Dear ACBNY Members and Friends,
The American Council of the Blind of New York (ACBNY) cordially invites you to attend the 2022 Convention of the American Council of the Blind of New York (ACBNY), which will be held from Friday, September 30 through Sunday, October 2, 2022 at the Marriott Albany Hotel, 189 Wolf Road, Albany, NY 12205; 518 458-8444. Room rates are $129 per night. This room rate is available from September 28-October 1 and must be made as part of your convention registration. Please see the 2022 ACBNY Convention Registration Form for more information. A single room list will be submitted to the hotel by the convention committee. If your name does not appear on the list submitted by ACBNY, you will be subject to the market rate plus all appropriate sales and room taxes. Please note that ACBNY will NOT be responsible for any incidentals charged to your room.
The hotel has offered us its shuttle vans to the Albany International Airport. Please let Nancy Murray or Karen Blachowicz know your arrival time, so we can coordinate trips more easily for you. If coming by train or bus, you will have to take Uber or Lyft or a taxi which are at the station.
Meals:
The registration form allows you to enjoy a plated breakfast on Friday and Saturday. Sunday morning breakfast will be a continental breakfast in the room where the board meeting will take place. There is a restaurant/bar on the premise which serves breakfast, lunch a variety of appetizers, and dinner. There are restaurants up and down Wolf Road as well.
For everyone’s convenience, we are offering box lunches on Friday and Saturday and plated meals for dinner on Friday and Saturday. Each meal will feature an entrée with choice of meat or a vegetarian option. Dinners will include a salad, dinner roll with butter, dessert, and choice of beverage (coffee, tea, decaf, water).
Lunch and dinner choices can be selected on the registration form. If you prefer to attend the entertainment portion of Friday’s scholarship fundraiser event, but not the dinner, the price is $25.
Agenda:
Our convention will begin on Friday morning, September 30 at 10 a.m. with our annual New York State Commission for the Blind Town Hall Meeting. Lunch will be served around 12:15 and will be followed by our annual business meeting. Our scholarship fundraiser dinner will be held Friday evening, including plated dinner, cash bar, lively entertainment and a live auction. Please consider donating for our fellow New Yorkers.
Saturday morning is being reserved for our special interest chapters, NYSCCLV, GDUES, and our newest affiliate, BRLNY, the Braille Revival League of New York. After lunch, we will have various speakers on interesting topics, and some opportunity for discussion. Our exhibit hall will be open on Saturday for you to learn about and experience various products and services of interest to our members. And of course, what would a convention be without a Saturday evening banquet!
Our convention will end with a board meeting on Sunday morning, which is open for all to attend. There will be a hospitality room open where you can visit with old friends and make some new ones during your free time.
Fundraisers:
ACBNY will be selling red, blue and black “I (heart for love) ACB” hoodies, sizes medium through 4X, at a reduced convention price of 20 dollars each. Pre-orders can be emailed to Nancy Murray at nancy.murray1947@gmail.com.
Registration:
You may register through PayPal or by sending a check made out to 2022 ACBNY Convention to our treasurer, Rosanna Beaudrie, at the following address:
8 Hemlock Lane
Levittown, NY 10756.
Registration forms and payments MUST be received by Wednesday, September 7, 2022. Registrations received after that date will be subject to late fees. Registrations will not be confirmed until full payment is received.
Refund Policy:
The registration fee is non-refundable. Refunds for all events are subject to the reselling of the ticket(s) for each event. If you need to cancel your room reservation, you MUST do so more than 48 hours in advance of the canceled date(s) through the hotel. Any and all refunds will be addressed after the conclusion of the convention.
We hope to see all of you in Albany this year. We look forward to learning, socializing and sharing with one another September 29th through October 2nd, 2022 in Albany!
Sincerely,
Nancy Murray
First Vice President and Convention Committee Chair
Cell: 518 330-7459
Karen Blachowicz
President
Cell: 716-510-4560
ACB of New York (ACBNY)