I assumed the presidency of ADA right after the academy's 20th anniversary convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our mission statement set the tone of my presidency for the next two years: "The ADA is dedicated to leadership in advancing practitioner excellence, high ethical standards, professional autonomy, hearing technology, and sound business practices in the provision of quality audiological care." The academy remained committed to the Au.D. We supported the AFA's efforts to develop and encourage distance-learning opportunities for our members. We established Au.D. student mentoring programs, matching an Academy member with an Au.D. student at the convention, as well as sponsorships for Au.D. students.

The Audiology Awareness Campaign (AAC) was another ADA sponsored effort which entered into its' own foundation in 1997 with the mission to heighten the public awareness of our profession and to make audiology a household word. The academy then joined this effort to unite the audiology community and to launch unified initiatives.

The academy also entered into cyberspace by developing our website: www.audiologists.org. We provided members with historical and current information such as: 1) The Au.D. and the ADA-ten years in review; 2) convention sites and dates; 3) information on our long range plans as well as a mechanism to e-mail the board. For the first time we handled many board activities though the internet and e-mail. Other business accomplishments included professional liability insurance, and the REAP or Recognition for Excellence of Audiologist Practice. The academy remained active with the coalition of professional efforts such as the Joint Audiology Commission (JAC), Collaborative Marketing Campaign (CMC) and the development of the Au.D. degree.

The collaborative efforts between ADA, Oticon and the National Cued Speech Association resulted in "Project Inform" a long overdue endeavor whose purpose was to provide complete and unbiased information on communication, education and socialization options available to families of young children with hearing impairments. The title of the booklet was "Open Doors: Options in Communication and Education for Children Who Are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing".

The best part of being the president of ADA was the feeling of being part of a group that appreciated your efforts — a real community of professionals whose commitment to the Au.D. was strong enough to support the efforts with their time and especially their money. ADA has proven time and again that they can move mountains.