Ho, Ho, Ho! Help Santa by Shopping at RSVA
Start your Christmas shopping early this year. RSVA has the following items for sale at great bargain prices. All proceeds benefit Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America (RSVA). RSVA lapel pins are $5 each; RSVA logo golf shirts cost $20 each, available in a variety of sizes and colors; “Trail of the Advocate” RSVA history books are $5 each, available in large print or on cassette; talking alarm clocks cost $10 each; and NTCBV/RSVA/Pepsi convention tote bags cost $5 each. To place your order, contact Kim Venable at 1-800-467-5299 or at [email protected].
Tennessee Council Convention Successful
by Brenda Dillon
The Tennessee Council of the Blind held its 63rd annual convention Aug. 27-29 at the Airport Marriott in Nashville, Tenn. We offered a pre-convention tour package and were pleased to have 45 participants, making a full bus. We took a riverboat ride on the General Jackson on Thursday night and enjoyed live entertainment and a delicious barbecue buffet. There was a nice breeze off the water and was quite comfortable for August! On Friday we began our day with a tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame. They provided a guide for every six people, so everyone could hear well and have their questions answered easily. Each guide had a tactile replica of the building, which looks like a huge piano and has lots of significant symbolism in its architecture. Each individual was given an audio wand where you could dial the corresponding code at each display case to hear about the contents of the case and more information regarding the music of that era.
Following this fun stop we had lunch at the Bicentennial Mall, a historic park in Nashville. There we had an opportunity to explore the 31 fountains, each representing a major river in Tennessee, and walk on the tactile granite map of the state, complete with highways, railroads, rivers, major airports, etc. We especially enjoyed when a park ranger played several songs on the carillons consisting of 95 bells representing each county in Tennessee. It was majestic hearing the music as we sat surrounded by the pealing bells!!
The Juggs (not the Judds) boarded our bus for the Nash Trash tour. They shared scandalous information as we drove past some of the popular country music landmarks in Nashville. Their original songs and jokes were hilarious, and they were a bit outrageous with their flirting, but everyone laughed a lot! We returned to the hotel for a pizza party complete with vegetables and dip, wings, and desserts.
After dinner, we went off to the Grand Ole Opry with main floor seating. We heard old-timers like Bill Anderson, Jim Ed Brown, George Hamilton IV, and newcomers like Blue County and the Jenkins. Billy Ray Cyrus still makes the women go wild! The attendees who did not participate in the tours enjoyed playing bingo and winning prizes, and watching the described version of “Seabiscuit” with plenty of popcorn and snacks.
On Saturday, Mayor Bill Purcell welcomed the convention to Nashville. TCB gave him a shirt that said “Lack of Sight is not Lack of Vision” as well as a DVS movie “Mighty Ducks,” and encouraged him to watch it so that he could understand the need for audio narration on local television and in theaters. Dillon also presented him with a braille thank-you note with the print/braille alphabet at the top and challenged the mayor to decode the letter for himself.
Gov. Phil Bredesen, Rep. Jim Cooper, and Sen. Bill Frist sent letters of welcome as well. The program consisted of many mini presentations; each presenter had only 10 minutes, and received an audible two-minute warning. The first hour was comprised of high-tech presentations, including demonstrations of a laser cane, the Hand Guide, a comparison of the Voice Mate and the Imp, the talking Franklin Language Master, an explanation of Bookshare and the Freedom Box, and software which makes your cell phone menus fully accessible.
The next hour brought low-tech presenters: a showcase of safe, convenient and easy-to-use kitchen gadgets (several of which were donated for the auction); an introduction to products that make dirty work a lot easier; the Blind Handyman demonstrated tools and explained adaptive techniques; and labeling methods from the kitchen to the closet.
The final hour in the morning session was a speakers’ hour. They included: the superintendent of the Tennessee School for the Blind; an instructor with the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center; a former champion of the United States Blind Golfers Association; a Medicare specialist; a policy analyst with the Tennessee Protection and Advocacy Services, Inc.; and a representative of Schwans.
The afternoon session began with a few business items, but primarily consisted of a panel discussion about membership and fund-raising. Panelists included Carla Ruschival from Kentucky, Carol Edwards of Texas, Patricia Fitts from Georgia, George Illingworth of Michigan, and Ken Loden of Mississippi. Brenda Dillon served as moderator.
Carla Ruschival addressed the banquet Saturday night, and explained the many aspects of deciding where to hold national conventions. She offered a detailed explanation of the various committees that work so hard to make the convention run smoothly. Following the banquet, we had a fantastic auction; it was so good that we had to continue the auction on Sunday. Normally TCB earns around $2,000 for its auction, but this year it made around four times that amount! Many months of solicitation went into this effort but it obviously paid off!
After a few hours’ sleep, the convention resumed on Sunday with a business session and wrapped up with more auctioning. Many thanks to everyone!
North Carolina Council Convention
History, health and personal financial safety were major topics of discussion at the 2004 North Carolina Council of the Blind annual convention in Burlington, Sept. 24-26. NCCB President Ron Eller and convention coordinator Pat Yelton guided the 100 attendees through three days of learning, technology and interaction.
Dr. Jim Megivern, in person, and Marjorie Megivern, by audiotape, recounted a number of their experiences in the writing of “People of Vision: A History of the American Council of the Blind.” Contemporary insights into the work of ACB were provided by Dr. Ed Bradley, ACB board member and president of the ACB of Texas.
Educational sessions focused on diabetes and telemarketing scams. Cyra Kussman, the Coordinator of Diabetes Education at the Alamance Regional Medical Center, conducted a seminar titled “Diabetes and Blindness: What You Can’t See Can Hurt You.” David Evers, special investigator for the North Carolina attorney general, revealed the secrets of “Telemarketing Scams: Do You Really Know Who Is Calling You?”
Additional speakers represented the North Carolina Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, State Board of Elections, Business Enterprise Program, North Carolina Division of Services for the Blind and Governor’s Advocacy Committee for People with Disabilities.