I joined the ADA during the first ever clandestine meeting during an ASHA meeting in San Francisco. I volunteered to organize the first ever ADA conference at Cape Cod in Massachusetts. We were all quite angry because of the ASHA ruling that audiologists should/could not dispense hearing aids for profit. There had already been several expulsions from ASHA for this offense and audiologists organized into one strong voice to protest. We were successful at this conference, I think almost 200 people attended. If you can remember history, ASHA recanted and the policy against dispensing was withdrawn.

However, this precipitated a crisis for the ADA. ADA was organized to represent audiologists who wanted to dispense. Now that there was no problem, there did not appear to be a need for this group. Even our esteemed leadership seemed uncertain about the need for this Academy.

The second conference was held in Reno, Nevada. It was extremely difficult to get there and only a handful of members made the effort. I believe that less than 60 individuals attended and the majority were manufacturer's representatives. It was a disappointing weekend and the Board performed significant soul searching. It was not necessary to organize yet another organization and yet several of us, including myself, felt there was a role for ADA.

After debate and discussion, ADA reorganized and focused on representing the practitioners in the field. We had the expertise and the experience and there definitely was a need. No one understood the business of hearing health, and the ADA provided the first forum. We taught ourselves and taught others. And we acknowledged that the best services and products could be provided at profit with pride. I believe that the strength of ADA continues in its ability to represent and respect the practitioners.