Welcome to the California Connection for January 29.
Conference and Convention Preview: Hotel Reservation Information for the 2016 Annual California Council of the Blind Conference andConvention
Would you like to get a head start on attending the 2016 Annual Conference and Convention?
If your answer is yes, then you can begin by making your hotel reservations starting now.
Registration is now open for the 2016 Annual Conference and Convention of the California Council of the Blind (CCB)!!!
This year's theme is "Believe it and achieve it".
The conference and convention will take place Thursday April 7th - Sunday April 10th, 2016 at the Viejas Casino & Resort four-star hotel.
The hotel address is: 5000 Willows Road, Alpine, CA 91901.
The Casino Resort offers the following:
- Luxury spa and high-end shopping at Viejas Outlets
- Casino expansion with 10,000 square feet, featuring Vegas-style gaming and over 2,000 slots
- Team-building and family friendly entertainment at Viejas Bowl, Fun Zone Arcade, and the Show Court with live multi-media performances
- Buffet with endless gourmet selections and unlimited beer, wine, and champagne
- Fine gourmet dining at The Grove Steakhouse, recipient of the AAA FourDiamond Award
- Diverse dining options, including Asian and Mexican cuisine, and all-American favorites
To make hotel reservations via phone, call: 800-938-2532, or via Internet reservation link: viejas.com/hotel.
When making your reservation by phone or online, provide the following reservation conference code:160413CALI.
Room rates are: Single: $99, Double: $99, Triple: $119, Quad: $139, Suites:$339.
The rates are all-inclusive of guest room tax.
The cut-off date for reserving a room in our block is March 16th, 2016, so don't delay, make your reservation today!!!
The Viejas Casino & Resort welcomes service animals and does not permit pets to be brought into their facilities.
Transportation between the hotel and San Diego International Airport, SanDiego downtown Amtrak Station as well as San Diego downtown Greyhound Depot information will be provided in a future announcement.
Please share this information with chapters and other interested parties. The CCB looks forward to welcoming you at the Viejas Casino & Resort!
CCB Board of Directors Elections
At the 2016 Convention in April, CCB will be electing a president, first vice president, treasurer, and four members to its board of directors.
We would like to provide perspective candidates an opportunity to give you some information on their qualifications for, and ideas about serving on, the CCB board. To accomplish this, we will again have a candidates page on our website.
For those who cannot access information through our website or are not comfortable doing so, you can contact the office and ask for the candidates' statements in either email or your alternate format of choice. It is our goal to have this webpage up by March 7.
If you are a potential candidate, we would invite you to answer the four questions indicated below, with the answer to each question to be not more than 300 words, with the count to be determined by the word-count feature in MS Word on a PC. Entries for each answer will terminate at the end of the sentence containing the 300th word and there will be no editing, spell checks or grammar checks done.
The deadline for submission of your statements is February 22, 2016. We will not accept any statements after that date! You will need to submit them to the office in electronic format as a .txt .rtf or MS Word file. Email them to ccotb@ccbnet.org no later than February 22, 2016. To be clear, there is no requirement that a candidate for the 2016 election submit answers to these questions.
The four questions are as follows:
- What office are you seeking, and what are your qualifications?
- Given the limited resources of our organization and the competition among nonprofit entities for financial resources, how can long-term financial stability be achieved for CCB?
- In a time of great change for CCB, it is extremely important that each member of the board of directors provide leadership for the organization. Describe two specific areas in which you will help to lead this organization if elected.
- Because the primary mission of CCB is to advocate for persons who are blind or have low vision, discuss three issue areas that you believe require our advocacy efforts and give specifics as to what CCB should be doing in those areas.
Roommate Request
From Margie Donovan
Greetings, I am looking for a roommate for the upcoming CCB convention. I will be staying from the 7th to the 10th. I have a guide dog and nor problems rooming with another dog, but a nonsmoker please.
If you are interested please email me at Margie.donovan1@outlook.com
San Gabriel Valley Chapter 31st Annual Pizza and Spaghetti Fundraiser
From Pam Polagi President, San Gabriel Valley Chapter:
Please join us for our 31st annual Pizza and Spaghetti Fundraiser:
Saturday, February 13, 3:00pm to 7:00pm, only $10.00 per ticket, from SGV Chapter members or at the door.
Menu includes: pizza, spaghetti, salad, garlic-bread, regular and diet soda, iced tea, coffee, bottled water and dessert. Alcoholic beverages may be purchased at the Bar.
Address: VFW Hall, 825 South Magnolia Avenue, Monrovia (northwest corner of Magnolia and Chestnut).
Grand Prize is a $200 Visa Gift Card, winner need not be present. There will be door prizes, winners must be present, along with a 50/50 raffle. Everyone is welcome!
If you need more information: please contact Pam Polagi, (626) 445-7297.
Thank you very much.
CLUA Membership
Do you love reading? Are you an NLS patron? Do you read books in alternative formats on various electronic devices? Do you want your rights as blind or visually-impaired readers to be represented and protected?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then CLUA invites you to become a member of this statewide affiliate of the CCB.
To join, make checks for $20 (annual dues) payable to CLUA and send to Treasurer Vita Zavoli 1271 Washington Avenue, #144 San Leandro, CA 94577
Though you can join any time, dues paid by February 5 will allow us to count you on our official membership roster. We issue a membership list with phone and email contact information. You will be included unless you let Vita know otherwise.
Participate in our bi-monthly book discussion group. We will also be looking at exciting projects for 2016. Remember your dues to CLUA brings you membership in ACB's Library Users of America and its publication, The LUA Ledger.
State SSI Payments
As many of you know, CCB is involved with a coalition, CA4SSI, whose goal is to increase state payments to SSI recipients. As part of this effort, Justice in Aging is seeking individuals from the Bay Area who may wish to tell their stories in a video concerning the impact of the payment amounts currently provided, which fall well below the poverty level. Stories are especially important from those who have experienced homelessness.
If you feel that your story should be told, please email Mr. Kevin Prindiville at kprindiville@justiceinaging.org.
Silicon Valley Chapter Announces Technology Grant
The Silicon Valley Council of the Blind will award a grant of up to $1000 to a blind or visually impaired person who can best demonstrate the need for adaptive technology that will improve his-her quality of life or advance his-her educational and/or employment opportunities.
The qualifications for the grant are as follows:
The individual
- Must be legally blind
- Must be a resident of one of the following counties: San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, or San Benito
- Must be sixteen years of age or older
- Is planning to use the technology for educational, vocational or quality of life purposes.
- Is seeking technology that the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation or other service/educational organizations will not fund or do not have available.
Download an application from the SVCB website www.svcb.cc and complete and postmark it by Saturday January 30, 2016.
If you are selected as a finalist, you will be invited to meet with the committee for a personal or telephone interview.
The committee will choose the winner no later than Monday, February 29, 2016, and will notify the recipient shortly thereafter.
The grant will be awarded at SVCB's April 2016 general membership meeting, and the recipient will be invited to attend a special ceremony.
CCBVI Invites You To The Eighth Pedaling Paths to Independence On Saturday, February 20, 2016
Calling all friends with tandems!
The metric and quarter century routes begin and end at DeVinci’s Delicatessen and Catering-Linden (18847 East Front Street, Linden).
Fees are $40 for the metric and $35 for the quarter century, and include a delicious post-ride meal catered by DeVinci’s and much more!
Riders must be at least 16 years of age; each rider must sign a waiver at the event.
Registration and info:
www.communitycenterfortheblind.org/pedaling-paths/.
Thank you for your support!
Thank you for reading, Have a nice day
