Many people are involved in getting this issue to you. The writers can write and the editor can edit, but until the material is printed, brailled, recorded, and distributed, it is just a computer file. Therefore, we owe great thanks to the following people for the work they do in producing this publication.

Tim Aune duplicates the cassette tape edition.

Metro Chapter — Twin Cities area; meets at 2:00 p.m. on the third Saturday of every month at NFB of MN Headquarters, 100 East 22nd Street in Minneapolis

Riverbend Chapter — New Ulm area; meets at 9:00 a.m. on the third Saturday of every month in New Ulm; contact Charlene Childrey at 507-354-2250 for meeting location

Exciting times are coming in NFB conventions. Keep these in mind as you plan your activities throughout the coming year.

The Annual NFB of Minnesota Convention is October 3-5, 2008 at the Kahler Grand Hotel in Rochester. Room rates are $69.00, plus tax. Members will receive a letter with details about a month before the convention, and the letter will be on our website at www.nfbmn.org.

By Judy Sanders, Secretary

Saturday, May 3, 2008, brought approximately 70 Federationists together for the semiannual convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota (NFBM). Taking place at the NFB's historic Minneapolis headquarters, spirits were high, the action was fast and the day sped by. After registering, many stopped off for coffee and rolls; by 9:30 a.m., everyone was in their seats and ready to go.

By Chuk Hamilton, Director, Minnesota State Services for the Blind

(Editor’s Note: This presentation was given at the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota semiannual convention on May 3, 2008.)

Greetings Federationists!

By Steve Jacobson

Did you start to read this to get advice as to which candidate should receive your vote this fall? If you did, you're out of luck! What this covers is not which candidate to vote for, but which method to place the mark on your ballot for the desired candidate.

By Pat Barrett

Your vote is valuable. Vote your conscience for a better life for yourself, your family, neighbors, co-workers, and fellow citizens. I would like to discuss the history of the struggle to vote, the current apathy surrounding going to the polls, and what you can do about it.

By Shawn Mayo, Executive Director, Blindness: Learning in New Dimensions

Can you believe it? Twenty years have passed since Blindness: Learning in New Dimensions (BLIND) Incorporated first opened its doors offering innovative, consumer-based adjustment-to-blindness training programs to blind Americans, the first of its kind in Minnesota. That means it’s time for a celebration!

By Lisa M. Bolt Simons

By Jennifer Dunnam, President

What does it mean truly to know that it is respectable to be blind?