Hamilton Relay Recognition Awards
Hamilton Relay has recently published a series of press
releases that recognize the accomplishments of Deaf leaders in several
states. We have been impressed with their accurate portrayal of these
folks as leaders of the Deaf community, rather than the "Deaf And
Hard Of Hearing" community.
Here is a representative example of these press releases
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hamilton Relay Proudly Recognizes Leader in Idaho
In honor of National Deaf Awareness Week, Hamilton Relay is
pleased to recognize Steven Stubbs, the 2005 Deaf Leader for the
State of Idaho. As young as Steven is, his contributions are
numerous. His leadership is an inspiration for young deaf adults.
Steven grew up in Maine, where he attended the Governor Baxter
School for the Deaf and Falmouth Public Schools. Steven held many
class officer positions, including class president. After serving a
two-year mission for his church, Steven attended Gallaudet
University. Active in clubs and holding officer positions, Steven
was involved in the Student Body Government.
Upon graduating from the University of Maryland with a degree in
Computer Science with an emphasis in Mathematics, Steven moved to
Idaho and began his career as a software engineer. His company has
often counted on his leadership skills to complete crucial projects
with absolute deadlines.
Steven is very active in his community, serving as co-chair on
the Board of the Idaho Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing,
where his work has been instrumental. Steven leads the deaf
congregation at his church, and he recently provided translation
assistance for a video project to interpret the Bible for deaf
members. In addition to all of this, Steven also finds time to focus
on becoming a CDI (Certified Deaf Interpreter) with RID.
Steven views his greatest accomplishment to be his family: his
lovely wife, Deanna, and their six children. Steven devotes a
significant amount of time to family-oriented education for his
children.
This leadership recognition has been brought to you by Hamilton
Relay.
Greetings!
We
at Oral Hearing Loss (OHL) Advocacy are advocating for organizations to
label and publicize events, services, awards, etc., in a manner that
accurately describes the population for which they are intended. We are
currently focusing on correct use of the term "Deaf and hard of
hearing", which is often used when "Deaf" is actually the
appropriate term.
An
example of inappropriate use is, "We provide interpreters for the
Deaf and hard of hearing", or "We provide VRS for the Deaf and
hard of hearing." Those statements are inaccurate because less than
2% of people who consider themselves hard of hearing use sign language,
and an interpreter is of no use to them. Such inaccurate statements not
only mislead the general public into believing that everyone with
hearing loss can sign, but they also prevent organizations from
providing appropriate accommodations to the OHL population.
We
have been following your recent campaign to recognize leaders in various
states, and we are excited to note that you are accurately indicating
that these are leaders of the Deaf community, rather than the "Deaf
and hard of hearing" community.
We
are also grateful that your recent press release "Hamilton Relay
Video Offers VRS 24/7 Operability" did not inaccurately claim that
your VRS services are provided for the Deaf and hard of hearing.
We
have established a "Hall of Fame" and a "Hall of
Shame" on our website (http://www.hearinglossweb.com/Issues/Identity/ohl/nat/ohla/ed/ed.htm)
and we are pleased and proud to recognize your efforts in our "Hall
of Fame".
Thank
you for your accurate and appropriate news releases.
Sincerely,
Larry
Sivertson
We received a very nice email from Hamilton Relay
explaining that they are very sensitive to all of their clients, and
work very hard to produce materials that are accurate and appropriate.
Again, our kudos to Hamilton Relay!
