From: Jim Gashel
Subject: New Orleans (Forward From dandrews@visi.com)
Hello Don:
The agenda for the nfb convention appears at the bottom of this message.
I certainly hope you come and become a part of this wonderful movement.
Thanks,
J. G.
N A T I O N A L
F E D E R A T I O N
O F T H E B L I N D
1 9 9 7 C O N V E N T I O N
N E W O R L E A N S, L O U I S I A N A
J U N E 2 9 - J U L Y 6, 1 9 9 7
THE MEMBERS OF THE
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF
LOUISIANA
WELCOME YOU TO THE
57TH ANNUAL CONVENTION
OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE
BLIND
Marc Maurer, President
National Federation of the Blind
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
Kenneth Jernigan, Chairman
Convention Organization and Activities
Joanne Wilson, President
National Federation of the Blind of Louisiana
2509 Foxx Creek Drive
Ruston, Louisiana 71270-2512
Hyatt Regency New Orleans
(504) 561-1234 HOTEL
The 57th Annual Convention of the National Federation of the
Blind will be held at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans in New
Orleans, Louisiana.
As usual, our hotel rates are good. They are: singles, $40;
doubles and twins, $42; triples, $44; and quads, $46. In addition
to the room rates, there will be an 11 percent sales tax and an
occupancy tax of $3 per room per day. There will be no charge for
children under 12 in a room with parents as long as no extra bed
is required.
Proof of convention registration will be necessary,
including the showing of an NFB registration badge if requested.
Otherwise, regular hotel rates must be paid.
OVERFLOW HOTEL
Because of the numbers wanting to attend this year's
convention, we have reserved 500 rooms at the Radisson Hotel New
Orleans, 1500 Canal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112,
telephone (504) 522-4500. The rates are $49.00 regardless of
whether one person, two persons, three persons, or four persons
are staying in the room. We will have a shuttle bus running
between the Radisson and the Hyatt from 6:00 each morning until
1:00 a.m. Those who want to walk between the Radisson and the
Hyatt should be able to do it in less than ten minutes.
HYATT GEOGRAPHY
The Hyatt features two towers--the Main Tower with twenty-
seven floors; and the Lanai Tower, with eleven floors. The Main
Tower of the Hyatt is serviced by eight passenger elevators. They
are divided into two sets--one serving floors one through
eighteen, and the other serving floors one through four and
nineteen and above. The Lanai Tower is serviced by separate
passenger elevators, located near the ballroom and exhibit hall.
An escalator goes from the first floor hotel check-in area
directly to the third floor Regency Ballroom and French Market
Exhibit level. There is no access to the second floor from this
set of escalators. An escalator located on the third floor near
the Sports Bar runs to the second floor where the Regency
Conference Center meeting rooms are located.
The Hyatt has a swimming pool on the seventh floor and is
connected at the second floor level to a large shopping mall,
which includes a Macy's, Lord and Taylor's, and a food court.
Adjoining Macy's is the Superdome, a colossal structure that is
home to the New Orleans Saints.
REGISTRATION
Registration activities will take place on the third floor
of the hotel beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 30; and at
8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
The fee for registration is $10 per person, and all those
attending the convention (both local and out-of-town people) are
asked to register. Convention registration is a requirement for
door prize eligibility and a number of other convention
activities. We condition rates for hotel rooms on proof of
registration, including the showing of an NFB registration badge
if requested. Therefore, please register as soon as possible
after arrival. The NFB of Louisiana will be giving a grand prize
worth a thousand dollars at the banquet.
EXHIBITS
Exhibits will be on display all day Monday, all day Tuesday,
Wednesday from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. and noon to 2:00 p.m., Thursday
from noon to 5:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from noon to 2:00
p.m. Aids and appliances will be on sale during all of these
times except Thursday afternoon. Any alterations in the general
session schedule which may occur during the convention will
result in conforming shifts in the exhibit schedule and will be
announced in the exhibit hall. Exhibits will be on display in the
French Market Exhibit Hall (third floor) of the hotel. A number
of affiliated NFB divisions and committees will have tables in
the exhibit area. Many new electronic devices will be
demonstrated. There will be a special exhibit of materials and
resources for the deaf-blind. NFB books, jewelry, coasters,
Christmas records, recordings of previous conventions, and aids
and appliances will be available.
NEWSLINE# NETWORK DEMONSTRATIONS
Demonstrations of the NEWSLINE# for the Blind Network voice
newspaper system will be conducted in the Rampart Room on the
fourth floor during much of the day on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday,
and on Thursday afternoon, and at various other times throughout
the convention. Come try out the newspaper and learn how to
establish a local service center for the voice newspaper in your
community.
MEETINGS
Business sessions of the convention will be held Wednesday
morning, Wednesday afternoon, Thursday morning, Friday morning,
Friday afternoon, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon. The
Wednesday morning session will begin at 9:45. The Thursday and
Saturday morning sessions will begin at 9:00. The Friday morning
session will begin at 9:15.
The convention will adjourn promptly at 5:00, Saturday
afternoon, July 5. All general sessions of the convention will be
held in the Regency Ballroom on the third floor of the hotel.
BANQUET
This year's banquet will be held in the Regency Ballroom on
the third floor of the hotel at 7:00 p.m., Friday, July 4.
Tickets will be on sale from 10:00 a.m., Monday, June 30, through
5:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 1, in the convention registration area
in the Regency Ballroom. They will also be on sale from 8:00 to
9:45 a.m. and from noon to 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 2, and
before the morning session on Thursday, July 3. The price of an
individual banquet ticket is $25.00. It will be necessary for you
to have your ticket with you to attend the banquet. Tickets will
be collected from you at the banquet tables. Arrangements should
be made for reserved table assignments.
DEVOTIONS
Devotional services will be held in the Poydras A Room on
the second floor of the Regency Conference Center on Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Devotions on Wednesday, July 2,
will begin at 8:45 a.m. Services will begin at 8:00 Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday mornings. These services are non-sectarian
and will end at least fifteen minutes prior to morning convention
sessions. The Reverend Frank Lee, St. Thomas and Shady Grove
United Methodist Churches, Sylacauga, Alabama, will assume
overall responsibility for devotional services. Those who wish to
help conduct the services or offer suggestions concerning them
should contact the Reverend Lee.
SPECIAL ATTENTION IS CALLED TO THE FOLLOWING ITEMS
There will be a Federation Information Desk located in the
registration area from Monday morning, June 30, through Saturday,
July 5. If you have questions or need assistance, go to the
Federation Information Desk. In addition, the NFB of Louisiana
will have a table in the registration area to sell tickets and
answer questions about tours. The Louisiana affiliate will also
maintain during much of the convention a table near the hotel
check-in desk in the lobby to provide assistance and hospitality.
There will be a phone at the Federation Information Desk and also
at the Louisiana table in the lobby.
When you register, you will be given a badge. Please wear it
at all times during the convention.
Someone will be on hand in the Presidential Suite throughout
most of the convention to greet you and make appointments for you
with the President or anyone else you wish to see. Of course, the
Presidential Suite will not be open during the business sessions
of the convention, the Tuesday morning Board of Directors
meeting, or the banquet. Come to the Presidential Suite. You will
be most welcome.
The room number for the Presidential Suite is 2706. The room
number for Kenneth Jernigan, Chairman of Convention Organization
and Activities, is 2748. Questions concerning hotel rooms, meeting
rooms, banquet, scheduling, registration, and other matters dealing
with convention arrangements should be referred to the Chairman of
Convention Organization and Activities.
Individuals needing to conduct business with the NFB Treasurer
may do so by going to Elmwood on the fourth floor between noon
and 2:00 p.m. on Friday, July 4, or Saturday, July 5.
The Louisiana Suite (Joanne Wilson, President) is 1706.
There will be a great deal of important recorded, Braille, and
print literature which you will want to take home. Much of this
material will be new. Some of it will be old standards. The
literature will be in the French Market Exhibit Hall on the third
floor all day Monday, all day Tuesday, Wednesday from 8:00 to
9:30 and noon to 2:00 p.m., Thursday from noon to 5:00 p.m., and
Friday and Saturday from noon to 2:00 p.m.
This year, as in the past, we are providing child care
services (NFB Camp) during the convention sessions and banquet in
the Burgundy Room on the fourth floor. If you wish to avail
yourself of this service, contact the Louisiana Suite at 1706. We
are asking parents to make the following donations: $60 for the
week (excluding the banquet) for the first child and $40 for each
additional child; or (if you do not need the full week) $15 per
child per day and $10 per child for the banquet night.
Raffle tickets will not be sold in the registration area, and
there will be no raffles or other such drawings during the
convention sessions or at the banquet. The single exception to
this rule will be that national divisions may (if they request it
in advance) conduct such drawings during the convention or at the
banquet. A place (Poydras A on the second floor of the Regency
Conference Center) will be set aside at noon on Friday, July 4,
for all other drawings. Any group or affiliate wishing to conduct
drawings at this time (or any person wishing to know the winner
of such drawings) may go at noon on Friday to Poydras A.
TOURS AND SPECIAL ACTIVITIES
All are invited by the Louisiana affiliate to the Cajun
Dance on Sunday, June 29, beginning at 8:00 p.m. in the Regency
Ballroom on the third floor. The nationally known La Fourche
Cajun Band will fill your evening with happiness and make you a
part of their Cajun culture. The Cajun French Music Association
dancers will be there to demonstrate and teach you various cajun
dances. Laissez les bons temps rouler (Let the good times roll!)
There are also many tours and special activities planned for
Saturday, Sunday, and Thursday, including the Swamp Tour and Pete
Fountain Jazz Club. Contact the Louisiana affiliate (Room 1706)
for information and ticket sales, and listen for announcements
throughout the convention. You may also get information about
tours and special activities at the Louisiana table in the
registration area.
SENSORY SAFARI
The glossy fur of animals in the wild; the sharp talons of a
predatory bird; the massive proportions of an elephant's tusk;
the rough, scaly texture of the hide of an alligator or other
reptile-#these are a part of the Sensory Safari. Sleek, fierce,
sinewy, velvety, exotic: these are some of the words used to
describe the wild animals so often depicted in the stories of
childhood. Touch them; learn their dimensions; come to the
Sensory Safari. Sponsored by the Safari Club International, the
Sensory Safari will have exhibits of wild animals--some from
Africa, some from North America. Don't worry. These animals won't
bite--they are not alive. They are mounted for display in
Esplanade A, second floor of the Regency Conference Center. The
exhibit will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June
30; and from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1.
AFFILIATED DIVISIONS, COMMITTEES, AND GROUPS
The Federation carries on its business through divisions,
committees, and groups. The meetings of some of these have been
scheduled for particular times and are listed in the agenda.
Others have not been formally scheduled but will meet at the call
of their chairpersons or presidents. If you have matters which
you would like to discuss with any of the following divisions,
committees, or groups, you should contact:
Divisions
National Association to Promote the Use of Braille: Betty
Niceley, President;
National Federation of the Blind in Computer Science: Curtis
Chong, President;
National Association of Guide Dog Users: Paul Gabias,
President;
National Diabetes Action Network for the Blind: Tom Ley,
President;
Deaf-Blind Division of the National Federation of the Blind:
Joseph B. Naulty, President;
National Organization of Blind Educators: Patricia Munson,
President;
Human Services Division, National Federation of the Blind: Doug
Elliott, President;
Blind Industrial Workers of America: Primo Foianini, President;
National Association of Blind Lawyers: Scott LaBarre,
President;
National Federation of the Blind Masonic Square Club: Ben Snow,
President;
Blind Merchants Division of the National Federation of the
Blind: Charles Allen, President;
Music Division of the National Federation of the Blind: Linda
Mentink, President;
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children: Barbara
Cheadle, President;
Public Employees Division of the National Federation of the
Blind: John Halverson, President;
Science and Engineering Division of the National Federation of
the Blind: John Miller, President;
National Association of Blind Secretaries and Transcribers:
Lisa Hall, President;
National Organization of the Senior Blind: Christine Hall,
President;
National Association of Blind Students: Carlos Servan,
President;
National Federation of the Blind Writers Division: Tom Stevens,
President.
Committees
Committee on Affiliate Action: Homer Page, Chairperson;
Committee on Assistive Technology: Curtis Chong, Chairperson;
Committee on Associates: Tom Stevens, Chairperson; Frank Lee
and Karen Mayry, Co-Chairpersons;
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