Robert "Bobby" Jones gad president
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GAD President 1973-1977 In 1970, at the July 2-4 GAD Convention in Savannah, I was elected as First Vice President and served a two year term (1970-1972). While serving as First Vice President, I also chaired the August 1972 GAD Convention held at the Wanderer Motel, Jekyll Island, GA, where I was reelected as First Vice President for another two year term (1972-1974). It was at this convention that a motion changed the face of when GAD would hold it conventions. Various states, including Georgia, had traditionally held their conventions in the same year as NAD held their conventions, which were generally in even years. At the 1972 convention, it was proposed that GAD would hold their conventions in odd years giving NAD even years. The reason given for this was purely a financial one. It afforded states their own convention plus be able to send delegates to the NAD convention the following year. This one act helped GAD build a stronger financial base as well as enable us to handle our finances more efficiently.
During this four-year term as President, my board members, Horace Taylor, Treasurer, in particular, and I established a budget for GAD. Horace and I proposed to the Board that the budget needed updating. We suggested that there should be five line items: 1) TTY Funds; 2) Books Fund; 3) General Fund; 4) Office Rental Fund; and 5) Miss Deaf Georgia Pageant Fund. The Board approved this change and to date GAD is still using this strategy of bookkeeping. It was necessary for GAD to get its finances in order, and with that, we began to look at what activities generated income and what activities cost/expense to GAD - known as accounts receivables and accounts payables. We looked at various ways to increase our income budget . . . and so we looked really hard at membership dues, the various fund raising activities i.e. selling manual communication books, social events, raffles, and other donations. We also had to look at the expenses i.e. financial support for delegates to NAD, pay the NAD quota fee per member, office rental, utility bills, phone bills, stamps, supplies for newsletter publication, tax preparation, State of Georgia Incorporation fee, and other small line items. All this was done “the old fashion way” . . . by hand. Not with today’s technology . . . there were no computers, no text messaging, and no videophones. We were staying in touch with the Deaf community via newsletters, early TTY, social functions, and driving to a Deaf friend’s home – not knowing if they would be home. TTYs Prior to Walter Brown’s resigning as President of GAD, he contracted GAD as an authorized TTY agent for Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc. After his resignation, this responsibility fell to GAD Treasurer, Horace Taylor. This TTY program helped the Deaf community tremendously. We now were able to use a regular telephone for the first time! With a TTY, we could be independent to call our friends or emergency officials ourselves without having to rely on a hearing individual to handle the call for us. Communications has come a long way since this first TTY program. GAD has always been in the forefront in supporting the advancement of technology for Deaf Georgians to live a full and independent life. The old TTY machines came from Western Union via AT&T and BellSouth. Each machine had a terminal unit to hook up to the machine and translate the code into typewritten words. Each State had authorized agents who received the old machines, fixed them, and then sold them to Deaf people. GAD had to pay rent to house the TTY machines. After a few months, my board and I decided to eliminate the cost of this rental space and move every TTY machine to my basement. The TTY machines were housed in my basement for approximately 6 years – rent-free. Horace Taylor volunteered his time and labor to repair and restore each machine for GAD. These two overheads reduced the financial burden on GAD ’s budget. Later, a news service was set up on a “loop system” for the Deaf to call and find out the latest local Deaf news. This too was housed in my basement. Membership At the 1975 Convention in Savannah, it was proposed that there was a need for membership growth. Bill Peace passed out a copy of Western Electric employee benefit “The Pioneer Pamphlet”. In this copy was a provision that any employee of Western Electric (of 20 years or more) could become a member of GAD. However, this proposal was tabled until the next convention in 1977. Miss Deaf Georgia Pageant In 1972, at the convention in Jekyll Island, Mrs. Joyce Brown, Cultural Program Chair, proposed that GAD in conjunction with their conventions hold a Miss Deaf Georgia Pageant (MDGP). The first MDGP was held the following year, 1973, at GAD ’s first odd year convention at the Ramada Inn, in Atlanta. Miss Mary Ann White, of Atlanta, was our first Miss Deaf Georgia. Mary Ann White was a brave soul in having to deal with various experiences during her reign as Miss Deaf Georgia as this program was a new development and process for GAD. Miss Deaf Georgia traveled to the 1974 NAD conference in Seattle, Washington, to compete and represent Georgia in the Miss Deaf America Pageant. After this national convention, GAD decided to suspend this program temporarily while we develop the process to suit NAD MDAP guidelines from 1975 until 1977. Two years later in 1976, I was elected as GAD ’s delegate to NAD, Houston, TX. It was there I met Pam Young. She was with the Miss Deaf America Pageant. She was also the fiancée to Vincent Holmes, Decatur, Georgia. It was at this time, I recruited her to become involved with GAD MDGP program. GAD was very fortunate to have had Pam’s experience in the Miss Deaf America Pageant to help get our GAD MDGP program set up. Workshops GAD presented workshops all over the State of Georgia. Such workshops included Welcome To My Workshops with workshop themes “Everything Everyone Wanted To Know About Deafness But Was Afraid To Ask”. The idea of this workshop was to expand the knowledge and expertise on deafness and its related impact on social, economical, vocational and moral problems through personal talks. These workshops also helped GAD sell sign language books such as A Basic in Manual Communication, and Ameslan, among other books on sign and deafness. These funds helped GAD meet its financial needs. During my reign as President, the state organization of GAD grew to 7 Chapters. By-Laws In 1977, at the GAD convention in Atlanta, By-Laws Chairperson, Alvin “Ed” Steele, Bill Peace, and I, formed a Committee to review the GAD By-Laws. It was at this convention, that a very important change was passed by the convention general assembly which was “. . .each Chapter of GAD was to be presided over by a Vice President at all of his/her respective Chapter functions and perform all the duties ordinarily associated with the Office of President. Further, these Vice Presidents would sit on and attend all GAD Executive Board meetings to represent his/her Chapter.” Change Comes to GAD In the past, GAD activities depended heavily on whether we had enough funds. For this, the Treasurer had to find available funds or have fund raising projects so GAD would be able to submit money to NAD for quota fees, or delegates to the NAD Conference. The Treasurer was burden with many decisions Since GAD had restructured it Executive Board and 7 Chapters were added, ideas and decisions were shared. The help in fund raising was spread around. The Chapters shared in the GAD convention experience, more money was raised, sometimes $2,000-$6,000. It afforded GAD to do more things for its members and the Deaf community. GAD worked with the Chapters to share GAD convention finances with the Host Chapter. In the past, GAD had been responsible for the entire convention. The reinvented idea was for the Chapters to bid and host the statewide convention, helping the Chapter with their fund-raising activities. The profit sharing was: GAD 75% and Chapter 25%. Our membership drive established a 300 to 400 member base each year which allowed us to send 2 or 3 delegates to the NAD Conference every two years. Various fund raising activities and programs implemented by GAD proved to be a success in meeting the necessary budget. During my last Regional III meeting as GAD President (1976 in Baton Rouge, LA), I learned of United Deaf Services (UDS) under Heritage Publishing Co. in Little Rock, AR. William Eckstein was President of Arkansas Association of the Deaf (AAD). He explained how AAD had received a contribution from Heritage. At first, Heritage had donated $1,000 to the Arkansas School for the Deaf (ASD), but learned later; it was against the law for ASD to receive this money because ASD was supported by the State of Arkansas. However, Heritage then donated the money to AAD, which is a non-profit organization. UDS was established and offered this service to most state associations of the deaf affiliated with NAD. It wasn’t until after my term that GAD made a contract with USD. President Ed Steele investigated the USD contract and information on the program before the Board approved the USD contract. This contract continues today. Much success with UDS has helped GAD continue to be “in the black” with a solid financial budget. At the end of my term, the Treasurer’s report showed a surplus of over $11,000. I believe this is the largest surplus in GAD history and hopefully, will help GAD remain an established and financially sound organization. As I write this and l look back at my term, I realize all the contributions I made as well as many other Deaf individuals made for the better of GAD. I am sure history will show all the hard work everyone put forth striving to get GAD on the right path to a wonderful future. I feel honored to have served GAD and found this experience educational and rewarding. GAD has improved the lives of many Deaf Georgians. The problems the Deaf are faced with are many but with GAD behind us to support Deaf Georgians we can continue to fight for equality. GAD has been at the forefront at assisting the Deaf with information of new technology to educating communities with workshops regarding Deaf awareness as well as provides a safe haven for social functions. GAD has had to overcome many obstacles and continues to climb that mountain one step at a time. ********* Vincent Holmes
1983 – 1984 It was wonderful being contacted by the Georgia Association of the Deaf and asked to write an account of the period when I was Executive Director and then President. Looking over the newspaper articles I had saved, it is amazing how fast all of those years have passed. You often hear about how much better other state Associations of the Deaf are, and feel as if so much more was accomplished by them. After being away for almost 27 years and having the opportunity to observe deaf people working in their respective states outside of Georgia, no one has impressed me with their ability to achieve so many goals within a short period as the Georgia Association of the Deaf. Most of the newspaper articles I am sending appear as if I was the driving force behind the close captioning movement back in 1983. This isn’t true. The deaf community in Georgia was responsible for whatever success we achieved. This was 27 years ago. Since then, I haven’t seen such a diverse and hell bent for leather outfit that didn’t stop for anything until we had what we needed. We didn’t just work together. We all worked. I recall GAD being the first state association to welcome the Black Deaf Advocates by a designating a position on our Board with Doris Riley being the representative and new board member. No other state association had made such as change as early as 1983. Among our other accomplishment during my involvement in GAD, which span from 1977 through 1983:
When that cold north wind blows in Wisconsin as I am climbing over snow mounds and navigating icy sidewalks with every joint in these old bones frozen and numb, I always seem to capture a spark of warmth when I remember those I worked with in the Georgia Association of the Deaf. *******
Jeanette Lorch GAD President1984 ---1989 Vincent Holmes was elected President, 1983-1985. GAD Executive board appointed me as President of GAD fall of 1984 when Vincent Holmes resigned as President to move to Wisconsin to take on a new job as Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor. This was the year that Bob, my husband, had a massive stroke. I had to make a decision whether to stay as president or not. I decided to stay on as president because we, both, had GAD in our hearts. Wherever I went for GAD, he went along with me. The highlights of my term were: 1. 10 Chapters We had 10 Chapters and there were: Cave Spring, South Metro, Albany, North Metro, Macon, Metro Atlanta, East Metro Atlanta, Gainesville, Augusta and Dalton. They were all active. The board met every month. The Chapters were involved in fund raising for both the chapters and Gad. The GAD Conference rotated at different cities in GA, where there were Chapters. 2. Georgia Interpreting Services Network We worked very hard with Dennis Fennell, who was the VR Deaf Specialist, at that time to get funding for the agency. I took time off here and there to go to meet with the legislators. It was an eye opener for both GAD and legislators. The bill passed the first year and the money was appropriated In the year of 1986. At this time, It was state funded. As of now, 2009 GISN Is privatized. 3. Georgia Relay Services During this period, we lobbied for GACHI. Instead Georgia Relay Services became a reality even before the ADA was passed. 4. GACHI GAD was Involved In the deaf and hard of hearing community Ie to propose a state agency that the deaf and hard of hearing can go for direct services. Marcia Gitter was the person who brought the community together. GACHI opened for services December 1989. We give special thanks to Marcia Gitter. 5. Our own Cookbook GAD members came together and Id our own cookbook. The cover was designed by Donna Leff. It was very successful that we did 2nd Edition In 1993. It contained recipes from all the deaf/hard of hearing, CODA, and friends of the deaf. 6. Shatter Silence (Deaf Awareness Month) Carolyn McKnight Howell Initiated the Shatter Silence during the month of May with all the activities: Kick Off (usually 1st Saturday of May), Braves, Six Flags, and all different churches/organizations. The reason it was in May is because it was Better Hearing Month and the NAD Deaf Awareness Week 3rd week In September nationwide. Donna Leff coordinated this for several years. We give special thanks to Donna Leff. 7. Mini Conference We started to host GAD mini conference In between NAD and GAD conferences In 1986. The purpose of the mini conference was to allow or give our NAD delegates the opportunity to share with the membership what they learned at the NAD conference, not wait till the GAD Conference. 8. Silent Dogwood News Donna Leff was the editor of Silent Dogwood News. GAD provided copy paper. This was more of an everyday thing, GAD BANNER were Issued every 3 months. 9. GAD Office We shared our office with GARID for many years. During my time, we had excellent Board Members and Chapters. I want to thank you all for your support during my time. I appreciated it very much. *******
Albert “Sandy” K. Marchman GAD President 1989-1993 Congratulations to the Georgia Association of the Deaf for its 100th year anniversary. That was many years of commitments made by a great many people, members, non-members, committees, supporters, and board officers. Where would we be today without these wonderful people? I was the last 4-year term President from 1989 to 1993, the term served by the executive board members changed from 4 years to 2 years at the 1991 convention. I was proud to serve and have no regrets of what we all achieved. There were and are many more goals to be achieved by all that requires GAD to continue its role. There are always some failures and we must not allow these failures to discourage us in our actions and thoughts to continue the work for equality. The areas are such as education, employment, media and our rights as to our sign language and Professional Sign Language Interpreters. Working to improve the ideology of Deafness and the false stereotyping of who we are as a culture and humans. I begun my involvement with GAD as the Vice President of the Gainesville Chapter (Chapter presidents were called Vice Presidents at that time), then became the Board’s Executive Secretary (a different name for the Vice President of the Board at that time) for 2 years. Then was voted President at the 1989 convention. After serving my 4-year term, I continued serving our community until 1997. Then I relocated to Tennessee for a year before relocating to Florida due to my health. In the years of being part of the Board, there were many issues we tried to address. One area we worked hard was with the Georgia Legislature in watching bills and issues that affected us. It was a great experience and I hope this role continues with GAD. If we are not watchful, some legislation could affect us in a negatively impacted and harmful manner. Of all the time, efforts and actions in my term as President, the most important aspects of performing and planning would not be possible without the team work of it’s members, the different core groups, the various supporters, the organization of the Disabled in general and the great support of the Professional Sign Language Interpreters. Without their input, their feedback, their actions and their trust, our efforts would be much smaller and not as effective. I do hope GAD continues working with these various groups and people. On a personal note, my involvement with GAD was a life changing process. I learned a lot that still is with me to this day. It did not matter if there were people who did not agree with me and may have opposed to some of the actions or statements I may have done or made. That is what our democratic system in this country is all about. It was a process that has to be learned and practiced. I hope that was a lesson all learned as well. *******
GAD President 1993-1995 I was the First President to serve a 2-year term, instead of 4-year term due to revised By-Laws.
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Andy Lange GAD President 1995 – 1996 (by Ray Williams) Although Andy’s employment took him away from the Presidency, he never “left” the Deaf Community. He went on to become NAD President and Gallaudet University Alumni Association President. His ties to Georgia continue today! We thank him for his service and support. *******
1996-1997 As President, I finished Andy Lange’s term as his employment took him out of town often when we had GAD Board meetings. He became Vice President and I became President. This was something new for me. I appreciated everyone’s help in assisting me with Presidential duties. I learned a lot and I have good memories as President of GAD. I am sure GAD will be long standing for many years to come and I wish them the best. *******
GAD President 1997-1998 Congratulations on Georgia Association of the Deaf’s 100th Celebration!!! My one-year tenure at GAD has been the most challenging and rewarding period of my Presidency. I was grateful for having the opportunity to serve on the Board of GAD as President. I have witnessed the changes for the best. It was my regret that I tender my resignation after my one-year as GAD President. I offer my best wishes for GAD’s continued success and growth. GAD will always remain with my heart. *******
Ray Williams GAD President 1997-2003 
1997-1999 Shortly after GAD President Kathy Stump was elected, she needed to resign for personal reasons. I assumed the Presidency from my position of Vice-President. Living 200 miles from Atlanta, at first I was not happy with the thought! The desire to serve to the best of my ability overcame this but I never got used to all of the travel. I must thank all of those who served during my three terms. Each person was special in his/her own way, volunteering to help make a better world. I have to thank Kathy and John Jordan for serving during the entire three terms also. We were able to car pool and save GAD travel expenses and save me having to drive so much to these Board meetings. I had enough driving all over the State of Georgia to advocate. Early into my Administration, it was obvious GAD had a problem with its reputation within the Deaf Community. Meeting and talking with non-members showed they thought of GAD as “Metro Atlanta, for Elite with higher education and well-paid employment. No one in GAD cared about the Deaf with low paying jobs or unemployed and would not listen to any complaints about problems. Georgia School for the Deaf (GSD) personnel would not interact with GAD. Other organizations serving the Deaf felt they were not welcomed by GAD. The Atlanta Area School for the Deaf (AASD) was considered the leading educational outlet for deaf students. The Georgia School for the Deaf needed to be closed with students being moved to AASD”. Other problems became apparent, as we started welcoming comments on HOW GAD could improve. I met with the State School Superintendent (Director of State Schools) Mr. Smith. At first he would discuss only the need to close GSD. I refused to even consider this action. I had to walk out of our meeting. Later, Mr. Smith requested another meeting on improving the two schools, GSD and AASD. We agreed on a mixed group to observe and interview both schools. It was the consensus of this group that problems were in both schools. Plans were established for both schools to improve. NO closure of either school was discussed any more. Relationships were improved between GAD and GSD. Thanks to Frank Osborne for pointing out problems we could improve on. GSD was assured of GAD support, as well as AASD. Both schools promised a serious attempt to hire more Deaf teachers. Statewide structure was also a problem.
We started early in 1998 with the “GAD Express”. This represented a train coming through to face or resolve problems relating to hearing loss in Georgia. The idea was to get on board (support us) or get out of the way. A person should be part of the solution and not part of the problem. Time for talking was over! It was time for action! Our slogan was “Just-Do-It”. No more excuses were listened to of why we could NOT do something. We rebuilt GAD’s reputation by going statewide. We held our Board meetings by rotating between the various Chapters. We tried to keep prices as low as possible so persons with limited income could also be involved. We started with about $8,000. After the first two years, we were able to thank our Treasurer Eleanor Foshee for buying a $5,000 certificate of deposit (CD) from excess GAD funds. This started GAD on a savings account. We retained an estimated $8,000 for general operating expenses. I cannot brag enough on Eleanor and her husband Doby for the work they did on GAD books. A new Chapter ALDApeach (Association of Adults who later lost their hearing) was established with thanks to Robin Titterington. They affiliate with national organization ALDA. A statewide system of communicating news was established as Epeachy. We were happy to see Martha Timms devote so much of her time to make news available to Deaf and Hard of Hearing and other interested persons. It was not GAD but Martha that did this. GAD utilized her system to stay in touch with the community. Epeachy has grown and continues to be our primary statewide news source. GAD thanks Jeanette Lorch for making the motion to name our website gadeaf.org to make this a reality. A thanks also goes to Duwayne Dukes for serving as webmaster along with all of his other hats of service. This helped GAD move toward and into the 21st century. David Keeter was chair of our Ad Hoc committee to study a GAD regional system instead of Chapters. David did a good job, worked hard on this study. This was not passed at GAD Conference. Chapters want to stay part of GAD. We thank David for his hard work! Instead, we added Representatives of areas not covered by Chapters to the Board. At the 1998 NAD Conference in San Antonio Texas, the NAD had a strategic plan study they proposed to remove State Associations, and NAD go straight to individuals. I debated against this motion because the State Association is like the roots of a tree (NAD) and without our States the NAD would dry up. State Associations need to help handle local issues before the complaint goes national to the NAD. The proposal failed, we States won! A couple years later we host NAD Board Meeting with reception at C-F Church! During this first two years, we saw GAD Senior Citizens host the national Deaf Senior Citizens (DSA) conference in 1999 with over 1300 attendees, thanks to Chair Jeanette Lorch and GADSC for hard work. This was their project and helped them become more independent but still affiliated with GAD. For Interpreters, the evaluation process needed to be revised. Mainstream employees with school systems needed to improve their skills. We met and agree with State Department of Education to allow 4 years for these mainstream interpreters to at least have a State of Georgia QA certification. They should have passed the State QA by school year 2003-2004. Unfortunately this has not been strictly enforced. We still have poor transmission of teacher materials to students in mainstream today, 2009 We advocated at many mainstream schools for interpreters to serve students with a hearing loss. This involved a lot of travel all over the State of Georgia. We had to share knowledge of Federal Laws relating to schools (I.D.E.A.) and consult on I.E.P.s with parents. A better understanding that an Interpreter is more for the Teacher than a student was emphasized. The Teacher is the one not able to transmit her material so the child can learn! Our 1999 GAD convention was held in Savannah. The highlight was a river cruise dinner with entertainment. We tried to get old GAD pictures identified by names. Only a few were named. We hope future GAD actions will include restoration of these old GAD pictures! We had a Georgia-first experience in a mock trial. Deaf could learn process of court and ADA at the same time. Thanks to Alabama Judy Gilliam for serving as Judge Judy, using a real judge’s robe. Also thanks to Mark Apodaca as Defense Attorney (he won!) and Tom (a CSD Lawyer—deaf) as Prosecuting Attorney. We had 12 deaf persons serve as Jury. We suspended our Miss Deaf Georgia Pageant (MDGP) program for this one term of two years, to give Lisa Collis time to re-develop, and update it to conform with the Miss Deaf America program under NAD. I cannot brag enough on the hard work Lisa did! The MDGP became almost fully self-supported. We streamlined the GAD structure into 6 categories or departments. This would help us be able to easily determine responsibility and accountability. We also removed much material that should be in “policy and procedures” from the By-Laws, thus making the by-laws more easily accessed and understandable. It was soon after this we had our first Deaf lawyer in Georgia involved. Although it was not very long, she still provided wonderful guidance to us! We thank her! We were able to change the GAD by-laws to show the words “convention” (meetings) changed to “conference” (workshops included). In this way, GAD could offer workshops, which Agencies could use as Staff Development for their employees. Duwayne Dukes added the Vice-President hat to his many other responsibilities. Doyle Hitchcock as Treasurer and Secretary Debra Barnick (re-elected) gave us a wonderful Executive Officer team. In the year 2000, I went to Washington D.C. to join hundreds of other people with disabilities who marched on the Supreme Court. There were about 80 deaf there, as we marched in protest against the treatment of people with disabilities. Jeff Rozen and I were almost arrested by D.C. Police as we protested their treatment of our Interpreters. Glenda Dukes helped us greatly with the purchase of our GAD laptop. This laptop helped the Secretary during meetings and we could also bring much information with us easily. This too helped us become a mobile technological talented group! Actually, we were in the midst of technology advancement for the Deaf Community as the first pager was sold (1996 NAD I think). I got my Wyndtell in 1998. With this we were able to stay in touch easily, just like today you have sidekicks! At the 2000 NAD conference, President Libby Pollard asked me to serve as the Chair of all 51 State Association Presidents, so we could set up and activate the State Association Committee had a communication line directly to the NAD Vice President. This was a great experience, as our Committee would meet “on-line” with yahoo chat room abilities. We did not have the expenses of traveling to meet. We cleaned up a lot of misunderstandings with IRS and our GAD reporting in the past. Also we got the State of Georgia caught up for our tax-exempt status. At the 2001 GAD Conference in Atlanta we retained all officers except secretary. Kathy Jordan was elected. We thank Debra Barnick for her years of service to GAD! We had the first time ever event of GAD President’s Reception used to honor the PRESIDENTS of all other organizations serving the Deaf and hard of hearing and deaf/blind in Georgia. We had 22 organizational Presidents attend! We had to protect the status and rights of other organizations by protesting a legislative action that would have made one organization THE (only one) statewide agency. We were happy to support a possible change to A statewide agency. We’re happy to see the continued growth of A statewide agency. GACHI continues to try and meet our needs! We were very happy to see GAD’s first Chapter, Cave Spring, return to active status. Cave Spring Chapter of GAD President Frank Osborne was a valuable asset. Another Legislative action we had to work on was for the Legislators to accept only organizational proposals for action, not individuals. We had a problem where individuals would try to get action from the State Legislator for personal purposes (a museum of his own materials and to get materials from others), not including the community in any decisions or discussions. As a whole, the Legislators were and continue to be supportive. We did have one Legislator who proposed his own idea with no input from GAD during the 2007 Legislature session to create the Commission on Deafness, which favors the Hard of Hearing (HLA). At the 2003 GAD Conference on Jekyll Island, we had our first ocean “cruise” experience as we went about 12 miles off shore. A few did get sea sick, and I’m sorry this happened but the overall experience was great. We had our NAD President on board with us! Thank you Andy Lange! With my third term limitation being in effect, we started the GAD youth movement with youths being targeted for GAD officer positions. Chris Merritt was elected Vice-President. Dixie Blackwell was elected President. We were looking into the future also when we started planning for the 100th year anniversary of GAD to be held in 2009. Jeanette Lorch moved that Bob Green be elected Chair of this 100th year celebration. Looking back, this was a great experience for me! We were able to restore GAD’s reputation and take it statewide. We were able to really make a difference from womb (genetic engineering) to tomb (deaf person’s right to inherence). We were able to make the path for future persons more smooth. We did NOT solve all problems but we did open the door to better understanding. I thank you for the opportunity I had in serving YOU, our DEAF, and GAD. *******
Dixie BlackwellGAD President 2003 - 2005 I was voted for President of GAD by Acclamation at Jekyll Island, Georgia August 2002. Then I had knee replacement next week. The surgery went well. My first appearance as President of GAD was at DSG Picnic on Labor Day and I used a walker to greet DSG Members. Richard and I enjoyed meeting friends and members. Several GAD members complained to me about GAD website was not working. It seemed to be frozen. No one was able to open or fix it. I had to inquire from two computer experts, Duwayne Dukes and Martha Timms about this particular problem. They had tried hard to open the frozen GAD website. They were baffled at this problem. I had a first GAD meeting with members and I had a special guest, Henry Carter who is computer expert. I had Jeanette Lorch as my mentor. He had explained about the GAD website problem, the cost of varied different websites, etc. He had to have members approve him to fix the problem. Then he did a wonderful job on fixing our GAD website. Finally, it worked. It took some time to develop programs which most members and visitors enjoyed surfing. I really appreciate Henry Carter’s wonderful help. Carolyn Jordan, GAD treasurer and I had traveled down to Macon for the Middle Georgia and Savannah Chapter meetings and events several times. Richard Clair, my husband, and I went to Capitol to support Deaf-Blind group to propose the bill at the meeting. There were deaf-blind and blind group expressing their grievances to the representatives who support the bill. Bob Green was there to support Deaf-Blind group. Some of blind people revealed their worst problems that really opened my eyes!!! Richard and I had met State Senator, Chip Jones, from Woodstock, GA and Senator Regina Thomas from Savannah, GA. GAD had a booth at Deaf Nation Expo twice during my presidency. Once GAD shared a booth with Miss Deaf Georgia Director, Renee Edwards. The booth was full of things to sell and was crowded for both of us but we had fun. It was hard working to set up the booth and it was fun to meet people there. GAD had a fund raising event, Masquerade Party. It was wonderful to see many people wore costumes and masks. They had marvelous time. I really would love to have Masquerade party again. GAD had donated some money to AASD for hosting Academic Bowl for Fall 2003. It was great event. Also, Joyce Brown, GAD secretary and I were delegate to NAD Convention in Kansas City. She and I did not have much time to have tours as much as we wanted but we had duties to attend meetings. Also, we had learned a lot from workshops and meetings. Then GAD had a mini convention to share our experiences on the trip to Kansas City. I really appreciate Jeanette Lorch as a mentor and Carolyn Jordan to work with me. Ray Willaims helped me over few things. That is all I had remembered my presidency and events. The time flew real quickly! *******
Christopher Merritt Patterson GAD President 2005 - Present In 2004, I attended the Georgia Association of the Deaf’s 47th Biennial Conference in Jekyll Island. I was not expecting for this conference to be a big part of my life. When the election came up at the conference, there was no youth that wanted to run for vice-president position on the Board. I raised my hand up and volunteered to run for the position. After exhaustive discussion, including Vicki Dunn – another youth at the Conference - the membership chose me to be the Vice President of the organization along with Dixie Blackwell as the President. During my tenure as a Vice President, I became a co-chairperson of the GAD Conference in Macon to assist in planning for the conference with Brenda Curtis. Along with the conference, I became involved in starting the youth movement. One of the highlights during the tenure, I went to Atlanta Area School for the Deaf to recruit high school students. The first two years of my vice presidency, my main focus was educating the youth about the organization and what the organization is doing for them generally. Atlanta Area School for the Deaf (AASD) became a big part of who I am as a Deaf individual. The director at that time wanted to develop a partnership with Georgia Association of the Deaf. We formed a membership drive, recruiting teachers to become members of the organization in exchange for a “Wear Jeans” week. It was successful after recruiting approximately 30 new members during the membership drive. At the 48th Biennial Conference in Macon, I was elected President. We had new faces on the board including Joy Spurlin who recently moved back to Georgia. She became a secretary and the new board had so many ideas and some of them are successful. We decided to set up a Road Tour, which was modeled after Florida Association of the Deaf. The Road Tour was successful with new members joining the organization. The first Road Tour was in Savannah, Georgia and hosted a town hall with the deaf community in the area. The second Road Tour was in Valdosta, Georgia and the last one was in Columbus, Georgia. During this time, American Sign Language bill was drafted and submitted to Regina Thomas who was Savannah area Representative on the Georgia’s Senate. The bill has gained momentum, but Preston Smith has already drafted a bill similar to the one we draft. With the partnership between Regina Thomas and Preston Smith worked together to revise the bill Preston Smith had slightly to include what we originally wanted. I attend the hearing on the American Sign Language bill and was very happy to see the deaf community there supporting the bill. The bill was successful passed in Georgia and was signed into law by Governor Sonny Perdue. Preston Smith had another bill calling for the Deaf Child’s Bill of Rights and we pushed for it to be passed. Ms. Kimberly McGuinnes played a pivotal role in having the bills passed with our support. I attended the National Association of the Deaf conference in Palm Springs, California as a delegate. Manny Johnson, a former resident of Georgia, attended with me as a delegate. We aggressively voiced our support and rejection for specific motions that would make a difference in deaf people’s lives. One of the motions was passed that recognized American Sign Language as a human birthright. I served on the interview committee for Georgia Department of Education in assisting in selection of the Georgia School for the Deaf’s new Director, Dr. Lee Shiver, and the selection has met with resistance with the Deaf community. The selection was strongly supported by Georgia State Superintendent Kathy Cox. Georgia Association of the Deaf has been very active in supporting the Gallaudet Protest in 2006 and a letter of support was submitted to the Gallaudet Alumni, which was part of the National Association of the Deaf’s strategy. Ray Williams, former Georgia Association of the Deaf President, participated in the protest with me. National Association of the Deaf was very grateful for our involvement in the protest, which resulted in the termination of Dr. Jane Fernandes. The 49th Biennial Conference was aiming to be the most successful conference since Jekyll Island’s conference. With my leadership, the organization hosted a Professional Learning Unit and Contiuning Education Unit workshop where the teachers and interpreters can earn credits to maintain their certifications. The workshop, presented by Brenda Aron, was so successful that we raised almost three thousand dollars. The people wanted Georgia Association of the Deaf to continue providing workshops for credit. Atlanta Area School of the Deaf and Georgia Perimeter College were our vendors for the credits for the workshop participants. Overall, the conference profited almost ten thousand dollars that were split among the general fund and the educational fund, which was established by the board in order to continue providing workshops and educational events for the community. I was elected for another term from 2007 – 2009; the Georgia Association of the Deaf went through significant changes that include the usage of vlogs and blogs to become more deaf-friendly through communicating goals, issues, and other things. During this time, Facebook and MySpace became popular. Georgia Association of the Deaf has a facebook page which was established where the members and non-members can get involved. We have almost 300 people on the Georgia Association of the Deaf’s page, which includes announcements and information about events such as workshops, and Georgia Association of the Deaf’s picnic in 2007. The picnic was successful and has raised awareness among the people who came to the picnic just to see what Georgia Association of the Deaf is about. Georgia Association of the Deaf signed a agreement with Purple Communication which includes multiple opportunities for sponsorships which raised funds for our educational fund but the agreement had to be terminated due to Federal Communication Commission’s remands. Georgia Association of the Deaf decided to sign contract with Clearblue (CSDVRS), which is now called ZVRS. We have raised almost two thousand dollars through this unique agreement, but it recently was terminated because of Federal Communication Commission. ZVRS has expressed interest to re-sign agreement with us, but in different aspects. For the past two years, Georgia Association of the Deaf has hosted fundraising events such as Forget Me Not, Wrong Game, and The Legend of a Mountain Man to the deaf community in Atlanta area. The events were successful and raised reasonable amount of money that were used for the Conference’s expenses and delegates’ expenses to attend the National Association of the Deaf conference in New Orleans in 2008. Georgia Department of Education and I worked together to develop proposal where Georgia Association of the Deaf can provide professional learning units directly for the workshop participants. It was a long and exhaustive process, which I am, now designated Professional Learning Unit Coordinator for the organization. Genie Gertz was selected the next workshop presenter for the workshop that was offered at the 50th Biennial Conference in Atlanta, Georgia in 2009, which proved to be another successful workshop to date. Georgia Association of the Def has organized protest for Kathy Cox’s $1 Million Winning from Who’s Smarter than a 5th Grader against the creditors who wanted to get ahold of the million winning. Georgia Association of the Deaf has appeared on local news and National news. The bankruptcy case has not been resolved as of today and is currently tied up in the bankruptcy court in Newnan, Georgia. During my tenure as the organization’s President, the board and I have worked so hard to serve the Deaf community in Georgia. Of course, we have made mistakes in selecting strategies and learning from them. I am very proud of my commitment to the organization and have trusted that we have served and improved the quality of life for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals under my leadership. It was not only me who worked hard, but also your Board Officers who you voted for worked so hard with me to make many things possible.  Directory: library -> GADHistory library -> The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh Selected Letters library -> Ieee/iee electronic Library (iel) library -> [0] B. Hardware [2] library -> [1] B. Hardware [1] library -> Florida public service commission library -> 1 1 before the florida public service commission 2 docket no. 070650-ei 3 In the Matter of: 4 petition to determine need for turkey point nuclear units 6 and 7 electrical 5 power plant, by florida power & light company library -> Archived Online Exhibit GADHistory -> Note: almost all of these are now out-of-date. Download 81.82 Kb. Share with your friends:
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