The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) hosted its annual awards ceremony at the HLAA Convention, held June 23-26, 2016, at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC. Each year, HLAA presents awards to those who have had a noteworthy, positive influence on people with hearing loss.

 

 

This year, the Howard E. “Rocky” Stone Humanitarian Award was given to Lucille B. Beck, PhD, deputy chief patient care services officer for Rehabilitation and Prosthetic Services in the Office of Patient Care Services, Veterans Health Administration, US Department of Veterans Affairs. The recipient of this prestigious award is selected by the HLAA Board of Trustees to honor an outgoing or past trustee for his or her extraordinary contributions toward furthering the objectives and exemplifying the philosophy envisioned by Howard E. Stone, founder of Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH). Rocky founded SHHH in 1979, now known as the Hearing Loss Association of America.

 

 

The award was presented to Dr “Lu” Beck by Founding Family Member Alice Marie Stone during the Capital Banquet on Saturday, June 25–a highlight of the Convention.

 

 

“Dr Beck was the first professional to serve on the Board of Trustees,” said HLAA Board Chairperson Margaret Wallhagen, PhD. “At the time (1989), she was chief of audiology and speech pathology services at the VA. Rocky appointed her to address the technology issues and the determinants of quality for professional services. He also needed help with legislation to address telecoils and TV captioning, and he wanted the Board to have access to professionals who could advise on technology. She chaired the first session given at the SHHH Convention with representatives from the hearing aid industry where topics such as cost, size, telecoils, and technology needs were addressed. Dr Beck’s involvement created a path forward for consumers to tell the industry what they needed.”

 

 

In addition recognition was also given during the Awards Breakfast to outgoing HLAA Chapter and State Leaders and HLAA Walk4Hearing participants, for leadership roles and program development, and Founder’s Day, among others. The HLAA Awards Breakfast and Ceremony were sponsored by CapTel® Captioned Telephone.

 

 

Source: HLAA

Image credit: HLAA/ Lucille “Lu” Beck, PhD, at the HLAA Convention