President's Message

By 2011-12 GAA President Jamie Howard, Au.D.

Welcome to the 2011-2012 GAA year.  This is going to be a very exciting and productive year.  We have a great board (check them out here) working hard on behalf of audiologists in Georgia.  These people amaze me with their dedication to advancing audiology across the state.  But, they can’t do it alone.  If you see a committee you would like to help out with, please let me know.

With that being said, let me tell you some of the great things we have on the agenda for this year.  First, we started a partnership with the Georgia Commission for the Hearing Impaired and Deaf Persons on their initiative to “Loop Georgia”.  This is part of a national looping campaign to loop all public places. If you are interested in helping with this initiative email me.

Second, we are finding ways to participate in the “Adopt a Band” program to get the word out about hearing protection for musicians.  Preventing hearing loss across the state by educating the public about noise exposure is an important part of GAA’s mission.  If you have a musical background or connections to the music world, I’d love to hear from you.

We also have plans to continue to educate ourselves.  We are planning another workshop in the fall in Savannah so keep your eyes out for more information.  Of course, we are going to have our big GAA convention in January.  This may be our last conference at the Marietta Conference Center.  We had some great feedback at our last conference regarding changes that you want to see in the future and we are looking into making some of those suggestions a reality.

On a more national level, Susan Parr is spearheading a “Key Contacts to Congress” campaign where audiologists around the state serve as a liaison between the Academy and a member of Congress.  The AAA State Leaders & Advocacy Committee will inform these liaisons about key audiology related legislation and the liaisons will then be able to better inform the congressional member.   We could definitely use lots of help, particularly if you already know your representative.

You would be amazed at the number of issues that come up, some big and some small, that have to be addressed.  It takes time, commitment and money to get everything done.  So I want to thank you for making the commitment to be a GAA member, for taking the time to be involved in GAA and for supporting us with your money by signing up for workshops and convention. 

Be sure to join us for a great year ahead….

MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT: The Georgia Academy of Audiology is a professional organization of audiologists and friends of the audiology community that promotes quality hearing and balance care by advancing the profession of audiology through leadership, advocacy, education, public awareness, and support of research.*

The Georgia Academy of Audiology’s vision is to be essential in the professional lives of audiologists by:

•        Advancing the science and practice of audiology, and

•        Achieving public recognition of audiologists as experts in hearing and balance.

The Georgia Academy of Audiology shall be recognized as the professional organization for audiologists in the State of Georgia.

*We would like to acknowledge and thank the American Academy of Audiology for their inspiration in creating a mission statement that we have adapted for our state association.