Dear Fellow Federationists and Friends: We are pleased to announce plans for our annual National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska state convention. The convention will be held Friday, October 5th, through Sunday, October 7th, in historic North Platte, Nebraska, at the Quality Inn and Suites 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 $60 per night. This rate includes singles, doubles, triples and quads. Call the Quality Inn directly at 1-800-760-3333 to make your room reservations, but be sure to mention the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska to ensure you receive the convention rates. The Quality Inn is located just north of interstate exit 177, next door to Perkins restaurant. As always, we are planning an energetic and informative agenda at this year's convention. We are honored to announce that our national representative will be the newest member of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind, Mr. Parnell Digs of South Carolina. Parnell has served with the Federation for many years and is the President of the South Carolina affiliate. He is an attorney, an excellent musician and a family man. Once again, we are offering on-line and/or mail pre-registration for the convention. To complete your registration, simply visit http://nfbn.inebraska.com and follow the links. On-line registrants will have the luxury of paying by credit card through Paypal. If you prefer paper and check registration, feel free to print out the form from the website above or fill out the attached registration form and mail them to: Cheryl Livingston, NFBN treasurer, at 1026 S. 35th, Lincoln NE 68510. For those wishing to register on-site, registration will begin on Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM and will continue through Saturday morning. This year you can save money by pre-registering before Friday, September 28! Prices for each of the convention items listed will increase by $5.00 per item if you choose to register at the hotel. The registration fee is $10 (pre-convention), $15 (at the hotel): banquet tickets are $25 per person (pre-convention), $30 (at the hotel): student division luncheon $15 (pre-convention) and $20 (at the hotel). As usual, we will offer a vast assortment of door prizes, throughout all the sessions, for those who register. If you wish to donate door prizes, we ask you to bring items to Jamie Forbis at the hotel. Friday afternoon we will provide a very special seminar for youth, their parents and teachers. Skills, self-advocacy, social savvy and technology are among the highlights of this empowering and entertaining workshop. Unfortunately, many blind and visually impaired seniors believe that if blindness comes during their later years, life's major activities must come to an end. We know differently and we want to share our knowledge with those who hunger for it. On Friday afternoon, our Senior Division will sponsor a conference with an emphasis on recreational/leisure activities for the senior blind. We will demonstrate that with the right skills, resources, and attitudes, life as a blind senior can be full and enriching. Please make plans to attend this exciting workshop, which will begin at 1:00 and last until 5:00 PM. Later on Friday, 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 the directors meeting adjournment. Once resolutions have concluded, we will hold another fun-filled not-so-silent auction. The proceeds go towards assisting members of NFBN 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 now customary high energy opening ceremonies. You won’t want to be late to the morning session, as we have something special in store. We will cover many contemporary blindness issues, along with such highlights as the national report from Parnell Digs and a state report from President Amy Buresh. General session 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 the 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 to the blind of Nebraska. Joining us from Washington D.C. is former president of the National association of Blind Students, Olegario "Ollie" D. Cantos VII, Esq. Special Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice. 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, and an empowering speech by Parnell Digs, 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. Me Me Me Me Me! That’s right everyone warm up your singing voices for the first ever NABS Idol competition. Saturday, October 6, 2007 after our NFBN annual banquet come join the Nebraska Association of Blind Students and show Nebraska you have what it takes to be the first NABS Idol. Come show your stuff in front of our esteemed panel of judges. If you missed the “real” American Idol tryouts at the Quest Center in Omaha this year, here’s your chance at redemption, and a chance to help the Nebraska Association of Blind Students raise some money, what could be better. The fee for entering is $5.00 per contestant per song. You can sing individually or as a duo or group. We will be creating and selling CD’s of the performances, so you can live on in the hearts, CD players, and iPods of your fellow Federationists forever. If you are interested in participating please call or email Randi Strunk at (402) 202-0868 or randi.strunk@gmail.com. We would like to know what you are singing and the members of each group so we can compile a song list before the show. The number of places in the show is limited to make sure we can fit all the performances on a single CD, so get your entries in soon! We look forward to seeing, and hearing, everyone in North Platte. 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 Wes Majerus and Ryan Osentowski. Buses will provide transportation from points both east and west of North Platte at a cost of $30.00 per seat. This is a great value as each seat is actually worth fifty dollars. The state affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska will subsidize the remaining cost to assist in keeping convention more affordable for everyone. To reserve a seat and learn more details regarding transportation, please contact Wes Majerus at (402) 817-1241 by September 28th. 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 In addition, if you are a client of the Nebraska commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, contact your counselor to inquire if NCBVI could provide you with any assistance. 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 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 plans to be with us on October 5-7 in North Platte! The 36th Annual State Convention promises to Make a Difference and Change Lives! Come join us and be a part of the excitement! The above is a rough outline of the convention events. The full and finalized convention agenda will be posted on the NFBN website soon. Sincerely, Amy Buresh - President, National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska