Note: All Events, Unless Otherwise Indicated, Will Take Place Virtually on Zoom. If You Do Not Have Access to Long-distance Calling or an Internet Connection, PCB Can Provide You with a Toll-free Phone Connection. Please Indicate Your Need for This Accommodation on the Registration Form.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
1:00 PM exhibiter showcase to be determined.
We are seeking exhibitors for the afternoon. Become an exhibitor on our website at
2026 Call for Underwriters and Exhibitors – Pennsylvania Council of the Blind or call our office at 717-920-9999 Ext. 800.
4:00 PM, PCB Board of Directors’ Meeting. All are welcome. (Zoom only, not streamed on ACB Media 8.)
4:00 PM, Auction Item Showcase Preview. (On ACB Media only) The bidding won’t begin until Sunday, October 25 at 3 PM Eastern, but you’ll have an opportunity to hear the parade of great items up for bid this year so you can start making your wish list. If you would like to donate an item to this year’s auction, please contact Sandy Marsiglia at sdm240@comcast.net or 717-635-9937 as soon as you are able.
5:15 PM, Dinner Break
6:00 – 10:00 PM, Blind & Low-Vision Vendor Showcase. Join us as an amazing line-up of entrepreneurs who are blind or low-vision tell you about their unique products and answer your questions. From jewelry to fragrance items, home-goods to fashion, and gadgets to games, you’re sure to find sensational stuff for this shopping season. Have your note-taker on standby so you can support these small businesses online or by phone and avoid the swarm of in-store shoppers and slow sales assistants. Door prizes will be given each hour.
10:00 PM, Announcements
Friday, October 23, 2026
Conference General Session Begins
8:30 AM, Call to Order and Welcome, Debby Hill, PCB President.
8:35 AM, Invocation & Necrology Remembrance, Jacqueline Wissinger, PCB Chaplain.
8:45 AM, President’s Address, Debby Hill, President.
9:00 AM, Independence, A Personal view, hosted by Sue Lichtenfels. This presentation will explore with several PCB peers what independence means to each of them, how it manifests in their lives, the choices that have shaped their independence, and how has each person’s concept of independence changed over the years
9:45 AM, Finding help in your quest for independence, Panelists from Disability Rights of Pennsylvania, Client Assistance Program for Pennsylvania, and possibly Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services. We will discuss how these agencies can assist with issues incurred in employment, the older blind, housing issues, and other situations where we may find that our rights are not being respected.
10:45 am, Door prizes and Break
11:00 AM, Building Positive Self-Advocacy Through Communication, Communications Team. A presentation that teaches participants how to practice positive self-advocacy, communicate effectively in real life situations, and use available support systems to successfully express their needs.
12:00 PM, Lunch Break
1:00 PM, Practical uses of AI in JAWS to increase independence, Elizabeth Whitaker & Rachel Buchanan from Vispero. The presenters will describe the new AI features in the JAWS for Windows screen reader. They will provide practical use case scenarios to assist individuals with completing tasks. Whether it’s describing that piece of clothing, assistance with writing or purchasing airline tickets, there are so many ways that AI in JAWS can simplify tasks and increase independence.
2:00 PM, Doing More with Less: Smart Strategies to Make Every Penny Count, Peer Engagement Team and Wendy Davis Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation. Do you wonder where all your money went after the middle of the month? Is inflation hitting you harder than ever? This is the workshop for you. Please join us as we speak with Wendy Davis, and we talk about financial literacy, stretching your pennies, and how to get a loan for assistive technology. We’ll also give you an opportunity to give all of us some money saving tips and strategies you use every day.
3:00 PM, Break/Door Prizes
3:15 PM, Residential Accommodations to Aging, Tony Swartz, PCB member. After a synopsis of residential alternatives and level of care for those seeking an alternative residence as an accommodation while aging, the audience will hear the experiences of peers who have sought out residential alternatives. What led them to the realization that an alternative was necessary? What general factors and blindness specific factors did they consider in choosing a new residential alternative? What alternative did they choose? Are they satisfied with their decision? Looking back is there anything they would have done differently?
4:15 PM, Museum of Disability History: A Virtual Tour of History, Accessibility, and Inclusion, Natalie Reyes, Director, Museum of Disability History at The Viscardi Center and Dr. Christopher Rosa, President and CEO of The Viscardi Center. Join us for a unique virtual guided tour of the Museum of Disability History—the first and only museum dedicated to preserving and sharing more than 200 years of visible and invisible disability history in the United States and around the world.
5:15 PM, Dinner Break
6:15 PM, Music Prelude
6:20 PM, The Five Keys to Psychological Growth: Practical Strategies for Living Well with Blindness. Andre Watson Psy.D.,NCPsyA., PLY. Blindness presents unique challenges, but psychological growth remains possible at every stage of life. Whether someone is newly adjusting to vision loss, has lived with blindness for decades, or supports a loved one who is blind or visually impaired, the ability to grow, adapt, and thrive is built through intentional psychological practices.
7:20 PM, Life With Carla: How I Do What I Do At Work, Home and Play, Carla Hayes, PCB member. Through a series of short recordings, I will demonstrate how I perform basic tasks as a totally blind person at work, at home and for recreation as well as the high-tech, low-tech and no-tech tools and techniques that I use. This presentation will be followed by some time for questions, answers and conversation.
8:20 PM, Recordings of Peers running for PCB Board positions
8:50 PM, Door Prizes & Announcements
9:05 PM, Friday night fun, Zany Wishes, Hosted by Lisa Busch. Forget playing a simple getting to know you game! Zany Wishes mixes “Would You Rather questions” with “What If” ones so we can fly from preposterous scenarios to daydreams. We will all be winners as we laugh the evening away.
Saturday, October 24, 2026
8:30 AM, Rise for a Prize Community Coffee, Conference Program Planning Team. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and join us for some light conversation. Oh yes, and prizes too!
9:00 AM, When We Are The Helpers, Vision Loss Team. This session will include previously recorded shared examples of our PCB Peers who have provided help to another typically sighted person or community member. Our peers will describe in five minutes or less the circumstances, assistance they provided, response(s) of the recipient of the help and how our peers feel about providing this help to another.
10:00 AM, Presentation TBA
11:00 AM, Door Prizes and Announcements
11:15 AM, Guide Dogs and AI, PAGDUS. Artificial intelligence is changing the guide dog world from both ends — improving how we select and train biological guide dogs, and creating new technology that could work alongside them. This session walks through what’s real, what’s hype, and what it means for guide dog users and the broader blind community. We’ll cover AI-powered puppy selection, robotic guide dogs, wearable navigation devices, and smart glasses — all fact-checked against actual published research. The goal isn’t to replace the living harness, but to understand what’s coming and how it could expand independence for everyone.
12:00 PM, Lunch Break
12:50 PM, Get Connected for the Annual PCB Business Meeting. A special Zoom connection will be provided for this event which is not streamed on ACB Media 8. Only paid 2026 PCB members may attend this event. All who expect to vote should be sure to join the meeting as an individual to retain their individual PCB vote. Since we will use Zoom’s hand-raising function, married couples, those using three-way calling, and others who typically share a connection should plan for accessing through their own individual device. If you need toll-free calling for this session, indicate so on the registration form or contact the PCB office no later than Noon on this day for the toll-free number.
4:00 PM, Door Prizes & Adjournment for dinner.
6:15 PM, PCB Virtual Banquet Music Prelude
6:30 PM, Greetings and Sponsor Acknowledgements, Debby Hill, PCB President.
6:35 PM, Drawing the 50/50 Conference Raffle
6:40 PM, Banquet speaker: Paul Edwards, host of Tuesday Topics on ACB Media and ACB Past President.
7:30 PM, PCB Award Presentations
8:00 PM, PCB Merit Awards, Suzanne Erb, PCB Peer Engagement Team.
8:15 PM, Door Prizes & Announcements
8:30 PM, A Word Game Menagerie, Hosted by Carla Hayes, PCB member. It’s a rhyming game, no it’s an anagram game, oh no it’s the After thought Game, well, whatever Carla pulls out of her evening game bag, it is going to be fun!
Sunday, October 25, 2026
11:00 AM, Audio Described Movie: Remarkably Bright Creatures, Through unlikely bonds formed during night shifts at a local aquarium, Tova, an elderly widow, learns of a life-changing discovery that may bring her joy and wonder once again. Starring Sally Field, Tova Sullivan, Lewis Pullman, Cameron Massmore, Alfred Molina. Rated PG-13. 1 hour 51 minutes.
We again thank Netflix for again providing us with an audio described movie and allowing us to use it as a conference session. It reminds us that we can indeed watch video content independently.
1:30 PM, Pre-Auction Showcase. Tune or zoom in to hear the prerecorded parade of great items up for bid this year. Familiarize yourself with the bidding process to give you the best chance of nabbing your favorite item.
3:00 PM, PCB Live Auction, PCB Fund Development Team. Join the fun of raising funds for PCB and have a blast winning a great item. All conference registrants are automatically eligible to bid. Encourage your friends and family who want to join in the auction fun to sign up before Noon on Saturday, the 24th. Have them call 877-617-7407 or email pcboffice@pcb1.org with their full name, city and state, phone number, email address, and type of payment they plan to use (check or credit card). Toll-free calling is not available for the auction, but if you would like to have a peer connect you via three-way calling, please indicate so on the registration form.