Our state convention will be held April 21-23 at the new Holiday Inn hotel
in Idaho Falls. The address is 3005 S. Fork Blvd. Idaho Falls 83402, phone
208 227-9800. The room rate is $109.00 plus $14.00 tax per night. The
cut-off date for getting a room is April 15.After that time, you could still
get a room, but you wouldn’t have the convention rate. Rooms are now
available, so you can call and book a room. Be sure to state that this is
for the state convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Idaho,
and that you want the room rate of $109.00. The registration form will be
available soon.
We will have to have all food orders in to the hotel two
weeks before the convention, due to supply chain issues. This means that
board dinner, boxed lunch, and banquet orders will have to be in by Friday,
April 8th.
Amy Rule, national board member from Massachusetts is our
national representative. She and I will be working on activities to build
our federation spirit and strengthen our membership. The agenda will be
varied and there will be something for everyone.
Sensory Safari will have a display of exotic animals and birds that are mounted so we can touch, and we will have other vendors as well.
We will have baskets to raffle for our after banquet fundraiser. Tickets
will be $5.00 each or 3 for $12.00. We want a nice variety of baskets, so I
need all members and chapters to get their baskets ready. Please have a
list of items included with your basket. We would appreciate having both a
print and braille list. If you can’t braille the list of items, we will find
someone who can help. We need the baskets ready and labeled before the
convention. We need door prizes. The value should be at least $10.00. Also,
we are doing a community project and bringing donations for the Humanitarian
Center in Idaho Falls. Sandy Streeter has sent out a list of items that are
needed and I will include this list at the end of this update.
The closing date for state scholarship applicants is March 18. If you know
of visually impaired or blind students who will be attending college in the
fall, please encourage them to apply. I have made this announcement at the
ICBVI quarterly board meeting, and at the TBS library committee meeting.
Our Washington Seminar was held virtually February 7-10. On February 8-9,
federationists met with staffers from the offices of our 4 members of
congress to present our 4 pieces of legislation. I appreciate those
federationists who spoke on the issues and the others who attended in
support. To date, none of our congressional representatives have signed on
or sponsored our bills. We need to continue contacting their offices to
remind them of our important legislation and garner their support.
On March 3, as part of the quarterly Talking Book services committee, I
participated in an NFB Newsline training conducted by national coordinator
Scott White and Jesse Shirek, Operations Specialist. I am scheduled for a
follow-up meeting near the end of this month to discuss strategies for
promoting NFB Newsline in Idaho. This topic will be included in our
convention agenda. The discussion group for individuals experiencing sight
loss as adults has been well attended. Lisa Baker has taken the lead as
facilitator. The group meets the first Monday evening of the month at 8:00
PM Mountain time, 7:00 Pacific time on Zoom. The meeting announcement with
link was sent to chapter presidents and the Idaho listserv.
On May 21, the Treasure Valley chapter will host our in-person Cycle for
Independence. This is the largest fundraiser for the NFB of Idaho. In past
years, members from other chapters have joined the ride and helped out in
other ways. For more information and to register, go to
www.cycleforindependence.org. This is an additional opportunity for
federationists from around the state to meet in person and enjoy a day of
federation fellowship while raising funds and getting to know others in this
community.
Our national convention is July 5-10 in New Orleans. Registration is now
open at www.nfb.org.
As you can tell, we have many exciting federation activities coming up. Come
and join us as we celebrate what it means to be a member of the National
Federation of the Blind, and live the lives we want.
The Snake River Valley Chapter is excited to be hosting the in-person 2022
NFB of Idaho convention April 21-23. As a chapter we decided to collect
donated items during the convention for the Idaho Falls Humanitarian Center.
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