www.nabslink.org/drupal/civicrm/event/register?reset=1&id=2</a> Lets show the other student divisions who the best in the country is!!! If you purchase your Southern Strums T-shirt ahead of the meeting, we would love for you to wear it along with the TABS board and show your Texas pride!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>5.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>Remember to visit: <a href="http://www.nfbtx.org">http://www.nfbtx.org</a> to see the agenda, restaurant guide, exhibiters list, exhibit hall layout, and anything else you could possibly want to know about convention! A big thank you to our webmaster, Mr. Thomas Stivers for his hard work in making our website easy to use, and very informative.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>6.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>You can also check out TABS’ schedule of activities during the National Convention at: <a href="http://www.nfbtx.org/tabs">http://www.nfbtx.org/tabs</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>7.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>Don’t for get to follow us for real time updates from the convention: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/txtabsters">http://www.twitter.com/txtabsters</a> And if you tweet, don’t forget to include the hashtag #NFB12 so you too can be part of the conversation, also if you search the hashtag, you will be able to see all the tweets relating to our national convention.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph>I hope that you learn, network, and have lots of fun this week, I would like to connect/reconnect with as many of you as possible, so please feel free to look me up. You can tweet me directly at: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/gmcazares">http://www.twitter.com/gmcazares</a> or stop by the Texas Information Table in the Atrium Lobby, I will be spending a lot of time there. Make this convention experience a positive one!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph>See you awesome TABSters in Dallas!!!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph>Best,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph>...Gabe<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Gabriel M. Cazares, 1st Vice President<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Texas Association of Blind Students - TABS (A Division of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>www.nfbtx.org/tabs<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Phone: 713-581-0619<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>