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57th. Annual Convention

National Federation of the Blind of Missouri

Columbia, Missouri

March 21-24, 2019

Stay tuned for more information.

56th. Annual Convention Presidential Wrap Up.

National Federation of the Blind of Missouri

Capitol Plaza Hotel - 415 West McCarty Street; Jefferson City, Missouri 65101

April 5-8, 2018

Hello Fellow Missouri Federation Members,

It was great being with many of you at our 2018 Annual State Convention this past weekend. I want to take this opportunity to let those that were not able to be at our Fifty-Six Annual State Convention how much we missed having you there with us. Our convention is a wonderful time to come together as the Federation Family in Missouri to meet and greet one another, get updates on the Federation both on a national and state level, and take action that will guide us over the next year as we advance the work of the Federation.

We were very fortunate to have Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, as our national representative with us this year. I want to express my appreciation to each of you who participated on the agenda and/or led meetings that took place on Friday. Our Jefferson City Chapter did a wonderful job as the Host Chapter. The hospitality and door prizes were spectacular.

Congratulations to the Jefferson City Chapter who won the King&Queen Contest and the Roy Zuvers Traveling Trophy. We had four scholarship  winners: Jenny Carmack, Nina Theroff, Bethany Bennington, and Nina Villano. Check out their bios on our NFB of Missouri webpage. Carol Coulter received the Gary L. Wunder Award for her commitment and dedication. This was the first year we have given this award in honor of our President Emeritus. This award was previously known as our Affiliate Award.

We were pleased to welcome some first time attendees and hope they will become active in our chapters and divisions. The dates for our 2019 Annual Missouri State Convention will be March 21-24, 2019  and it will be held in Columbia, Missouri. It's not too early to Mark it on your calendar now and plan to join us for our Fifty-Seventh Convention.

I would also like to address our upcoming 2018 National Convention in Orlando, Florida which will be July 3-8, 2018. I hope that many of you are making your plans now to join us in Florida for this year's convention. This is the last year we will be in Florida and we look forward to moving the 2019 convention moving to a location west of the Mississippi. We will learn the specific location this summer during the convention. Let's enjoy one more year in Florida. 

There are still a couple of days left to apply for the Kenneth Jernigan Scholarships which are for those attending their first convention. The deadline is April 15, 2018. I also want everyone to know that the convention set aside some funding to help our Missouri folks to come to the convention.  First time attendees will receive priority but if you have been to a convention before and this may make the difference whether you can go to the convention, please apply. The Rittgers Committee is accepting the applications and application deadline is May 15, 2018. Chairman Gene Coulter has already advertised this stipend program on this list. For more information, you can contact him and your chapter or division president.  Let's have a good turnout this summer at the convention. Our national conventions have so much to offer.

Finally, I want to mention our Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning - BELL Academy Programs this summer in Kansas City and St. Louis. The dates for the BELL Academy in Kansas City are June 18-29, 2018 and the BELL Academy in St. Louis will be July 23- August 3, 2018.  We are accepting Applications now online for both locations. If you know of families that have a blind child between 4 - 12 years old, please be sure to tell them about this opportunity. There is a link to the application on our webpage which is NFBMO.ORG.

More news from the convention and our affiliate will be forthcoming so tune in here, at your chapter meetings, and to our webpage. 

It's great to be a part of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri.  Help us reach out to others who can benefit from our programs. Help us Build the Federation!

Shelia Wright, President
National Federation of the Blind of Missouri
7928 NW Milrey Drive, Kansas City, MO 64152
816-741-6402
President@nfbmo.org

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.