Louisville Site of 2002 NFB Convention

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May, 2002

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Louisville Site of 2002

NFB Convention!

The 2002 Convention of the National

Federation of the Blind will take place in Louisville, Kentucky, July 3-9. We

will conduct the convention at the Galt House Hotel and the Galt House East

Tower, together a first-class convention hotel. The Galt House Hotel, familiarly

called the Galt House West, is at 140 N. Fourth Street, Louisville, Kentucky

[LEAD PHOTO/DESCRIPTION: Three people are pictured in academic regalia

The Braille Monitor

May, 2002

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NFB President

Marc Maurer, RSA Commissioner Joanne Wilson, and Menlo College President James

Waddell

On

April 15, 2002, Menlo College honored Joanne Wilson, Commissioner of the Rehabilitation

Services Administration, U.S. Department of Education. During the morning the

institution sponsored a disability rights seminar in honor of the occasion.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Erik Weihenmayer gazes into the distance from the top of

Mt

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The

Blind Climber on Mt. Everest

by Erik Weihenmayer

Erik

Weihenmayer gazes into the distance from the top of Mt. McKinley.

From

the Editor: Last May many of us found ourselves constantly preoccupied as we

went about our daily tasks, turning frequently to the Web site chronicling the

From Erik's E-mail

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May, 2002

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From Erik's E-mail

From

the Editor: During the course of his preparing for and executing the climbs

of Ama Dablam and Mt. Everest, I got to know Erik Weihenmayer and members of

his team pretty well. As the world has come to know, they are remarkable people,

and they have done a great deal to inspire blind and sighted people alike. I

Excerpt from the Afterword

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May, 2002

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Excerpt from the Afterword

by Erik Weihenmayer

Erik

Weihenmayer crosses a crevasse using a ladder

From

the Editor: In the December 2001 issue of Outside magazine the following

excerpt appeared from the thirty-page afterword to Erik Weihenmayer's autobiographical

book Touch the Top of the World. This chapter was written when Erik returned

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A

New Professional Certification

by James H. Omvig

James

Omvig

From

the Editor: Jim Omvig is a frequent contributor to these pages. His leadership

in the National Federation of the Blind extends over decades, and his experience

in the blindness field is extensive. He has recently become President of the

National Blindness Professional Certification Board. In that capacity he describes

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Peggy Elliott]

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May, 2002

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Another Take on the

September 10 Meeting with NAC

by

Peggy Elliott

Peggy

Elliott

From

the Editor: As President Maurer mentioned, one of the other NFB representatives

to the September 10 meeting with members of NAC was NFB Second Vice President

Peggy Elliott. Her view of the discussion was slightly different and completely

complementary. Here it is:

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May, 2002

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Knowing

the Score

by Bill McCann

Bill

McCann

From

the Editor: Living as I do in a small town that is home to one of the finest

conservatories of music in the country, I have gotten to know a number of blind

musicians through the years. Unfortunately not all of these young men and women

have been proficient Braille music readers. Those who are have been far better

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How

to Select a Suitable Adaptive Technology

Training Program

by Robert Leblond

Robert

Leblond

From

the Editor: Bob Leblond's wife Connie and his two children, Hope and Seth, are

all blind, so he has long firsthand experience with the struggle to obtain efficient

access technology. Bob served as the Treasurer of the NFB of Maine for several

Getting to Know the Federation

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May, 2002

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Getting

to Know the Federation

From

the Editor: I recently received the following e-mail post to the NFBtalk listserv

because the sender thought I would be interested in seeing how well the writer

captured both the wonderful and the sometimes frustrating aspects of the National

Convention. I agreed completely with the assessment and have reprinted it here