Special events add spice to AAA Convention
2002; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 55; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1097/01.hj.0000293277.53653.48
ISSN2333-6218
Autores Tópico(s)Conferences and Exhibitions Management
ResumoAlong with such highlights as the educational program, the Exposition, the General Assembly, and the Opening Night Reception, several corporately sponsored special events added to the enjoyment for the several thousand audiologists who attended the 2002 Annual Convention of the American Academy of Audiology (AAA). The oldest of these events, and, as always, among the most popular, was the 13th annual Audiology Trivia Bowl, which was the final official event of the meeting. Siemens Hearing Solutions, the perennial sponsor of this test of contestants' knowledge of totally insignificant audiologic-related lore (for example, the TV program on which an Audiology Today article was discussed—The Tonight Show), was joined this year by three co-sponsors, Rayovac, Microtronics, and Knowles Laboratories.Figure: Focus on People Award recipients with Oticon president Mikael Worning. From left are Robert Sweetow, Eric Jackson, Callie Daniels, Worning, Jessica Malone, and Claire Kantor.Figure: Don Worthington holds the plaque he received as the winner of the 2002 Larry Mauldin Award for Excellence in Education. With him, from left, are Steve Hannibal, senior vice-president of Beltone Electronics; Mary Lou Worthington, the honoree's wife; and Jim Curran, president of Beltone USA.Otherwise, though, the 2002 Trivia Bowl was much like the previous 12. Gus Mueller, the acknowledged “guru of audiology trivia,” concocted 25 challenging questions, which quizmaster Jerry Northern posed to the 800 or so players. When the scores were tallied, four teams ended up with 17 correct answers. Based on a tie-breaker system in which certain questions were given extra weight, a new team champion was crowned, Aural Sex. Led by Lisa Lucks Mendel, the captain, the other team members were Sam Atherton, Mandy Cerka, Jeff Danhauer, Tate Danhauer, Herb Gould, Sridhar Krishnamurti, Ann Prohaska, Heidi Silberstein, and Ossama Sohbby. Second went to the Ear-Resistibles, captained by Kiara Ebinger, while the Phonemic Aggressions, last year's co-champions captained by Carol Flexer, took third prize. The Trapezoid Bodies were the other team that answered 17 questions right. In the student category, Ain't Too Proud to Cheat, a team of AuD candidates from the University of Florida, finished first, while the Independence Hall Pikes won the best name award. FOCUS ON PEOPLE On a more serious note, Oticon presented its sixth annual Focus on People Awards during a luncheon on Wednesday, April 17, just before the convention's official start. As company president Mikael Worning explained, the awards program is designed to overcome popular misconceptions about what hearing-impaired people can do with the help of amplification and, in so doing, encourage people to seek help for their hearing loss. Many of the awards went to people whose hearing loss has not prevented them from making outstanding contributions to society. Oticon also donated $1000 awards to the non-profit organization of each first-prize winner's choice. A five-audiologist panel of judges awarded first place in the youngster category to 10-year-old Callie Daniels, a fourth grader from Ridgeland, MS, with a profound hearing loss. Mainstreamed since age 6, Callie was recognized as the most outstanding reader in her grade. She also enjoys ballet and mentors hearing-impaired students at Magnolia Speech School. Shana Keilson of Boulder, CO, and Zachary Flora of Pullman, MN, received second and third prizes, respectively, in the category. In the full-time student category, Jessica Malone, 17, of Tabernacle, NJ, placed first, followed by Adam Stone of Del Mar, CA, and Angelina McKinnon of Pensacola, FL. Jessica, the only hearing-impaired student at Shawnee High School, is an outstanding student-athlete. She belongs to the National Honor Society, is among the country's top field hockey goalies, and will travel to Australia this summer to play on a team representing the U.S. She also mentors hearing-impaired junior high school students. Brian Farrell of Brooklyn Park, MN, won top honors in the adult category for his long record of volunteer service to persons with disabilities. During the past decade, he has volunteered countless hours and raised $25,000 for the Courage Center, whose mission is to empower people with physical disabilities. He is also part of the mentoring programs of AG Bell and SHHH and serves on the executive committee of the Minnesota Council for the Hearing Impaired. Second in the adult category was awarded to Barbara Bartholow of Gilbert, AZ, and third to Linnaea Mallette of Chatsworth, CA. Oticon gave a Special Achievement Award to Eric Jackson, whose hearing loss has not prevented him from being the current world champion in freestyle kayaking. Jackson, who recently became a spokesperson for the National Campaign for Hearing Health, represented the U.S. in the 1992 Olympics and is president of the World Kayak Federation. In accepting the award, Jackson said that he feels that he actually has an advantage over normal hearers because of the extra self-confidence he has gained from working with hearing professionals and from overcoming his hearing loss. Betty Timon of Bellevue, KY, is a founding member of the Greater Cincinnati chapter of SHHH and a tireless volunteer in the effort to increase awareness of and better meet the needs of the hearing-impaired population. For her contributions, which also include getting captioning for local television stations and helping establish the Kentucky Relay Service, she received the highest award in the advocacy category. Doug Senger of Martinez, CA, and Donald Ray of Concord, CA, were also honored for their advocacy efforts. Finally, Claire Kantor, PhD, who has served hearing-impaired children for the past 35 years, won first place in the practitioner category. During 19 years as executive director of the Summit Speech School, Kantor has increased enrollment there more than tenfold and led a $5 million campaign that resulted in a state-of-the-art facility for New Jersey's hearing-impaired children. Of the 2500 children who have attended the Summit School during her tenure, more than 70% have crossed over into mainstream kindergartens.Figure: Callie Daniels, a Focus on People Award recipient, receives congratulations from her mother, Monica Daniels, and Mikael Worning, president of Oticon, Inc.Figure: Team captain Lisa Lucks Mendel and Jeff Danhauer hold the championship trophy as their team, Aural Sex, celebrates its victory in the 2002 Audiology Trivia Bowl.Two AAA members were also honored in the practitioner category. Second-prize recipient Robert Sweetow, PhD, professor and director of the Audiology Clinic at the University of California, San Francisco, and a member of the AAA board, was cited for his lifelong devotion to research and care for persons with hearing loss and for his work in increasing awareness of hearing loss issues through his teaching, writing, and frequent lectures. Also honored was private practitioner Dennis Hampton, PhD, of White Plains, NY, a pioneer dispensing audiologist whose newsletters are read by millions of consumers and audiologists. Hampton has also been an audiology consultant to the New York State and City Departments of Health. REMEMBERING LARRY MAULDIN Beltone Electronics bestowed the fourth annual Larry Mauldin Award for Excellence in Education on Don W. Worthington, PhD. Currently director of the IHC Hearing and Balance Center in Salt Lake City, Worthington has enjoyed a distinguished career in audiology, holding several prominent positions, including director of the Army Audiology and Speech Center, audiology consultant to the Army Surgeon General, and director of audiology and speech pathology at Boys Town National Research Hospital. He has also been a leader in AAA and other professional and governmental organizations as well as a teacher at several universities and a frequent lecturer and author. The Mauldin Award, which honors the memory of a beloved figure in the hearing industry, is sponsored by Beltone and given to a recipient nominated and selected by his/her peers. In accepting the honor during a Friday evening reception at the Philadelphia Horticulture Center, Worthington, who first met Mauldin when he was a student, recalled his friend as a person with “a thirst for education” and someone who “loved to have fun.”
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