Presidential Perspectives

Hello everyone. Ever since we hired Sherri Collins as our first DSA Executive Director, she has kept me very busy getting her up to par to what is going on with DSA, what DSA is doing, and future plans for DSA. Sherri Collins’ name sign is SC on her chest. She is very energetic and motivated to make DSA look good and make our members proud. View vlog

Meetings in Washington DC

Two weeks ago Sherri and I traveled to Washington, DC, to meet with two organizations. We met with the AARP DEIA team to introduce Sherri Collins as our new Executive Director. During the one-hour meeting we had a very productive discussion with AARP on ways to increase cooperation and collaboration. AARP expressed a strong desire to learn more about Deaf culture and how they can get involved and assist. This meeting was very positive, and additional meetings are being planned. The second meeting was with a staff member of U.S. Representative John Rutherford (R-FL). We learned that Congressman Rutherford wants to revive the Deaf Caucus to educate the members of the House of Representatives on Deaf culture. Sherri explained the purpose of our visit is to introduce DSA, its goals, mission, and issues Deaf seniors are currently facing. The staff found our discussion eye-opening and promised to reach out to DSA as they progress in reviving the Deaf Caucus. Look for Sherri’s column in this magazine. The DSA Board as well as members are extremely happy to have Sherri on board as our first Executive Director.

Conference Matters

Pre-Conference tours have been announced, and many have sent in reservations. If you haven’t made your reservations, please do so as space is limited. If you have not registered for the conference, please do. The conference is offering a good number of activities, with three plenary sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from 8 to 9 AM. On Monday, Sherri Collins and I will have a “fireside chat” with two officials from AARP. They will share the vision of AARP’s disability office and their desire to learn more about the needs of Deaf seniors. This session promises be very interesting.

Other activities include Comedy and Sports luncheons. The Comedy luncheon will have comedians Daniel Cook and Angela Petrone Straity, who will guarantee you will laugh your heads off during the luncheon. The Sports luncheon will feature Heather Suhr, a Deaf athlete with multiple talents and strong work ethic. She was the first female golfer in the state of Wisconsin to win three consecutive Division-1 state high golf championships from 1996 to 1998. She also played soccer and basketball in high school. She will share her passion in becoming the first Deaf female triathlete.

Evening Activities

After the Farewell luncheon on Thursday, the evening entertainment will be a SignTasTic! trivia show presented by Daniel Cook. The audience will be included as part of the show. This evening will be enjoyable for all. Several evening activities are planned — trivia questions test how much we know about each other. Another game popular with many seniors is The Majority Rules. This game has no right or wrong answers; it will be set up in groups and each group will give their answers to the questions. If most give the same answer, that’s Majority Rules.

Kansas City Kansas City has a lot to offer, especially after  a major revitalization. The downtown area is within walking distance from our hotel. New attractions include restaurants, shops, the Power and Light entertainment district and the famous free Kansas City streetcar traveling back and forth from the City Market and its famous Union Station.

Nomination Matters

We are now accepting nominations for DSA President, Vice President, Secretary and two Board members. If you are interested, fill out the nomination form included in this issue and send it to Lance Fischer, Nominations Chair at lance.fischer@deafseniors.us. We are also accepting nominations for awards that will be given at a ceremony during the Farewell luncheon. Three awards will be given for the following: The DSA Distinguished Service award, DSA Organization Achievement award, and the DSA Ralph White Extra Mile award. If you know of anyone or an organization that deserve to receive these awards, please contact Elaine Navratil at secretary@deafseniors.us.

If you have concerns questions, or ideas, feel free to contact us or Sherri Collins whose door is always open. Only four months to go!

Be well, be safe take care of yourselves, and see you in Kansas City!