HLAA Convention 2011 Special: Opening Session, Keynote #1

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NVRC News - June 17, 2011

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Opening Session and Keynote Address

By Cheryl Heppner, 6/17/11

Hearing Loss Association of America has a unique opening session, different

from most other conferences and conventions I attend. The session and

keynote presentation are held at the end of the first official day of the

convention instead of at the day's beginning. One advantage of doing this

can be that there are people who continue to arrive during the day, so the

audience is larger. This certainly seems to be one of the most well-attend

HLAA conference opening sessions I've attended.

HLAA, as well as larger national organizations for deaf and hard of hearing

persons like TDI and NAD, adds more sophistication and polish to each new

opening session. What a stirring evening they gave us! Things kicked off

with a uniquely local spectacle, the presentation of colors by the U.S. Army

Continental Color Guard, the Army's premier ceremonial unit and escort to

the President of the United States. This was followed by the pledge of

allegiance.

Welcomes and Thanks

Fackler, President of the HLAA Board of Trustees, welcomed us to the

convention and recognized delegates, state and chapter leaders, fellow

members of the board of trustees, volunteers, and distinguished guests.

Barbara Kelley, HLAA Deputy Executive Director, applauded the Kennedy Center

for its work in making possible a groundbreaking evening of live theater on

Friday with a performance of the musical " Wicked " for conference attendees

that features live captioning, infrared and loop listening systems, and sign

language interpreters. The evening is sponsored by CTIA " The Wireless

Association " and Audiotoniq.

This year's HLAA convention has attendees from 11 countries, she reported.

As Barbara gave a preview of things to come, she noted that a group of young

adults were on a scavenger hunt at locations around the nation's capitol,

made possible through sponsorship by Starkey. At the end of the hunt these

young adults would kick back with a musician and illusionist sponsored by

Sorenson.

A Place in Our Hearts

The opening session then segued into a series of segments with strong

emotional impact.

Virginians who belong to an HLAA chapter will well remember Vic Matsui, who

was at one time the state chapter coordinator. Vic has gone on to become a

member and officer of the HLAA Board of Trustees. He led a tribute to those

suffering in the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe in Japan,

calling the Japanese a model of stoicism. Despite the widespread

destruction and loss, there was no looting and the Japanese people banded

together to help and support each other. HLAA has had a long relationship

with the Japanese organization for people with hearing loss, Zennancho,

which goes back to the days when Donna Sorkin was the HLAA executive

director. After the disasters, HLAA took the initiative to address the

issues of hard of hearing persons, talking with the Counselor of the

Japanese Embassy, Airia Nisikawa, whose son is hard of hearing.

Counselor Nisikawa, with his son Ayuma at his side, spoke of how thankful

the Japanese people were for the American rescue teams and the Americans

always being there for them, supporting them with generous donations.

Auyuma, he said, wears two hearing aids but one is broken. He hopes to

train as an audiologist and return to Japan.

At the end of his remarks, the audience gave Counselor Nisikawa a sustained

standing ovation. Counselor Nisikawa then presented a gift from Zennacho, a

Japanese flag. Vic Matsui explained that the Japanese flag is treated

differently than the American flag. It is often used to send messages. In

this case, Zennacho had folded the flag into a crane to be signed by its

American friends and then sent back to Zennacho. It is currently in the

exhibit area where people can stop by and sign it.

HAA Staff Recognition

Battat, HLAA Executive Director, gave an update and showed a video

about HLAA. She talked about HLAA's work on hearing aid compatibility.

After recognizing the HLAA staff, she noted that 75% of people who could

benefit from a hearing aid still do not have one. The most common reason

they give for this is the cost. A large number of calls and website visits

continue to be made by people looking for financial help. This has led to

HLAA's launch of a new campaign to improve Access for Affordable Hearing

Health Care. Its overall focus is to start a dialogue with various parties

to get treatment for hearing loss provided early.

Walk4 Hearing Update

The Walk4Hearing has helped to raise awareness since 2006 with 2,000 walkers

and has raised $3 million. recognized the 2011 Walk4Hearing National

Business Chair, Mike Orscheln, CEO of Phonak. Mike, who has been leader of

the Chicago Walk4Hearing event for the past two years, talked about Phonak's

dedication to enrich the lives of those with hearing loss by providing the

best products. He recalled a day of profound revelation when he was in his

40s and woke up with the realization he could not hear in one ear. He

rolled over and could hear fine with the other. Up to this point in his

life he was " totally unaware " of the impact of hearing loss.

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