American Association of the Deaf-Blind

Symposium Planning Underway!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

AADB is getting an early start in planning for the national 2011 symposium to be held June 19-23, 2011 in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky (across the river from Cincinnati, Ohio). It takes many hands and creative minds to pull off a successful symposium that is accessible for hundreds of deaf-blind people. We are pleased to announce some of the key people who are responsible for planning the various aspects of the symposium and the latest updates in their planning:

• Workshops, special Interest groups, and program book, Elizabeth Spiers, Chair - "Call for Papers" and "Call for Activities" will be announced by November 2010. There will be an emphasis on technology-related workshops.
• Sponsors and exhibits, Chad Metcalf, Chair - A Sponsor/Exhibitor Packet is being developed and should be ready for distribution sometime this summer.
• Registration, Katie Logan, Chair - Registration materials will be released on AADB's website in November 2010. Print and Braille registration materials will be available upon request.
• Local committee, Lynn Jansen, Chair - this committee helps coordinate and collect information from local resources, i.e., list of nearby restaurants, public transportation, local attractions, training of airport and hotel staff, and more.

We will soon be posting several "Call for Proposals" for interested people to coordinate and develop the following:

• SSP Training
• SSP services for deaf-blind participants
• Teen/Young Adult Program

Stay tuned for more exciting symposium updates in AADB Today!

2011 AADB National Symposium

April 12, 2011

Hear ye! Hear ye! AADB is very pleased to announce that the 28th 2011 AADB National Symposium, “The Future is in Our Hands”, will be held on June 19th to 23rd, 2011 at Drawbridge Inn in Ft. Mitchell, KY, just across the river from Cincinnati, OH. There will be a formal training for support service providers (SSPs) for one and a half days before the symposium starts. The symposium will be chock-full of activities for deaf-blind participants: workshops, exhibits, networking opportunities, special interest group meetings, and more! Please watch for updates in future AADB Today e-newsletters when symposium information is made available on our website in the coming months.

Special thanks to AADB's ad-hoc committee members for their help to find the Drawbridge Inn for our next symposium. (Ad-hoc committee members are Mark Gasaway, Chair, Dan Arabie, Anindya (Bapin) Bhattacharyya, Jeffrey Bohrman, Jill Gaus, Mary Hale, Timothy Jackson, Lynn Jansen, Maricar Marquez, Paul Molloy, and Randy Pope.)

We look forward to seeing everyone there!

We know you are eager to get the news about when and where the AADB Symposium will be. Jamie Pope, Executive Director, is still negotiating the symposium site contract. There are a couple of issues that need to be agreed on before the contract is finalized. As soon as everything is in order with the contract, we will announce far and wide where the symposium will take place. Please sit tight! Announcement coming soon!