Dear State and Chapter Leaders,
I appreciate and applaud the recent hard decisions that were made by state and chapter leaders to halt their face to face meetings to ensure the safety and well-being of all members involved with the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. I’m amazed at how leaders are true examples of self-help, educating themselves, helping each other, and digging into virtual meeting platforms and learning quickly to navigate the virtual world that has been thrust upon us. I have had to acclimate to the use of the Zoom meeting platform recently this past year and have learned a lot but, yet have so much to learn. Everyday I’m learning a new tip or about a new app or some detail in an existing program that exists that makes it accessible to people with hearing loss. We are all learning together. This is not a technical guide but a resource list that I hope will give you options to use: Meeting Platforms and ASR Options For Chapter And State Leaders.
Thank you to Linda Kozma-Spytek, HLAA technology adviser and senior research audiologist at the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Hearing Enhancement, Gallaudet University, and all the HLAA leaders and chapter members mentioned in the document who contributed and have volunteered to help others get connected through technology.
I wish you all good health and stay safe.
Best regards,
Carla Beyer-Smolin
National Chapter and Membership Coordinator