by Cynthia Towers, ACB Convention Coordinator
If you begin counting from February 1st, there are approximately 156 days until President Gray opens the 42nd annual convention of the American Council of the Blind. What an exciting time that will be as ACB will be among the first of a handful of groups to open the new David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. By the way, Pittsburgh lost its “h” in 1891, but after 20 years of protest, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names relented and the “h” was restored.
I hope none of you will be left out from attending this year’s convention. With an average temperature in July of 82.5 degrees, Pittsburgh plays host to some 3.9 million visitors annually. Phase III of the convention center, where ACB will be holding most of its events and meetings, is scheduled to have its ribbon cutting in late April of 2003. Only then will some of your most pertinent questions have answers. Questions like: “How far is it from the skywalk at the Westin to the complex?” “Where is the ballroom in relationship to the meeting rooms?” “Where is the exhibit hall in relation to the ballroom?” and the like will all be answered sometime in May. Even the February midyear meeting does not hold a lot of promise for what can be seen and determined for our July 2003 excursion. The complex assures me that I can have a “hard hat” tour then, but what the convention committee will be able to determine from that kind of tour is uncertain. I appreciate your patience as the committee continues to deal with these matters, almost on a daily basis.
Now for some fun: I’ll bet you didn’t know that Pittsburgh boasts a number of firsts in its history. It had the first Ferris wheel (1895), the first movie theater (1905), the first public TV station (WQED) and the first polio vaccine by Jonas Salk (1954). Pittsburgh is also home to nine of the Fortune 500 companies including Heinz, Alcoa, Wesco International and Mellon Financial. And what do the movies “Silence of the Lambs,” “The Deer Hunter” and “Angels in the Outfield” all have in common? That’s right, they were all filmed in Pittsburgh.
Back to convention. Remember, the ballroom will not be broken down each day, so your affiliate will be in the same spot each time. The press room will be located in the Westin and not in the complex. Because the press room runs almost 24 hours a day, those who staff it wanted the security of being in the hotel after hours, when the presses are still rolling. And the information desk and convention office will be combined into “one-stop shopping” into a new branch called convention information services. This is in an attempt to minimize the number of stops conventioneers have to make to conduct convention business. After all, you’re busy enough! After convention comes to a close, let me know what you thought of this innovation, as well as other convention matters. We will continue to have a “Suggestion Box” for your commendations, compliments, questions, comments and concerns.
The specific locations of the guide dog relief areas at the complex and both hotels are still being negotiated. The grounds of the complex are not completed and thus we have not yet determined what size and just where each relief area will be located. Midyear will be a “test” phase for further decision-making in this regard.
Exhibits will have some new and returning vendors who will have lots of room to spread out and show their wares. Tours will be memorable as we plan city tours, museums and dinner theater trips.
I continue to feel privileged to serve ACB as your convention coordinator and I want to thank all the committee members that work so hard on your behalf. Convention 2003 is shaping up (literally) to be one of our best ever. The local host committee, chaired by Gene Barton, is also busy at work on the local front. Speaking of local, did you know that Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood is in Pittsburgh? Who among you grew up with Mr. Rogers? I did when I wasn’t watching Sesame Street! Who knows? He might even make an appearance at our convention. Now that would truly be “a beautiful day in the neighborhood!”