1999 NATIONAL CONVENTION

It will soon be time for the 1999 convention of the National Federation of the Blind, to be held, for the first time, at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, 265 Peachtree Center Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30303. The Marquis is a beautiful hotel, in a convenient, central location.

Although Marriott has a national reservation number: 1-800-228-9290, do not use it. To receive our special rates, all hotel reservations must be made with the Marriott Marquis directly. Please telephone them at: (404) 521-0000, or write them at the address above. Be sure you tell them you will be attending the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind. REMEMBER: No reservation will be valid unless it has been made directly with the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Atlanta. To confirm a telephone reservation, you will need a credit card number, and the reservation charge is $60, applied toward your stay.

Here are our hotel rates for 1999: one in a room, $57 per night; two in a room, $59; three in a room, $61; four in a room, $63. Local taxes will apply.

Here are the convention dates and schedule. Notice that we are slightly off from our usual schedule:

Wednesday, June 30 -- Seminars

Thursday, July 1 -- Convention registration

Friday, July 2 -- National Board Meeting (open to all)

Saturday, July 3 -- General Sessions

Sunday, July 4 -- Tour Day

Monday, July 5 -- Banquet

Tuesday, July 6 -- General Sessions, adjournment.

Our Diabetes Action Network Seminar

Our Diabetes Action Network will have its annual seminar and business meeting, on Friday, July 2, from 1:30pm to 4:30pm. For the keynote speaker, we are working on getting a podiatrist, to cover diabetic foot care. An open panel discussion will follow this presentation, covering all aspects of diabetes (including talking glucose monitors). Once again, we will have our "Make the President Pay" diabetes quiz game—and President Bryant says he will give a nice donation to the Division for each right answer! Our seminar is free and open to the public. Its location will be posted in the agenda (provided when you register).

The displays of new technology; the meetings of special interest groups, committees, and divisions; exciting tours; hospitality and renewed friendships; the solid program items; and the exhilaration of being where the action is and where the decisions are being made—all of these join together to call the blind of the nation to the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel in July of 1999. Come and help make it happen!