Are You Going to the NFB Conference in 2012?

Kris is a mom and WonderBaby member. We recently got to talking about the upcoming annual NFB Conference which will be held in Dallas June 30th through July 5th 2012 and which Kris tries to attend every year.

Kris is an American married to a German. Her family splits their time between Germany and Dubai, along with yearly trips back to the States. They do their best to attend the yearly NFB conferences because it means so much to them to be there.

I had to find out why… If you're only going to be in the States once a year, why plan your trips around a conference? Is it really that special? I've actually never been to one.

Kris' answer was pretty clear: "Oh my gosh, you have GOT TO GO to the annual NOPBC weekend at a minimum! Going for the whole week is better if you can, but most of the parent-relevant info is the weekend before the main conference."

Kris explains that her first conference was "eye-opening." Here's how she describes it:

It was really GREAT and I learned so much. It's such a big conference with seminars on braille, O&M, social issues, educational choices, dealing with ILPs, and a really huge exhibitors' hall with all sorts of products, etc. Really, anything you can think of that has to do with blindness goes on that week. Each year, I just highlight the most important things for me to do as there's no way to do everything I want.

Then there's also all the fun social stuff going on throughout the whole week. The weekend of the NOPBC convention and the following days of the NFB convention afterwards really are FUN in addition to being educational and inspirational! There is a reason this is the biggest gathering of blind people in the world. If you bored 'em silly, no one would want to go and they certainly wouldn't come back year after year!

I also really liked getting to know so many blind adults and learning how they got into their particular careers. Plus, I got to ask them all my "dumb" questions (How do you follow your baby around? How do you pick out your clothes when you go shopping? How do you organize your food in the cupboard? How do you grade your sighted students' papers?). No one was ever offended, but instead very helpful. I pretty quickly learned nearly all things are possible, it just takes training and education.

And the hotel rates are always really great. This year it will be at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas. The rates are $63 single/double and $68 triple/quad plus tax. I've been at this hotel twice and it's HUGE and absolutely gorgeous! Lots of restaurants, indoor and outdoor pools, and a spa for the mommies in their free time.

The NOPBC conference will be announced soon, but last year it was $35, and the week-long main NFB conference is $15. They really keep things affordable so more people can go. It usually books to capacity so early reservations are always a good idea. Plus, there's childcare or obviously us parents wouldn't be able to do much of anything.

For more information about the upcoming conference, click here.