The Rochester chapter of ACB of New York is sponsoring a 12 Days to Memorial Day raffle, similar to the one for St. Patrick's Day last year. Tickets are $5 each, and are good for all 12 days. The winner is based on the evening drawing of the New York state lottery. The first 11 days, it will pay $100; on Memorial Day, $1,000. Anyone interested in purchasing tickets can send a check made out to Rochester Chapter ACB to M.J. Schmitt, 119 Shell Edge Dr., Rochester, NY 14623; phone (585) 334-4347.
The Iowa Council of the United Blind will hold its convention May 5-7 at the Des Moines Airport Four Points Sheraton, 1810 Army Post Road, phone (515) 287-6464. Room rates are $80 per night (plus tax). We have a full slate of activities, including a presentation by a blind foreign exchange student, exhibits, and a special recognition ceremony for the Iowa Radio Reading Information Service. To register, or for more information, contact Dick Natale at (515) 277-1167, or e-mail him, [email protected].
The Independent Visually Impaired Enterprisers will celebrate their 25th anniversary this year. We are planning a special business card exchange party to celebrate on Tuesday afternoon of convention week. Of course, we will also have our annual breakfast meeting on Monday morning and programming Monday afternoon. We will soon launch a new web site highlighting all the businesses of our members that contains links to information of interest to business owners. Membership dues are only $15, which includes having your business listed on our web site. IVIE has members who either manage their own businesses or are interested in learning more about business ownership. To learn more, please contact Ardis Bazyn at (818) 238-9321 or [email protected].
As president of the Alliance on Aging and Vision Loss, I hope you will allow me to do a bit of bragging. Although our affiliate is fairly new, it has grown rapidly, and it tries to attract individuals who are not only getting a bit older, but those who might be experiencing hearing loss, arthritis or age-related health problems. No, we don't sit around and talk about our ailments -- just the opposite. We are the most fun-loving affiliate in ACB, except perhaps for the youth activities center.
On Monday, July 10 at noon, we are having our annual luncheon with plenty of food and a hilarious program that will put you in a great mood for the entire week. Our guest speaker is Michael Byington; he will be presenting a terrific concert of his funniest parodies and songs. If you have ever heard him at the Showcase, you know it will be a side-splitting afternoon.
On Wednesday, July 12, AAVL will meet jointly with the ACB Diabetics in Action. The topic: recognizing the signs of diabetes. Then at 4 p.m., we will hold our annual wine and cheese musical mixer. Raffle tickets will be drawn at that time, and great cash and gift prizes will be given away. Oh, yes, and there will be wine, soft drinks and snacks, too, as well as a sing-along. Raffle tickets can be purchased from any member for $5 each, or buy three, get one free.
On Thursday, there will be an audience participation round-table discussion and business meetings.
Oh, I almost forgot to brag about our "Share the Vision" program! This is a program for new members, or for those who call ACB who are just beginning to lose their sight and are older, and sometimes frightened. When I receive those calls from the national office, I phone people and then assign some of our members who are nearby and ask that they call these new people and share some of their experiences with them. By calling new members, these newly visually impaired older folks don't feel so lonely or afraid.
We hope you will consider joining us at convention! If you have any questions, contact me, Nola McKinney, at (870) 356-5344.