By Matthew Gip

(Editor’s Note: Many Federationists have memories of their first National Convention and have recorded them in various NFB publications. While this was not Matthew’s first convention, it was his first virtual NFB convention and I’m glad he is sharing it with us for publication here.)

My name is Matthew Gip and I currently serve as 2^nd Vice President of the Minnesota Association of Blind Students, a proud division of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota. I have been to six national conventions and each one has been memorable. When I think of Convention, I think of reuniting with my Federation family and networking with new people at a ballroom in a beautiful hotel. Never would I imagine that we would be having a convention in a virtual setting, but this was the case, due to the ongoing global pandemic in our world today.

Despite not seeing my Federation family in person and feeling the exciting vibe and atmosphere, I still had a memorable and enjoyable experience at our first virtual convention. One of the things that stood out to me the most was that I could be at two different meetings at once on two separate devices and when one meeting was over and I had another meeting to attend, I didn’t have to rush from ballroom to ballroom to make it in time. Another thing that caught my attention was that we were still able to be active and move using the hashtag #NFB20Move, thanks to the Sports and Recreation division, where I was able to walk around and do workouts while listening to speakers.

When I first heard that the 2020 national convention was going to be virtual, I was unsure of how it would turn out and was curious and intrigued on how things would play out. I was happy and pleased to see that convention went well and it was a success, with this being our largest ever convention yet. Moving forward, I believe it would be an excellent idea to continue to have some division and committee meetings via zoom for individuals to still attend, even when things eventually return back to normal. This would allow members to still participate in convention from afar since everyone cannot travel to convention.

As a leader and Federationist in this organization, I noticed that members eagerly and diligently collaborated to put together a memorable and unforgettable virtual convention; it was outstanding to be a part of it. Even though we were physically distant, we were never divided and our movement is stronger than ever and will continue to strengthen and empower lives throughout the nation.

My favorite meeting was the conference with blind rehabilitation professionals because I am interested in working in the blindness field and I learned about teaching structured discovery to students and online learning. There were so many great speakers and panels at general session, but my favorite would have to be the Black and Blind panel, which demonstrated that everyone should be treated with equality, no matter the color of one’s skin and how someone looks, because in the end, we are all human and should be treated with respect. I look forward to next year’s convention in New Orleans and many more conventions in the future.