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!
More after Seattle!
