The Courtyard by Marriott in Waterbury was the site our 2005 State Convention. We were honored to have Scott LaBarre as our National Representative. Scott hails from the Denver, Colorado area and serves as the president of both the Colorado affiliate and the National Association of Blind Lawyers. What a pleasure it was to have Scott as our guest.
National Representative Scott LaBarre

We also were honored to have Susan Bysiewicz, Connecticut's Secretary of State, as one of our speakers. As you may well surmise her topic was accessible voting machines for folks with reading disabilities. She is a real champion for our cause.

The Friday evening social featured wonderful music provided by Joe Osaka, the son of longtime member, Peter Osaka from Stamford. Some of us danced, others engaged in spirited conversation reflective the style of a fine group of lively blind folks.

Saturday morning we gathered for THE PROGRAM. We heard a heads-up State Presidential report from Alfonse DeLucia, a stellar report from our National office given by Scott LaBarre, and an earnest and encouraging report from Brian Sigman, Executive Director of BESB. Brian announced the renewal of NFB-Newsline made possible by great financial support from BESB.
President Al DeLucia introduces our youngest member

Next, a special moment was reserved at this point for the reading of a resolution created by Mary Brunoli. The resolution, in moving terms, urged full support of our efforts to have the U.S. Congress approve the striking of a commemorative coin in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille. (For the first time ever, Mary Brunoli and Ben Snow were not able to be with us at our annual convention. They are both soldiers in our movement).

Chris Kuell, Second VP, gave a concise legislative report and following Chris was Elannah Sherman from the Office of Protection and Advocacy. She spoke about the Instructional Materials Accessibility Act. Leading up to our lunch break was a great panel discussion on Exploring Employment Options moderated by Dr. Chris Kuell.

During the lunch break members of the Division of Dog Guide Users met for a meeting to discuss issues important to them.

Following lunch Susan Bysiewicz gave us an update on the process of the selection of new voting machines accessible to those with reading disabilities. It is evident that she considers this process a very high priority. (Note. This convention report is being prepared in January 2006 and we all are aware that the selection process has hit a snag. Hopefully it will get back on track without undue delay).

Carol Taylor, a woman we all know and love who serves as director of LBPH, gave an update on the new talking book player coming down the pike. She also urged us to read the 'In Brief' article in every 'Talking Book Topics'. This will keep you up-to-date on the new player.

Alfonse DeLucia introduced a gentleman who demonstrated an incredibly versatile talking cell phone.

Scott LaBarre demonstrated a hand-held reading machine. As they say 'It's a new world, Goldie'. Let it all happen!

The final item on the program was a panel on 'My Best Life' moderated by Carol Lemieux, Bob Burke and Beth Rival shared how the National Federation of the Blind has changed their lives.

Before adjournment the assembled members voted unanimously to pass the Louis Braille resolution presented during the morning session. Thank you, Mary.

Immediately after adjournment the Diabetic Division met for a very informative presentation by Geralyn Spollett, MSN, ANP, CDE, Yale Diabetes Center.

The banquet began promptly at 7:00 PM with all attendees in their best attire. Mistress of Ceremonies was Carol Lemieux. What a wonderful job she did and how obvious it was that she enjoyed every moment. We had many guests; chief among them was Kathy Roche representing the John A. Coccomo, Jr. Foundation. We owe such a debt of gratitude to the Foundation for both their moral and financial support. Ethel Demarest, widow of C. Rodney Demarest, was also with us along with family and friends. In Rodney's memory, Ethel has endowed a generous academic scholarship. Also in attendance were the parents and friends of our scholarship winners. We were pleased also to have several of our Community Outreach office callers with us. The presence of these special guests and others are what make our convention banquet so memorable.

Our National Rep, Scott LaBarre, presented a keynote speech centered on his experience as a successful blind professional and as a wonderful and special parent. Wow.

Our final highlight of the evening was the presentation of our scholarships. Amy Doherty, well known to many of us, won the Howard E. May award of $5,000; Jessica Stepp, another friend of the NFBC, won the Jonathan May award of $4,000; Sarah Biglow, new to us but not for long, won the Mary Main award for $3,000. The charming Stefanie Ramirez won our newest scholarship in honor of C. Rodney Demarest. This award was for $3,000. What a great group of highly motivated students. We all enjoyed visiting with our winners and their families during the waning moments of the evening.

Sunday morning a lively group of NFBCT members gathered for our annual business meeting. Reports were presented and accepted. A very fruitful time was spent discussing several items of interest concerning our plans and goals for the coming year. Finally, the off-year election was conducted. John Padilla easily won reelection to his board position. Louis Pape, long a faithful board member, declined to run for reelection and Gary Allen was elected to the second board position.

A special word of thanks is given to the planners and organizers of our convention. Carol Lemieux and Betty Woodward love their involvement with the Federation and did yeoman's work in this past year's convention.

Also a very special thanks is given to Lucia Lee and Diane Hooker, our two ever so faithful and hard-working staff in our Outreach office at 580 Burnside Avenue. They were present throughout the whole convention pitching in wherever needed.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Immediately following is the resolution created by Mary Brunoli, alluded to in this article.

For more information, E-mail us at: info@nfbct.org