American Council of the Blind
55th Annual Conference and Convention
Theme: ACB: Land of 10,000 Dreams

Sunday, July 3: Nicollet Ballroom

6:30 PM: Entertainment: Bruce Cottrell, Burnsville, MN

7:00 PM: Call to Order: Kim Charlson, President, American Council of the Blind, Watertown, MA

Invocation: Father John Sheehan, Executive Director, Xavier Society for the Blind, New York, NY

Presentation of Colors: Color Guard for the University of Minnesota, Naval Reserve Officers Training Corp (NROTC), Minneapolis, MN

"The Star…

Adopted by the ACB Board of Directors, May 2009

1. Each debatable issue before the convention shall be limited to approximately twenty (20) minutes with a three-minute time limit per speaker, alternating between affirmative and opposing speakers, unless a majority of the members agree to extend debate for an additional period of time.

   A.    Motions to close debate will not be recognized by the chair during the first debate period. After the first debate period, properly moved motions such as "I call for the question" or "I move the previous question" will be…

Thanks to a generous donation from MD Support and their partner Macular Degeneration Foundation, indoor navigation technology will be available once again to attendees at this year's ACB conference and convention in Minneapolis.  The guidance system works by sending audible instructions and location descriptions to iDevices (iPhone 4S or later and iPad 4 or later).  The information is electronically transmitted by beacons placed at meeting rooms, restrooms, elevators, and other venues.

If you are planning to use MD Support's new LowViz Guide at this year's convention, you…

Saturday, July 2

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Roman Catholic Mass, Greenway B
Father John Sheehan, Jesuit Priest, Xavier Society for the Blind, New York, NY

Sunday, July 3

9:00 AM: Jewish Service, Skyway
Rabbi TBA

10:00 AM: Interdenominational Service, Greenway B
Reverend Michael Garrett, Missouri City, TX

10:00 AM: LDS Sacrament Service, Skyway
Bishop TBA

Monday, July 4

7:15 PM: Gospel Sing, Nicollet Ballroom
Marian Haslerud, Minneapolis, MN and Alison and Michael Smitherman, Jackson, MS

Monday, July 4

9:30 PM: BPI caucus, BPI suite

Wednesday, July 6

2:45 PM: GDUI Caucus, Greenway G
5:45 PM: Midsouth Caucus, Greenway F
5:45 PM: New England, Maryland, Florida Caucus, Greenway D

Thursday, July 9

7:00 AM: Washington State Breakfast (WCB members only), Greenway A

You can show your support for ACB in several ways:

Convention Sponsorships:

Stop by ACB / Microsoft registration in Lakeshore Ballroom B and become an individual or corporate ACB Convention Sponsor.  Individual sponsorships are bronze ($25), silver ($50), gold ($100), platinum ($250), and titanium ($500); sponsors receive special ribbons to wear on their convention badges, and are recognized both in general session and in the newspaper.

For information on corporate sponsorships, including pearl, coral, topaz, onyx, ruby, emerald, diamond and double diamond,…

Sponsored by AT&T.

Café Coupon Sponsors:

• Sunday, July 3, HIMS, Inc.
• Monday, July 4, Maxi-Aids
• Tuesday, July 5, Discover Technologies
• Wednesday, July 6, CaptionMax

Stop by the ACB Convention Café to grab a quick cup of coffee, pastry, sandwich, salad or snack as you rush from one meeting to another or as you head out on a tour.  Meet at the Café to visit with friends or just rest a while between activities.  Located in the Nicollet Ballroom…

The Marcia Nigro Dresser Communication Center is located in Lakeshore C on the first floor of the Hyatt and is open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Saturday, July 2 through Thursday, July 7.  This is where you can place ads in the paper, make braille or print copies, or volunteer to help produce the newspaper.

Convention Newspaper:

This year's newspaper is "The Minneapolis Messenger."  It is published each day, Saturday through Thursday, in braille and large print; pick up a copy at the Information Desk.  The paper is also available on the ACB convention email…

Sponsored by Microsoft

Registration is located in Lakeshore Ballroom B on the first floor of the Hyatt. 
 
NEW THIS YEAR! – Registration will not be open Thursday night as in years past.  Pre-registration packets can be picked up anytime Registration is open, but Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM are reserved exclusively for pre-registration pickup ONLY.  Onsite registration will only be done from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM on these three days.  This is an attempt to better manage the lines during the first days of the convention.

The hotel lobby is a rectangle with smooth tile floors. In the center of the lobby is a seating area.  From the front door of the hotel walk straight to find four steps down to the seating area.  If you turn right from the front door and walk about 40 feet you will find four steps down to the hotel restaurant.

If you turn left from the front door and walk about 40 feet then turn right you will reach the front desk; if you continue walking straight instead of turning towards the front desk you will enter the conference center.  When you reach the carpet you will…