by Cynthia Towers
I barely had Pittsburgh out of my system and there I was, at the end of July, traveling to Birmingham, Ala., to begin work on the 2004 convention. Accompanied by Carla Ruschival, site selection and contracts negotiator and Berl Colley, tour coordinator, all three of us had an extremely productive few days laying the foundation for what is shaping up to be yet another great convention.
The local host committee, headed by David and Rhonda Trott, is willing, ready, eager and able to do its part to ensure that you receive some good old-fashioned Southern hospitality from the minute you first hit their town.
So why the title Birmingham by the Numbers? I guess as I get ready to return to my other life as a seventh-grade math teacher, I have already begun to find numbers swirling around in my brain. So, I decided once again to parallel my paying profession with my avocation. Here I go: 11 is the cost in dollars of the cab ride from the airport to the hotel. Well, I ended up paying 13 because I tipped the driver. Actually, zero is the amount you could pay because the Sheraton Birmingham provides a shuttle you can take from the airport. It is still customary to tip the shuttle driver. I believe the rule of thumb is one dollar per bag.
Ten is the number of minutes it took me to ride from the airport to the downtown Sheraton. It was late in the evening when I arrived, so your trip may be extended somewhat if you arrive during heavy traffic times of morning or evening.
Two is the number of the floor you need to be on in order to walk across the skywalk to the convention center. The skywalk is a glass enclosed carpeted walk over Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard. It had wonderful jazz music quietly emanating throughout. Once you cross the walk, you will be on the floor where the ballroom, exhibits, convention information services and the ACB Caf� (formerly known as Quick Meals) will be located.
It took 40 paces in a size eight shoe to get from the entrance of the ballroom to the door where exhibits will be housed!! Once in the exhibit hall you may walk through to the ACB Caf� or if you do not want to walk through exhibits to purchase a meal or a snack, the Caf� has a separate entrance just a few more paces away.
More details on the complex will be forthcoming in future issues of this magazine. I just wanted to offer a quick reassurance to some weary Pittsburgh convention center troopers that your journey around the Birmingham complex will be 100 percent easier than what you experienced this past summer.
So, what's with this ACB Caf� business? Well, in 2004 the place to have breakfast and lunch will be expanded to include dinner selections. Not only will the hours be extended but also so will the menu. How about a sausage biscuit for breakfast, hamburgers, fries and individual pan pizzas for lunch and wine and beer (domestic and imported) to accompany the dinner options?
Ten is the number of months until President Gray sounds the gavel to call to order the 43rd annual convention of the American Council of the Blind.
Birmingham is a city steeped in history and tradition and brimming with southern charm. As an African-American I found the city to be warm (figuratively and literally) and inviting. I asked all kinds of people I met during my stay -- hotel maids, taxicab and shuttle drivers, restaurateurs, and folks with whom I shared sidewalks and elevators what they thought about their hometown. Without hesitation, people answered my questions about the city by telling me that Birmingham is a place where people of all races and cultures choose to live. "Nowhere else!" The city is getting ready to roll out the red carpet for ACB and I am pleased and excited that this site was selected.
I will leave you with a few more numbers, they are: 1-800-325-3535, which is the reservation line for the Sheraton Birmingham. Seventy-five is the price of each room, but it will ultimately be $85.50 after taxes. Finally, one is the number of plane, train or bus tickets you need to buy in order not to miss out on what may very well be the experience of a lifetime.