The 37th annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut was held Friday, October 31 through Sunday, November 2, 2008 at the Sheraton in East Hartford. Almost 80 people attended, and everyone seemed to agree it was one of our best conventions.

The festivities kicked off Friday night with a Halloween social. An assortment of people and creatures, including a gargoyle, Batman and a very sexy kitten, gathered to reconnect and catch up on what's new. Attendees all screamed in horror when someone showed up wearing a Sean Hannity mask.

Saturday was jam-packed with speakers and activities, including the Mystic Aquarium's Traveling Touch and Learn Tank. We heard from Carol Taylor from the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in Rocky Hill; Brian Sigman from BESB; and Leslie Mara from the Secretary of State's Office, encouraging everyone to get out there and vote on election day, using the accessible vote-by-phone system. We saw the premier of the short documentary, "Art in the Dark", a film about including blind and visually impaired students in art classes, featuring Verna O'Donnell and produced with support from our 2007 Imagination Fund grant (for those who missed it, the film can be seen on our web page: www.nfbct.org). Carol Castellano, one of the leaders in the Parents of Blind Children division of the NFB, gave a moving talk about her experiences as the parent of a four month premature child whom the 'experts' said would never amount to anything. The hotel rocked with applause when Carol announced that her daughter had not only recently graduated from college, but was working in the Washington DC area. Lesson learned-never give up. Carol also led a panel discussion on orientation and mobility and the fears/misconceptions about the long white cane. Chris Tabb from BESB participated, along with Alfonse DeLucia and Parnell Diggs, our national representative.

The Saturday night banquet was delicious, and in addition to awarding our Braille Readers are Leaders winner (Melissa Carney), we gave out $24,000 in scholarships to deserving blind college students, and $5000 to Lynn Levins, who is finishing up her Teacher of the Visually Impaired degree. Gary Gross expressed his appreciation for the computer and specialized training he got from the NFB/Coccomo Grant Program.

Parnell Diggs gave a moving speech about the messages we give blind children, and how everybody needs to be careful about not squashing their dreams. He told the story of when he was a boy, his favorite television show was Emergency. When he was nine, his grandmother was visiting for Christmas, and asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. "A fire fighter," he answered enthusiastically. "Well," she told him, "You know you'll never be able to be a fire fighter Parnell, because you're blind." When his little brother, who is sighted, was asked the same question, he answered, "I want to be one of Santa's elves!" All the adults laughed, and told him he'd make a great elf one day. Parnell went on to describe all the qualifications needed to be a fire fighter, and determined there's no reason a blind person couldn't beone. The message was very powerful.

On Sunday morning we had our business meeting, where we heard that despite the economic downturn, our Outreach Office still had a great year. Our thanks and appreciation were given to Lucia Lee and Diane Hooker for all they do to keep us going. Elections were held, and we have some changes on our board. The new President is Beth Rival, with Gary Allen as Vice President, and Chris Kuell as second VP. Alfonse DeLucia, Betty Woodward were elected to the board, and Esther Levegnale was elected to fill Gary Allen's remaining one-year seat on the board.

Hope to see everyone at the 38th annual state convention this fall!

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