SHHH Turmoil Surfaces

I've delayed reporting on the current SHHH brouhaha, because I really don't have any confirmed information and I am hoping to get some clear answers to some of the accusations at the Seattle convention in a couple of weeks. But as I see lots of well-respected people expressing their concerns, I've decided to at least mention some of the claims that are being made. Hopefully, someone from SHHH will either confirm or deny these accusations, or at least provide some additional information.

One issue is the manner in which the Board of Directors is elected. It seems that up to and including the upcoming Seattle convention, the Board of Directors is elected at the convention. Proxies are not allowed, which means that only those members who attend the convention are allowed to vote for the Board. In addition, the Board candidates are nominated by the existing board and have not been publicly disclosed until the convention. This means that the rank and file SHHH member has no input into the selection of Board candidates and has no opportunity to research the proposed candidates. It seems that their only option is to "rubber stamp" the candidates that the existing board has hand-selected. This system seems designed to ensure that the Board becomes ingrown and isolated.

This selection system has apparently been under attack and will be modified for the 2003 election. I hope to get details of the revised system at the convention and report them soon afterwards.

A second issue is the set of financial difficulties in which SHHH now finds itself. It appears that they have been losing huge amounts of money for an extended period of time. One estimate I've seen is that SHHH has lost about a million dollars in the last couple of years! I don't know if that's accurate, but I hope to learn more about this at the convention.

A third issue is the lack of communication from the national office about these issues. I visit the website and read the magazine, but I've seen almost nothing on any of these difficulties or their repercussions. (There was a brief mention in Rocky Stone's guest column in the May/June issue of "Hearing Loss", and that column has been posted on the website.)

One interesting result of all these difficulties is the suggestion that SHHH look at combining with another hearing loss organization. Candidates include the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), the Association of Late Deafened Adults (ALDA), and the Alexander Graham Bell Association. I don't think there has been much progress in this area, but it is an interesting idea!