Carla Hayes, our convention coordinator, has again planned a well-rounded set of activities for IVIE and its friends. On Monday, July 7, from 7 to 8:30 a.m., IVIE will have its breakfast and business meeting. While eating a traditional breakfast, you can enjoy meeting other business owners and friends. On Tuesday, July 8, ACB members and friends can visit the IVIE Business Expo from 4-7 p.m. Blind and visually impaired business owners will showcase their products and services and answer your questions. On Wednesday, July 9, IVIE is holding a lunch and program session from 12:30-2:45 p.m. called "Entrepreneurs' Cyber School." You will learn about Internet marketing techniques and the access technology products that will help you to start and grow your business. From 2:45-4:30 p.m., IVIE is co- sponsoring the second segment of the employment committee seminar, which is a panel called "Work Opportunities at Home as an Independent Contractor or as an Employee." You will learn about entrepreneurship and home-based employment opportunities.
If you wish to purchase booth space for the IVIE Business Expo, please send $10 per table if you are an IVIE member, or $25 per table for non- members, to: Sila Miller, 2201 Limerick Dr., Tallahassee, FL 32309-3506. To join IVIE, send $15 for dues to Sila as well. Please include your name, business name, phone, and e-mail address. We look forward to seeing you all this summer in Louisville!
Can we really decide what our dream job would be and then go after it? That's what we're going to answer in part one of this year's employment committee workshop at the national convention in Louisville.
The first hour of our workshop is titled "Make Your Dream Job A Reality." This interactive session is designed to help job-seekers of all ages determine which career would be best for them and what strategies they might use to find and succeed in their dream job.
Part two of the workshop will focus on working from home. Whether you choose to be a self-employed independent entrepreneur or a salaried employee working at home for a reputable organization, a panel of employers will offer you some valuable information and possible alternatives.
We are excited that our program this year involves the active collaboration of two ACB affiliates, the National Alliance of Blind Students and the Independent Visually Impaired Enterprisers. Be sure to register early for this year's employment committee workshop, scheduled for Wednesday, July 9 from 1:30 to 4 p.m.
This summer in Louisville, the Sight and Sound Impaired (SASI) Committee will present a program on the new DeafBlind Communicator (DBC), which HumanWare will be releasing later this year.
The program will be presented on Monday, July 7, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Come join Jim Halliday, Vice President for Advocacy with HumanWare, who will be presenting this program. He will give a history of the project, describe the unit and answer any questions. There will be time for participants to get their hands on the device to see how it works.
For information on additional events or questions, please call Lori at (516) 884-1336 or e-mail [email protected] or Karyn Campbell, program chair, [email protected].
The National Educational and Legal Defense Services, Inc. held its annual benefit drawing at the close of the 2008 presidents' meeting in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 10, 2008. The winner of the first prize, airline tickets for two to the 2008 ACB national convention in Louisville this summer, was Leslie Gertsch of Utah. Chris Gray of San Francisco won second prize, five free nights at the Galt House. And the third prize, two tickets to the ACB banquet, went to Roy Harmon from Oceanside, Calif. Thanks to everyone who participated and helped NELDS with this successful endeavor.
And we also have a winner in the NELDS logo contest. We received about 20 entries, all of which were judged. And the winning entry came from Robert Spangler of Vinton, Iowa. Congratulations, Robert! We hope you enjoy the $300 prize. To those of you who took the time to create your entries, thank you.
NELDS will hold a CD Yard Sale on Saturday evening, July 5, 2008. If you have CDs, records or cassette tapes you don't want anymore, bring them to the yard sale. It may turn out you will find an album you have been longing for and get it at a bargain price. The place and time will be announced later.