by Janet Dickelman
The stars in Texas are aligning! Airline and hotel reservations are being made for the 2015 conference and convention. The convention and host committees are also hard at work recruiting volunteers to assist throughout the convention, compiling information about the Dallas area, finalizing tours and in general getting ready for the big event!
The place to be is the Sheraton in vibrant downtown Dallas, Tex. It all begins on Friday, July 3rd with our first tours and culminates Saturday, July 11th.
Convention general sessions are held Sunday evening, July 5th, Monday through Thursday morning, and all day Friday.
Attention vendors, sponsors advertisers and volunteers! On-line registration is now available at www.acb.org.
If you wish to place an advertisement in the convention newspaper, published daily, July 4th-9th, there are advance advertising rates for individuals, affiliates, and blind MLM representatives. Ads run a maximum of 3 days; 75-word limit per advertisement. If text is submitted prior to July 1, ads are available for $40. Sorry, no food sales.
Convention Registration
Pre-registration will open on Friday, May 22nd and will close at midnight, Thursday, June 25th. You can register online or via telephone. A one-page mailer will be distributed prior to the opening of registration providing registration details. The information will also be posted to the acbconvention, leadership, and ACB-L e-mail lists.
Paper registration forms WILL NOT automatically be sent unless requested. If you would like a paper pre-registration form, request it from ACB's Minneapolis office by calling (612) 332-3242 before May 1. Forms will be sent via first-class mail when pre-registration opens May 22nd.
Sneak Preview
As I write this article, affiliates, committees and organizations are beginning to submit information about their programs. Here is just a very small sampling of what’s waiting for you in Dallas.
ACBDA (ACB Diabetics in Action) will hold the annual diabetes seminar on Sunday, July 5th. They will have their luncheon and business meeting on Wednesday, and a mixer Thursday evening.
Interested in learning about self-defense? Join 1Touch on Tuesday, July 7th and Wednesday, July 8th for a self-defense course designed specifically for the blind. 1Touch addresses real life situations with practical applications. The workshops are hands-on, open to everyone and are great fun.
Want to learn more about your iPhone, iPad or Mac computer? Fedora Outlier provides teaching, consulting and support for Apple’s iDevices and computers to all blind and visually impaired individuals and those who work and interact with the blindness communities. Fedora will be offering training sessions for convention attendees.
Stay Connected
Once again this year the convention announce list will be filled with information about the convention. Subscribe to the list today by sending a blank e-mail to [email protected]. If you've been on the list in the past, you need not subscribe again. Don't have e-mail? No problem! New this year: convention updates will also be featured on ACB Radio and by telephone through Audio Now at (231) 460-1047.
Hotel Details
Room rates at the Sheraton Dallas are $89 (single, double, triple or quad) plus applicable state and local taxes (currently 13%) and tourism district fees (2%). For reservations by telephone, call 1-888-627-8191, and be sure to mention you are attending the ACB convention in order to obtain our room rate. To make reservations online, visit www.acb.org and follow the 2015 convention link.
Convention Contacts
2015 Exhibit information: Michael Smitherman, (601) 331-7740, [email protected]
2015 Advertising and sponsorships: Margarine Beaman, (512) 921-1625, [email protected]
For any other convention-related questions, contact Janet Dickelman, convention chair, at (651) 428-5059 or via e-mail, [email protected].