by Cynthia Towers, ACB Convention Coordinator
I am of course talking about the temperature. I visited the site of the 2005 convention, Las Vegas, Nev., the last weekend in July and yes, it was hot!!! But don’t let that stop you from making your reservations for the 44th annual convention of the American Council of the Blind.
Ask yourself: Do you want to be in a facility where the ACB offices and all meetings, including general sessions and exhibits, will be located down a single hallway? Do you want to be in a hotel with six restaurants, one of which is a food court, another a buffet and yet another open 24 hours? Do you want to have endless options for entertainment and food just outside your hotel door? Do you want to go on unique tours of roller coasters, casinos and places such as the Elvis or Liberace museum? Do you want to be just 3 miles from the airport to the hotel? If the answer is yes to all or some of these questions, then you want to be at the Riviera Hotel and Casino the week of July 2-9, 2005.
The hotel has five towers and ACB will be primarily in the two closest to the meeting space. It also has a swimming pool, several ATMs, a barber and beauty shop, several gift shops and three entertainment venues, including a comedy club, plus an arcade and oh yes, there are a few bars. If you are so inclined, you can even get married in the Wedding Chapel! And what about the gambling? There are gaming tables and slot machines galore — but no Ray Charles machines. Many of them, however, are the traditional kind, with some being the ones that have tickets. When I met with the hotel on July 30th, I was informed that the Riviera has no plans in the near or distant future to convert any more of their machines to the paper format.
I also met with Carol Ewing, president of the Nevada Council of the Blind, and the 2005 host committee that weekend. She and her committee are so excited to have ACB come to their state. They have been given a list of things to do to begin the work of making this convention a great one for all who attend. I want to thank Carol and the Nevada Council for stepping up to the plate to do what is needed locally — volunteer recruitment, obtaining door prizes, securing entertainment for each general session as well as an opening invocation and having a group on hand to assemble nearly 1,200 convention bags to be ready for distribution by the time you arrive are just a few of the tasks assigned to them.
So how do you get in on all the fun? Well, you begin by calling the Riviera at 1-800-634-6753 and stating that you are making a reservation for the American Council of the Blind’s July 2005 convention. Then you start watching those airfares and snag the one that is right for you. I am so looking forward to seeing you in Las Vegas. If you have never been to the town, you will find a wealth of things to do — but only after you have attended the general session and the afternoon meetings (smile). Las Vegas is a 24/7 town — it operates the same at 3 p.m. as it does at 3 a.m. Families are welcome; the city has really endeavored to be family-friendly.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the upcoming convention, please feel free to contact me. I can be reached at [email protected] or on my toll-free number at 1-800-474-3029, extension 0. Whether you spend your off times at the blackjack table or wandering the Las Vegas strip, just remember to set your clock so you won’t be late for each day’s opening session door prize. Viva Las Vegas!!!