On Saturday, June 4th, 2016 at the Marriott at Research Triangle Park Hotelin Durham, NC, the Relay NC 25th Anniversary Gala commenced with the theme of “Hollywood.”
Before the presentation began, I had the opportunity to greet many of my connections in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community here in NC that were also in attendance. While going around, I decided to get a photo shot done before the line got too long.

–Relay NC 25th Anniversary Gala, June 4, 2016
The presentation that was given reflected on the 25 years of Relay Service and how it was originally set up back in the 90s through legislation.
After the presentation, we had a buffet dinner, with very delicious cuisine with Mediterranean salad, two different meats, mashed potatoes, and a quite yummy New York Cheese Cake topped with rashberries.

–Relay NC 25th Anniversary Gala, June 4, 2016
After the dinner, everyone had a further opportunity to network, and I got to meet quite a few new people, including John Moore, regional manager for Sprint in the East Coast.
Another activity that was made available was access to a rollercoaster on a pair of virtual reality glasses. Surprisingly, I didn’t get too dizzy, but I was quite fascinated with what I was seeing–although it was a little boring without the feel of the winds, the vibrations of the tracks, the rise and fall of the rails. . . .
But, I became curious as to how VR would affect someone with Usher Syndrome–how much would they be missing out due to their tunnel vision? Can we set the “perception” a little farther “away” so that they can see the full experience on the other end of the tunnel? Something to look into.