State Convention
Welcome To Our 75th Annual Convention!
On the weekend of November 6-8, 2026, the National Federation of the Blind of Texas will host its 75th annual convention at the Marriott San Antonio Airport. The hotel is located at 77 NE Interstate 410, in San Antonio, and room rates for the convention are $119 per night. This rate does not include taxes. With taxes included, the rate is $141.00 per night.
RESERVING YOUR ROOM
There are two ways to reserve a room. You may use the booking link below. Or, you may call 800-228-9290. If you choose to call to make a reservation, just tell them you are with the National Federation of the Blind of Texas in order to receive the convention rate. Please note that you will be asked to provide a credit or debit card when you reserve your room. If you find you cannot attend, you must contact the hotel at least 48 hours in advance of your stay to cancel your reservation. Otherwise, a $141 charge will be made to the method of payment you share with the hotel.
You should also be aware that when you check in to the hotel, you will be asked to put up a card for incidentals. These are charges such as room service, hotel restaurant meals, etc. They will put a $50 hold on your card for each day of your stay. This does not mean they have charged your card, and if you charge nothing to your room, you will not be charged anything. However, we want to share a caution with you. If you have a credit card, you should put that up as opposed to a debit card. The reason for this is that your bank will treat a hold on your debit card as if those funds have been spent, making them unavailable to you until several days after the convention. This is fine if you have a healthy bank account, but if you have a tight budget, you might find it difficult to manage purchasing items like food while attending the convention. We wanted to share this advice to help avoid an unpleasant surprise.
One more note about the hotel. If you are a TWC customer who is receiving assistance to attend the convention, you should not make a room reservation. Instead, you should contact your counselor to share information about your room type, check in date, checkout date, and the names of any roommates you need to include in the reservation. Once you and your counselor agree that TWC will cover the cost of your hotel room, you should provide them with this information. We suggest that you plan to check in either on the evening of November 5 or during the day on November 6. You should also be aware that check in time is at 4:00 PM, and check out time is 11 AM.
Sometimes hotels will allow you to check in early if they have rooms available, but you should know that we cannot guarantee that. If you arrive early on November 6, you should be able to have the hotel store your bags until you are able to check in, and that will allow you to go ahead and participate in convention activities while you wait for your room to be ready.
REGISTERING FOR THE CONVENTION
Registration for the convention is now open. You can use the link at the bottom of this section to start the registration process. We encourage you to pre-register. You will save a few dollars by doing so, and it will assist us with planning. Registration costs just $30, and everyone who pays this fee is entitled to one free hospitality meal on Friday, November 6. A banquet ticket will cost $70. That ticket entitles you to attend our banquet dinner. You’ll be fed and hear a keynote address by our national Representative, Dr. Marc Maurer.
If you opt not to pre-register, you may do so onsite. However, registration will cost $35 onsite, and banquet tickets will cost $75 as long as we have availability. As a reminder, the free Family Reunion (hospitality meal) is only available for people who register. Tickets will be checked at the door.
Even kids 12 and under are expected to register. However, they don’t have to pay. They do have to let us know if they plan to attend the banquet for planning purposes. So, parents should fill out registration forms for any child who is attending. Children over 12 should pay for registration and purchase banquet tickets if needed.
The cutoff for pre-registration is October 30, and you are not officially registered until we have received payment from you or whoever is paying your fees. However, if an agency like the Texas Workforce Commission is paying your fees, we just need a service authorization or purchase order before the end date.
THE CONVENTION
Many people will arrive on Thursday evening, but lots of people will join us on Friday morning. Program activities will begin at 10:00 AM on November 6. There will be seminars throughout the day, special presentations, an NFB-NEWSLINE TEXAS event, and exhibits from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The board will also meet on Friday, and various committees will also hold meetings both during the day and in the evening on Friday. On Saturday, November 7, the convention will come together in a general session in the morning, and there will be various breakout sessions in the afternoon. The banquet will begin at 7:00 PM on Saturday, and that will run for about two hours. There will be a keynote address by our former national president, Marc Maurer, and following the banquet, we will keep the tradition of hosting a Big Basket Bonanza (a.k.a. Our Chapter Basket Auction) alive. So, come prepared to buy. It’s for a good cause. All proceeds support programs of the NFBTX. Both chapters and individuals are welcome to contribute baskets for auction, and of course, if companies or agencies wish to participate, they are welcome.
Liz Wisecarver is in charge of the Big Basket Bonanza, so anyone wishing to contribute should provide Liz with the following:
- The theme of your basket if there is one.
- A list of items to be included in the basket.
- The approximate value of the basket.
- The name of the contributor (chapter, company, organization, agency, or individual).
You should let Liz know that you plan to donate a basket by the end of September, and she should receive the other information no later than October 15. You can reach her at 281-968=7634 or lwisecarver@nfbtx.org. Bragging rights go to whoever donates the basket with the highest bid. So, make your basket great!
On Sunday, we will hold our business meeting. This will include electing our officers, hearing from our secretary and treasurer, and considering resolutions. We estimate that the business meeting will adjourn at about 11:30 AM. This is our major election year. All the constitutional officers and two board members are up for election.
This is our 75th convention, so we hope to have a few special visitors, and some fun panels. Breakout sessions will rely heavily on technology for work, school, home, and play. If you have ideas for a breakout session, submit them using the form below. Please think them through. Let us know what we need to know to make a decision that will enhance the program value for our members and guests. Entries must be submitted no later than October 1. Our committee will notify you if your session is selected. Keep in mind the four categories. Again, they are work, school, home, and play. Entrants don’t have to rely on technology for their presentations. Be creative, but make sure attendees will learn something they didn’t know before.
Breakout Session Proposal Form
THE GAME
For the past three years, we have played an engagement game that has encouraged full participation in the convention by offering a prize of $100 for the winner of our attendance game. The rules are simple. Players are provided with a card that includes spaces for assigned sessions. Program presenters are given stickers of different colors to distribute to anyone who is playing the game. Those who collect all the colored stickers have their names placed in a receptacle, and at the end of the convention, the president or her designee will draw someone’s name from said receptacle. Since this is an attendance game, the person must be present, but if they are, they win a brand new $100 bill. If not, another name is drawn.
To make the game more interesting and more rewarding, there is a mystery person at the convention, and they hold a mystery person sticker which they will give to the person who properly identifies them first. That person should place the special sticker on their card with all the other stickers they have collected. If their name is the one drawn on Sunday morning, they win not $100, but $200.
We are planning to give people the opportunity to play this game again this year. You’ll want to attend everything whether you choose to play or not. The game just adds a little fun. By the way, I’ll give you a hint about the mystery person this year. They aren’t the usual suspects. That’s it.
EXHIBITS
Exhibit space is currently available for the convention. If you, your company, or an organization or agency wishes to be represented in our exhibit hall, use the form below to reserve that space. We currently have several booths available, but space fills up quickly. The cost for exhibit space is as follows:
For Profit Companies or Individuals - $300
Government Agencies - $300
Nonprofits - $150
Local Chapters - $100
Space will be tentatively reserved upon receipt of your application form. Your reservation will be finalized upon receipt of your payment. No late payment will be accepted without proper communication. An invoice will be issued upon receipt of your completed reservation forms. The deadline for exhibitor reservations is October 15 at 11:59 PM. Questions about exhibits should be directed to Norma Crosby at ncrosby@nfbtx.org or 281-824-4045. The form below will answer most questions, but we are always glad to talk to you about your space.
Verification of nonprofit status may be requested if we have a question.
Sponsors
We invite donors, exhibitors, members, and others to support this 75th annual convention by acting as a sponsor. Sponsorships start with whatever amount the donor can afford. Just choose “Other”r to make a custom donation. The suggested White Cane donation begins at $500, and the Elite level starts at $10,000. Even if you don’t have that kind of money, we welcome your pledge.
We are proud to say that we already have an Elite level sponsor, and we are looking for more. If you know a company, organization, or individual that can help, even with a dollar, we urge you to contact them to request their support. Supporters can make their pledges by using the link below. Thank you to anyone who provides monetary support, but we also thank our members who find others to help.