It's Thursday June Twenty-three,
A week from now I will be attending the National Convention of the ACB,
I'm looking forward to it, it will be a busy time,
I will be Representing Arizona, attending meetings and visiting friends of mine,
The Conference is being held in Minneapolis this year,
And I'm going to tell you what's upcoming here.
It's the 55th Annual Convention and we will stay at Hyatt Regency at 1300 Nicollet Mall,
Though we all will be extremely busy, we will have a ball
The Theme is the Land of 10,000 Dreams,
Each day we will hear from individuals, Panels and Teams,
I will be spending time with friends but colleagues too,
Sharing and appreciating the work that many in the organization do,
The Convention will be packed full with presentations, sessions and events
It will be rewarding, and worthwhile the time spent.
It will be from July 1 through 9, Vacation time I will be taking,
I'm grateful to my Boss's for this time off and the trip I will be making,
And it's awesome we will be staying at a Hyatt, they have been my employer for the last 16 years,
Before that,I worked at Sears.
Kim Charlson will begin the Opening Ceremony's Sunday night,
Most whom will be attending are blind, but there will be some whom do have sight,
She will give her Presidential report and there will be roll call and delegates assigned,
Much of Convention you will be able to find,
Online, on either Live Event or Mainstream, two of the ACB Radio channels , The Talk of the Blind,
You can go there, and see what's happening! And what is on everybody's minds
Here from Advocates and, Technology specialists,
And so much more! there is a long list
There will be affiliate Breakfasts, exhibits and workshops to go,
And Talent night too, it's called Friends in Art, and many of us we do show
During the week, some Board Members will be campaigning and there will be a Candidates Forum Tuesday night,
Also, ACB leaders will be discussing advocacy work with the U s Treasurer, they will shed some light,
On why it's taking so long to get our accessible money, and why the wait,
And at the Banquet there will be a keynote speaker Friday night, many will be up late.
There will be sighted folks, many blind people with canes and some with dogs, navigating the hotel
Many items to buy, I do tell,
In the mini Mall There will be Braille Jewelry, ACB T-shirts and goodies for your pups,
There will be CD's from our creative arts Members and unique mugs and cups,
There will be activities for children, it's called the kids zone,
There will be sessions on Health Care, for writers like me and Apps to swap for the IPhone,
There will be meetings on fund raising, on the latest adaptive tech as well as legislation,
And also many tours, so you can feel like you're on vacation
There will also be something for the guide Dogs, Canine massage, GDUI events and doggie play,
Because our furry friends will be working hard for us each day.
There will be something for the young, and old and in between,
Members of every walk of life, Parents, students, seniors and teens
From every occupation, lawyers, techs, engineers, musicians, teachers and retirees,
We'll gain knowledge, insight on what another perceives
In the exhibit hall, there will be cool gadgets, appliances and low vision aids,
We will all be networking and learning, while our guest rooms are being clean by the maids.
There will be numerous of volunteers and hotel staff,
To assist, and cut our time in half,
So we can quickly get from one meeting to the next,
Many will be communicating and using their tablets, IPhones and sending texts,
Using recording devices such as the LS 14 by Olympus, or virtual keyboards,
Also, the scholarship committee will hold a luncheon and give out awards.
There will be presentations from Comcast, a professional narrator from NLS,
Accessible Net flicks and on how to dress for success.
There will be sponsors of the Convention, like Google, Microsoft and Sprint,
There will be material in digital format, Braille and in large print
Other sponsors will be Adobe, JB Morgan Chase and Facebook,
There are many, go to the ACB website, there, you can take a look.
There will be many Committee meetings, Elections on Friday and recreation too,
There will be one touch Self-defense and yoga lets with Leslie spoon. You will feel rejuvenated when you're through.
There will be an Auction, Comedy night and parties to attend
There will be good conversation, exchanging ideas and laughter among friends.
As you can see, there is much on the agenda and after a vacation we all will need,
And this, I hope you like what you did read,
I will try to surmise the convention when I return, here I will write, much I will then have to say,
Take good care and have a great day
