Photos…just a few

Top, left to right, captions: Rachel Trask, HLAA staff; Ahme Stone receives the Founder Rocky Stone stamp framed.

Bottom: Colleen Reeping, HLAA staff; Brenda Battat at the annual meeting

 

Friday afternoon musings….

Friday, June 13, 2008

Afternoon Blog

 

Awards Ceremony and Breakfast

What a crowd and what a feast of yummy breakfast offerings as HLAA honored its volunteers across the county. As hostess Jeanette Kanter said: “This is volunteerism at its finest.”

• James Cross, M.D., from Aetna accepted the HLAA Access Award.
• Kathy Borzell, Florida member, was given the Keystone Award and commented that she watched her father struggle with hearing loss but she found HLAA and she learned how to live well with her hearing loss.

 

For all the award winners go to www.hearingloss.org.

Thank you Toni Barrient, staff, for make the awards happen!

 

Workshops

The workshops are in full swing. Here is a sampling:

• Be the Boss of Your Hearing Loss
• Bluetooth and People Who Wear Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants
• People with Disabilities: Ready for the Global Workplace
• The Basics of Achieving Comfortable Listening with Hearing Aids
• Mobile Phone, Hearing Aids and the ANSI C63.19 Standard
• The Digital TV Transition and Captions
• Effective Communication Strategies
• Cochlear Implant Recipients Panel
• Hearing Aid Panel

 

The Exhibit Hall is a Busy Place

People are clamoring to try the latest and greatest in technology and find out about services for people with hearing loss.

 

If you had the munchies, the Junque Food Fest was mouth watering with popcorn, candy, yogurt, granola bars, chocolate…. you had to drag me away! (Thank you Motorola Foundation for adding to the calorie count of everyone today!)

 

A highlight is the Demo Room in the Exhibit Hall—a walled-off communication accessible area where companies can highlight their products and special presentations are held. Today we had:

• ATIS: Alliance for Telecommunications Industry
• Oticon Hearing Aids
• Meet HLAA Executive Director Brenda Battat
• Cochlear Implant Panel
• Telecommunications Industry Association

 

And…drum roll please……

Rep. Dean Heller, congressman 20^th District, Nevada, stopped in to greet convention goers. Attendees had a chance to thank him for co-sponsoring the Hearing Aid Tax Credit Bill. Also, he will have his hands on the American flag that will fly over the Capitol on the Fourth of July. One lucky winner from this convention will win it. How cool is that? The crowd applauded when he said he has signed onto the Hearing Aid Tax Credit Bill.

            Thanks Rep. Heller for making time and to Hearing Industries Association for sponsoring this event.

 

Thanks All Around

To our members, sponsors, exhibitors, presenters, volunteers and the HLAA staff. Rachel Peterson, Colleen Reeping, and Barbara Miller have greeted you all at either the registration desk or the ALDs distribution. Are they just the nicest gals you have ever met?

And, sorry folks, we ran out of lanyards (Hamilton Relay sponsor) to hold your badges and bags (Oticon sponsor) because it seems the local Reno area is showing up for onsite registration and/or going to the Exhibit Hall. Lesson learned for next year in Nashville for HLAA Convention 2008 – BRING MORE STUFF!

Oh yes, and to Nancy Macklin, back in Bethesda who stepped in at the last minute the month before the convention who dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s. Thanks for all the pre-convention planning you did. You have the details down to a perfect “T.”  All we have to do is do what you told us to do and this place can run itself. Everyone is saying, “Where’s Nancy?”

 

What Will I Do Tonight? Hmmm, let me think…

Okay, I thought about it. I am going to hop the shuttle and go to downtown Reno with everyone and see the new movie “Baby Mama” (or is it “Mama Baby?) with OPEN CAPTIONS! Thanks to In-Sight Cinema and Sorenson IP Relay for sponsoring this event. I am looking forward to seeing the biggest little city…Reno! (Do you think I can harbor some of the junk food from the earlier event to munch on from the movie….shhh…)

 

One More Sentimental Thought

Hearing Loss Association of America was founded in 1979 as Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH) by Howard E. “Rocky” Stone. Rocky has since died, but his wife, Alice Marie (“Ahme”) is with us and is here in Reno. The Rocky Stone committee presented her with a framed stamp with Rocky’s image on it. The committee is giving packs of “Rocky postage stamps” away with donations of $100.

 

To take a quote from Rocky’s book, An Invisible Condition:

“The thinking behind the self-help philosophy for SHHH was to enhance each of us as human beings. Hearing loss was an important but secondary consideration. Once we accept responsibility for ourselves, we have to learn to love ourselves, and then, each other.  

           

Bye for now,

Barbara Kelley

First-Time Blogger

Deputy Executive Director, HLAA

Editor, Hearing Loss Magazine

Friday, June 13, 2008

Friday, June 13, 2008

 

Last Night Was Awesome!

Opening Session and Reception

 

 

Executive Director Brenda Battat and Patricia Trautwein, Advanced Bionics (sponsor of the event) cut the ribbon to the Exhibit Hall where attendees met the exhibitors while enjoying a lovely buffet fare of hot, yummy offerings.

 

Then, at 5:30 p.m., we made our way to the Reno Ballroom for the Opening Session.

Mark Ross, Ph.D., was “sandbagged” (as he put it) when HLAA presented him with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in audiology. I casually call him the “Father of Audiology” as he is known across the world. He humbly says there are many who went before him. What makes him so special is he is both a consumer and a professional and that mix has benefited people with hearing loss in in far-reaching ways. I can’t write enough here about him. But, check out each issue of Hearing Loss Magazine where he writes a regular column on technology and research. The future is always here and now with Mark Ross and his reports. Can I add that I got to present the award? (I guess I can as this is a Blog after all!) I felt honored and really felt that anything I said about him was not enough.

 

I had the pleasure to greet Ollie Cantos, our keynote speaker, and show him around before he took the stage during the Opening Session. I warned him that he would not be able to walk from Point  A to Point  B without being stopped. I was right. Our tour around the scene took twice as long as it could have, but it was awesome to see Ollie chat with members and how welcoming our members were to Ollie. (Thanks, attendees! I knew you would be great.)

 

 I have asked Mr. Cantos to make some comments on this blog about the Opening Session, his keynote address and his impressions so far. I got a call at 5:30 this a.m. (he politely patched right into my voice mail so as not to wake me, thank you, Ollie), that he was having technical difficulties with getting to the Internet. Cross your fingers he gets that fixed. He is awesome and his message was motivating and he knows about the population of people with hearing loss in regard to the law, Department of Justice, and you name it. Our guest from Washington brought us a great message. If he can’t blog about it, I will see if he can write something up for Hearing Loss Magazine.

 

Bowling! Yes, You Read Correctly. Thanks to AT&T

We all hit the lanes as AT&T threw out the first ball and offered pizza, wings, munchies, you name it. What a blast. AT&T staff  awarded funny hats (I sported a gator hat and all the Florida members tried to snatch it from me! But, nope, this goes home to my 8-year-old son, Patrick!) The HLAA staff wore AT&T polo shirts so you could find us if you, uh, needed help, bowling. Christopher Sutton, HLAA staff, made a great showing on the lanes. You can tell they don’t bowl a lot in Canada, his home country.

 

Executive Director Brenda Battat and her husband Joe gave a decent showing, as did Ronnie Adler. Ollie Cantos bowled too and attendees who didn’t bowl watched in awe and cheered the rest along the way. By the way, you Floridians (Lynn, Flo, Kathy, Jim, Pocahontas [I am sorry, but I can’t remember this gorgeous gal’s name but this was her costume when the gang promoted the HLAA Convention in Orlando] .You Floridians always get in the spirit of things. And what do you folks eat for lunch? You all look so healthy, tanned and in shape!) Ann Pruitt….you threw some serious balls as did John McCelland and George Kosovich.

 

Did I say thank you to Motorola Foundation for sponsoring this blog? Thanks, you help keep people across the county in touch. And, I met one of your reps last night but you were wearing a funny hat and I can’t remember your name except to say you looked very “cerebral” wearing those brains.

 

Hey, I have to run to the 8:30 a.m. Awards and Breakfast Ceremony. More later with photos.

Thanks for reading,

Barbara Kelley

HLAA staff

If you are visiting our website for the first time and found this Blog, I hope you will think about joining us next year in Nashville, June 18-21, 2009