Dear Fellow Federationists and Friends: We are pleased to announce plans for our upcoming annual state convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska. The convention will be held on Friday, October 13 Saturday, October 14, and Sunday, October 15 in Omaha at the beautiful Marriot Hotel. The following letter will give you more information about prices, location and the exciting events that will be taking place this year. Convention room rates are excellent, running at a flat $65 per night. This rate includes singles, doubles, triples and quads. Call the Marriot directly at (402) 399-9000 or 1-800-228-9290 to make your room reservations. When calling, be sure to mention the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska to ensure you receive the convention rates. The Marriot is located at 10220 Regency Circle in Omaha. As always, we are planning an exciting and informative agenda at this year's convention. We are pleased to announce that our national representative will be Mr. Anil Lewis of Georgia. Mr. Lewis has served with the Federation for many years. Anil is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind and is President of the Georgia affiliate. Anil is a passionate and dedicated advocate for education and mentoring of blind children. Lewis volunteers as a teacher and mentor for blind kids, working with promising blind students who, because of limited resources and lack of trained professionals to teach them, are inappropriately encouraged to pursue special education diplomas. He wants blind students to set higher goals for themselves and to receive the training and tools they need to acquire the skills to reach their full potential. Anil is currently employed by the law offices of Martin and Jones as the Georgia Client Assistance Program (CAP) counselor/advocate, advocating for people with disabilities every day. We are excited to offer on-line pre-registration this year. To complete your registration, simply visit www.nfbn.inebraska.com and follow the links. On site registration will also be available. On Friday, registration will begin at 1:00 PM. The registration fee is $10 and banquet tickets are $25 per person. Registration will continue through Friday evening and Saturday morning. Daycare will be provided for those who wish to bring their children to the convention. If you wish to enroll your child in daycare, please contact Nancy Flearl at (402) 699-2389. Those who wish to utilize daycare must notify Ms. Flearl in advance, no later than October 1, so that we can make the necessary arrangements. Friday afternoon we will provide a very special workshop on blindness throughout life. A flyer with details regarding this workshop is attached. Also on that afternoon, our Senior Division will sponsor a conference for the senior blind, which will begin at 1:00 and last until 5:00 PM. We will hold our quarterly state board of directors meeting from 7:00 to 8:00 PM., and the resolutions committee will meet immediately following its adjournment. Once resolutions have concluded, we will hold another fun-filled not-so-silent auction with Robert Newman and Ryan Osentowski serving as inviting, entertaining, and energetic auctioneers. The proceeds go toward assisting members to attend our annual Washington Seminar and national NFB convention. We have a number of top shelf items already gathered including autographed music and sports memorabilia, home-made goodies, Braille books and other surprises. Those wishing to donate items are encouraged to bring their items directly to the hotel. Breakfast meetings for Blind Parents and Blind Merchants kick off Saturday activities. Our general session will begin promptly at 8:30 AM with our usual invocation and a welcome from Omaha’s mayor and NFB’s Omaha chapter president, Bob Burns. You won’t want to be late to the morning session, as we have something special in store. We will also offer a national report from Anil Lewis and a state report from President Amy Buresh, as well as other blindness issues. As usual, we will offer a vast assortment of door prizes for those who register. Those who wish to donate door prizes are asked to bring your items directly to the hotel. We will adjourn at noon and we invite you to participate in the annual luncheon of the Nebraska Association of Blind Students. If any of you are college students, know college students or are supportive of college students, please make plans to come join the members of NABS for our annual business meeting and elections, as well as a motivational keynote speaker to be announced. The afternoon session will begin at 2:00 PM and will contain more relevant issues about blindness. The meeting will adjourn at 5:00 PM. The spirit and enthusiasm of each NFBN convention always culminates in our annual banquet, which will begin at 6:30 PM. We plan to offer a choice of a regular or vegetarian meal, along with a salad and dessert. We'll also have door prizes, a rousing speech by Anil Lewis, and the dispensation of our annual scholarships and awards. After the conclusion of the banquet, we encourage everyone to come and have fun with us as we celebrate the Federation, meet new friends, and network with one another for new opportunities. Try your luck at Black Jack, Texas Hold ‘Em or Craps. Monte Carlo night begins after the banquet and proceeds from the festivities go to support our Computer Options program. Conventioneers are known for staying up late to enjoy their time with friends in the spirit of camaraderie, but please be advised that our Sunday morning session will begin promptly at 9:00 AM with our usual invocation and a big door prize. You won’t want to be late to the morning business meeting. The convention is the supreme authority and policy-making body of the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska. Resolutions and policy statements will be considered in plenary sessions throughout the weekend. Decisions in the Federation are made by the blind themselves. The convention will adjourn at noon. Transportation to the convention is being coordinated by Ryan Osentowski and Cheryl Livingston. There will be busses transporting folks from both points east and west to Omaha at a cost of $20.00 per seat. To reserve a seat and learn more details regarding transportation, please contact Ryan Osentowski at (402) 476-8582 by October 1st. Finally, many people hesitate to attend our convention due to financial burdens. If you are interested in joining us for a weekend of positive encouragement and education about blindness, but need financial assistance, please contact President Amy Buresh at (402) 465-5468, or Email aburesh@neb.rr.com The National Federation of the Blind is the oldest and largest organization of the blind in our country, with the widest and strongest voice in the affairs of the blind. NFB's elected leaders at all levels (local, state, and national) are blind, as is the vast majority of the membership. NFB is thus the collective voice of the nation's blind. Our Nebraska Affiliate is honored to be a very vital and dedicated part of the organized blind people’s movement. Our mission is to provide for security, equality and opportunity for all blind persons, especially in the areas of social, political and economic integration into community and society. Our method is public education and self-advocacy. We offer services including information access, technical and moral support, information and referral, and employment projects that we operate in partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor and the Nebraska Commission for the Blind. Our convention each year is an opportunity for the blind and visually impaired of our state to come together for a common cause. Much outreach, networking, sharing, and educating of self and others takes place. Public service and other resources for the blind are presented, ideas exchanged, and plans and policies for the coming year are formulated. Make your plans to be with us on October 13-15 in Omaha! Sincerely, Amy Buresh - President, National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska