NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF ILLINOIS
2020 CONVENTION BULLETIN 

FEARLESS IN UNCERTAIN TIMES”

On October 30, 31, And November 1, 2020, the National Federation of the Blind will hold its 52nd annual convention virtually.  Join us as enthusiastic Federationists assemble to renew our dedication in the pursuit of security, equality, and opportunity for all blind people.  

Important Notices
•	Registration is free.
•	You must register for convention and be a dues paying member to be eligible to vote.

Happenings 
This year’s convention will kick off on Friday with a fun activity on federation philosophy. It will be followed by our resolutions committee meeting.  Come learn and participate in our governing process. 

The Resolutions Committee will be co-chaired by Michal Nowicki and Dustin Cather. ALL resolutions must be submitted by September 10, 2020.  Please send your resolutions to both Dustin Cather and Michal Nowicki at  cather.dustin@gmail.com and  at mnowicki4@icloud.com.

IABS Trivia night will be Friday evening.  The price to participate in a night of trivia and other fun activities is $5. Support our student division by participating in this fun activity. 

Our general session will convene on Saturday, October 31, at 9 a.m.  During Saturday’s general sessions we will hear a National Report regarding NFB happenings delivered by our National Representative, Pam Allen, Chairperson and 1st Vice President of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind. We will have a report from a representative of the National Association of Blind Students. 

We will have speakers covering topics on virtual learning for blind children, vote by mail and a diversity and inclusion panel. 
We will have a combined parent and student virtual lunch Saturday at noon.  In addition, there will be a breakout session for parents of blind children on Saturday afternoon. 

Saturday evening will culminate with our annual virtual banquet at 6 pm, featuring an inspiring address from our National Representative, Pam Allen. We will also see the much-anticipated scholarship awards.  

Sunday morning’s general session will begin with the Illinois Association of Blind Students business meeting at 8 am. The general session will begin at 9:30 am with Braille is Beautiful and we will hear from other blind people sharing their experiences.  Resolutions and elections to the Board of Directors will be voted on during the Sunday morning general session.  Adjournment is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on November 1, 2020.

Registration and Exhibitor Information  
Registration is complementary for this year’s virtual convention. Please consider donating to the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois through Zelle at pchang@nfb.org or by PayPal on our website at www.nfbofillinois.org. You can pay your annual chapter membership dues as well.
Please register online by Friday, October 16 at http://www.nfbofillinois.org/convention/registration. If you need assistance with registering online, please call Patti Chang at (773)-307-6440 or David Meyer at (708)-606-7091. The first 150 people to register will receive a nieprn can coozie, which has printed in black ink on a gray background and  on one side of the coozie has 2020 imprinted with the 0's represented as toilet paper and a medical mask and beneath the graphic is the word, together in UEB Braille.   

Vendors who wish to exhibit can fill out the form at https://www.nfbofillinois.org/convention/exhibitor-registration.
submission and payment must be received no later than October 9th. If you have any questions, contact Patti Chang at (773) 307-6440 or pattischang@gmail.com. 

Federation conventions change the lives of blind and sighted people alike! Don’t miss out on this opportunity for change! Join us for our best convention yet!  Come and live the life you want!!!