Charlie Stone: 2008-2009

When I look back at my year as ADA president I recall initial feelings of anxiety and uncertainty mixed with great hope and promise for the future.

I had served on the ADA board several years before so I was acutely aware of the time commitment and responsibilities that came with the job of President. One of the first duties as president elect and new board member was to help find a new association management team that understood our culture as well as our quirks. This proved to be a lengthy and arduous task but very interesting and rewarding. All of the board’s efforts resulted in an outstanding new Association director and management team. I can personally attest to the fact the our newly hired director, Stephanie Czuhajewski and her staff hit the ground running and have greatly improved the look and feel of ADA.

With our new management team in place and excited to get going ADA adopted the Position Paper “Ensuring Audiology’s Future in Healthcare: Owning the Profession through a Culture of Practice Ownership,” which redefined our core mission and direction for the future. We combined this position paper and the results of the spring summit held at AAA in Charlotte in 2008 and held a strategic planning session in June of 2009.  From this meeting, we have developed a roadmap for the future.

With our new mission in mind we worked to make advancements and increased utility of our website. We are very pleased with the amount of meaningful content that we have been able to post over the past year. My presidency also marked the first full year of our newly redesigned professional publication Audiology Practice magazine. This publication has expanded practice content with relevant business information in addition to its great new look.

In addition to making great changes in our appearance and function, 2009 was a year of collaboration and outreach. ADA worked cooperatively with AAA and other audiology organizations to formulate a response to the AMA concerning its “Scope of Practice Data Series on Audiologists.” We also reached out to organizations that dealt either directly or indirectly with consumers. We published articles in consumer journals concerning quality of care issues and provided rebuttals to consumer articles that misrepresented our profession.

ADA has also made efforts to work closer with state organizations. An example is our joint work with the Minnesota Academy of Audiology to develop the “Hear For You” campaign. We plan to continue this outreach with other states going forward.

I have enjoyed my tenure as ADA's president and have appreciated all the hard work and dedication of our outstanding board members and our management team. Now that my term has ended and as I am put out to pasture, I leave you with a personal challenge. I challenge each and every member to get involved in this great profession, in their community, and in the organizations that support their personal and professional beliefs. ADA is that place for me and I hope it is that place for you. I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve this wonderful organization and the profession that is serves. Thank you all and I challenge you to get involve in some small way to make a difference today and for tomorrow.