[Wasagdu] Convention

Tue Jun 23 16:10:03 UTC 2015

Guide Dog users' Meeting, Streaming, Relieving, and More!

                Whether you will be attending the meetings of the National
Association of Guide dog Users (NAGDU) in person or virtually, there is
information within this message you will want to read. First of all, if you
are not a member of NAGDU, either by virtue of your membership in a NAGDU
affiliate division or by your direct affiliation, we would like to encourage
you to join. If you are a member of an affiliate in which there is a NAGDU
division, we strongly recommend you join the affiliate division, since
joining that division confers upon you all the rights and privileges of
membership in NAGDU. We currently have affiliate divisions in California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. We are also actively
organizing affiliate divisions in Arizona, Kentucky, Mississippi, North
Carolina, Texas, and Washington. If you need contact information for one of
these affiliate divisions, please send a message to

Info at NAGDU.ORG <mailto:Info at NAGDU.ORG> 

If you will be attending convention, you can join NAGDU prior to one of our
meetings (see below for meeting details). If you will not be attending our
convention, you can join by visiting our website 

http://nagdu.org/membership.html

Annual Meetings & Live Stream

                The annual meetings of the National Association of Guide Dog
Users will be held on Sunday, July 5 and Tuesday, July 7 In Salon 3, Level
2. Registration will begin at 6:00 p.m. each day outside the meeting room
and will close promptly at 6:45 p.m. so all members can participate in every
aspect of our meetings. During the meetings we will have several reports,
discussions, and other events of concern to those interested in issues
related to guide dog users. Several valuable door prizes will be given away
and you must be present to win! 

                On Sunday, July 5, we will hear from those who chair the
various committees of NAGDU, including our Social Networking, Fund Raising,
and Hotline Committees. Brett Sample, who is an NFB member, is creating a
guide dog training program in Puerto Rico modeled after our NFB training
centers. Brett will share his work and projections with us. We will also
share exciting information about our progress enhancing access to the
country's zoos.

                On Tuesday, July 7, we will again be open for NAGDU
registration and acceptance of membership dues from 6:00 - 6:45 p.m. and our
meeting will be called to order at 7:00 p.m. sharp. We will hear from Tim
Elder, NFB's lead attorney in our federal law suit against Uber. Tim will
share the most up-to-date information with us first, so join our meeting for
this breaking news. We will also have a presentation by john Bifield about
community & residential guide dog training and a panel discussion by
officials of various guide dog training programs about ownership and the
immediate and long-term considerations every potential guide dog program
consumer should know about the practical implications of unconditional
ownership compared to custody. During this meeting, we will also share guide
dog user related resolutions passed by the Resolutions Committee the prior
day. Most importantly, we will hold elections for vice President, Treasurer,
and one board position.

We will also have a 50/50 drawing at the end of each meeting. 50/50 tickets
will be $1.00/each or 6 for $5.00. Because the prize is cash, only cash will
be accepted for the 50/50 drawing!   

At both meetings, we will be taking up a collection to help defray the cost
of our relief areas, Relief areas cost the national Federation of the Blind
about $3500 to construct and maintain. The contributions we collect are
added to our support of the White Cane Fund, where the expense of relief
areas is drawn. Please give to this as you are able!

We will also be auctioning a brand-new leather guide dog harness contributed
by a private donor. This harness has a girth of 28 - 36 inches, a 19-inch
straight handle, and includes a 6-foot leather leash. The auction will be
held during our July 7 meeting.

This year's fund raising product is a must-have for every active, on-the-go
individual. We will be selling 16 oz. double-wall stainless steel, spill
proof, leak-proof, insulated beverage containers. The containers are steel
blue in color emblazoned with our 75th Anniversary logo in white. These
containers feature a contoured grip, a locking flip top and keep liquid hot
for 4 hours and cold for 10 hours. These high quality travel containers are
only $20 each and our supply is limited! We will accept Visa, MasterCard,
American Express, Discover, cash, and check. Please stop by exhibit hall
table B-17 or come to the NAGDU meeting early to get one of these amazing
items while supplies last!

Relieving Areas

                Keep in mind that the stress of convention, the change in
schedule, and differences in water quality may have an adverse effect on
your dog's relieving schedule and stool consistency. These factors
inevitably result in accidents in the hotel. Please remember to relieve your
dog more frequently in order to make this a good experience for all
attendees. If your dog has an accident, please stop and protect the spot
from being stepped in and spread. Stay in the place where the accident
occurred and notify the hotel to have maintenance come clean it up. It is
far easier to clean up one area than one that has spread because someone
stepped in it!

                With more than 500 guide dog teams, you can imagine the
challenge of ensuring adequate, clean relief areas at convention. The Rosen
Centre, our host hotel, will have two relief areas available to us. The
first area will be located outside the main lobby entrance to the left about
45 degrees. The other will be located on the convention side of the hotel
outside the entrance to the right. As a point of reference, this area is
located underneath the catwalk to the Orange County Convention Center where
our exhibit hall is located. The Rosen Plaza will have one relief area
located outside the main entrance to the left about 20 yards and just past
the down curb. Please check with the other overflow hotels for information
about placement of our relief areas. Please use these relief areas and
remember to do the responsible thing: Pick up after your dog! This is a team
effort, so please join us in encouraging others to use the relief areas and
clean up!

Dog Food

                The National Association of Guide dog Users has made
arrangements with Petco to have dog food delivered to the convention hotels.
This arrangement is for dog food only; no other product will be available
through this arrangement. A message was sent to the NFBNET subscribers' list
about this. If you missed or deleted it, please send a message requesting
this information to

Info at NAGDU.ORG <mailto:Info at NAGDU.ORG> 

Florida Law concerning Service Dogs

                The state of Florida has very good civil rights provisions
for service dog access. This law (413.08 f.s.) provides criminal penalties
to any person, firm, or corporation that denies or interferes with the full
and equal access of a disabled person accompanied by a service dog. If you
have any issues of access while attending convention, we want to know about
it! Should an access issue arise, please call the NAGDU president, Marion
Gwizdala, at 813-626-2789. This number is also a good number for any other
guide dog related questions or concerns that might arise as the result of
your travel to or from convention or for more information while in Orlando!

We hope you enjoy your attendance at the 75th anniversary convention of the
national Federation of the Blind and we look forward to your participation -
either live or virtually - in the meetings of the National Association of
Guide Dog Users. We encourage everyone to keep moving forward!

Fraternally yours,

Marion Gwizdala, President

National Association of Guide dog users

National Federation of the Blind

(813) 626-2789

President at nagdu.org <mailto:President at nagdu.org> 

Becky Frankeberger

Butterfly Knitting

-           Ponchos

-           Afghans

-           Shawls

-           Custom Knitting

360-426-8389

becky at butterflyknitting.com

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