President: Becky Barnes
Program Chair: Jenine Stanley
Registration: $12, $15
The GDUI Suite is in Genoa on the second floor. Hours are Saturday from 1:00 to 5:00pm; Sunday through Tuesday, 9:00am to 5:00pm; and Wednesday, 9:00 to noon. Browse the silent auction items on display. Purchase items for your dog, renew your GDUI membership, or just relax. Schedule dog massages, too.
Sunday, July 10 - Bonanza B
11:00am First-Timers Workshop
How to manage stress for yourself and your dog. What to expect from conference venues such as the exhibit hall, and what services GDUI offers to make your convention experience a good one. Facilitator: Mary Beth Randall, GDUI First Vice President, Fresno, CA
12:00pm Hotel Orientation
Learn routes and the hotel layout from your favorite guide dog school staff. Locate important spots such as relief areas, restaurants and meeting rooms. Facilitators: Becky Barnes, GDUI President, Mount Kisco, NY; and Mary Beth Randall
3:00pm First-Timers Workshop
How to manage stress for yourself and your dog. What to expect from conference venues such as the exhibit hall, and what services GDUI offers to make your convention experience a good one. Facilitator: Jenine Stanley, GDUI Program Chair, Columbus, OH
4:30pm GDUI Board Meeting
5:00pm Hotel Orientation
Learn routes and the hotel layout from your favorite guide dog school staff. Locate important spots such as relief areas, restaurants and meeting rooms. Facilitator: Jenine Stanley
Monday, July 11 - Bonanza B
1:15pm GDUI Opening Session
Introductions and announcements - Becky Barnes and Jenine Stanley
Guide Dog School Reports
1. Discussion of harness designs over the years, with examples to feel.
2. How schools' services have changed during the application and aftercare process, given today's lack of orientation and mobility professionals.
2:30pm Break
2:45pm Globe Trotting Guide Dog Assessors
Learn about guide dog programs around the world with assessors from the International Guide Dog Federation.
7:30pm Power Tools for 21st-Century Street Crossings - $5, $5
GDUI partners with Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc. and the ACB Environmental Access Committee to present author, lecturer and Orientation and Mobility Specialist Dona Sauerburger. Street crossing once was simple. You crossed with parallel traffic at signals, or you crossed when quiet at other places. These strategies are no longer reliable. Dona has been considering better ways for blind people to cross streets since two blind colleagues were killed crossing a street over 20 years ago. Dona shares her conclusions and evolving teaching tools. Learn about 21st century crossings, how they affect your safety and what to do about them.
Tuesday, July 12 - Bonanza B
1:15pm Legislative Update
Representatives from the Department of Justice and the Job Accommodation Network discuss the new service animal definition and its aftermath, as well as service animal issues in the workplace under Title I of the ADA. Facilitator: Jenine Stanley
2:30pm Break
2:45pm the Magic of the Match
Guide dog school staff discuss what goes into making a match, from the dog to the student. Facilitator - Kay Malmquist, Janesville, WI
7:30pm Red Cross Animal First Aid - $18, $20
Comprehensive course teaches basic first aid techniques for your dog. Upon completion, receive the Red Cross Animal First Aid certification card. Instructor: Peggy Rew
Wednesday, July 13 - So Pac C-D
12:15pm GDUI Luncheon - $28, $30
Speaker Pluis Davern, Lead Canine Trainer for the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, explains the work of NDSDF, whose dog and handler teams worked with distinction at the WTC on 9/11, after Hurricane Katrina, in Haiti, Japan and other disaster situations. How dogs (primarily retrievers) are selected and trained, why these dogs are ideally suited for work with human partners, and how the Foundation matches and trains firefighters with dogs in a process similar to the matching and training of guide dog teams.
2:30pm Break
2:45pm GDUI Business Meeting and ACB/GDUI Caucus
All are welcome. Winning bidders in the GDUI silent auction announced; prizes and more for those who attend.
7:30pm Game Night - Bonanza B
Poker Run - try your luck with GDUI!
Thursday, July 14 - Bonanza B
1:15pm Red Cross Animal First Aid - $18, $20
Comprehensive course teaches basic first aid techniques for your dog. Upon completion, receive the Red Cross Animal First Aid certification card. Instructor: Peggy Rew