Families First Award

Nominations for Families First Award

In every field, there are those who forge ahead with a tireless spirit to "make things happen" for our deaf and hard of hearing kids. Help us recognize the professionals and parents in the field of deaf/hh education who pioneer on behalf of all our children.

Send in your nomination letter to recognize those parents and professionals who go the extra mile, who challenge the status quo, and who immeasurably enrich the lives of our children. Nominations will be accepted until October 1, 2006. There is a $250 cash stipend to the Families First Annual Winner.

This Year's Award:

It was with great pleasure that Hands & Voices presented the 2005 Families First award to Dinah Beams, for her work, knowledge and commitment to the families and co-workers in CHIP (Colorado Home Intervention Program), Hands & Voices, and various organizations that support and enrich the lives of children and families in Colorado.

Dinah has been known to visit with a family on her way to the airport with the desire to get the family started with services, rather than wait until she gets back to Colorado from a conference or trip. Even when it seems as if there aren't any more hours in the day, Dinah will attend additional meetings to support families/ CHIP facilitators and take extra phone calls to offer her ideas. Dinah has been able to see where the gaps are in programs and creatively impact them so that the heart of it still keeps children and families first.

A special note of recognition to the other nominees this year, Stephanie Olson and Katherine Bowles.

Last Years Award:

Allison Biever Receives 2004 Hands & Voices Families First Award:

Allison Biever, M.A., CCC-A, of the Rocky Mountain Cochlear Implant Center, was awarded the 2004 Families First Award at the Colorado Symposium on Deafness, Language and Learning, on October 9, 2004. Ms. Biever was nominated by families who cited her on-going efforts to provide social opportunities for teens and youth who have cochlear implants. These events have expanded to include any in this age group who are deaf or hard of hearing. The joy of watching the kids learn to accept their communication diversity as they meet and socialize with each other has become the hallmark of "The Teen Thing." Allison has also been instrumental in the Cochlear Implant Kids Camp sponsored by CNI (Colorado Neurological Institute), and her many accomplishments have also been lauded by Colorado AGBell. In addition to these endeavors, Allison regularly works with families and their children of all ages in her role as an audiologist. Allison humanizes this very "medical" experience, befriending parents and kids alike with her passion for what she does and her easy-going child- and family-centered manner. Congratulations, Allison Biever, and thank you for the important work you do! Hands & Voices also congratulates nominees Diane Goberis of Mountview Elementary in Adams County, Colorado, and Sandy Radice of the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind for their work on behalf of our kids.

Previous winners and nominees:

At the annual Deaf Symposium (held in Vail, November 15-17, 2003), Hands & Voices announced all the nominees and for the first time gave this years Families First award to two deserving individuals - Donna Ewing and BJ Brubaker-Blocker. Help us applaud these heroes and say "thank you."

Every fall, we solicit nominations for the Families First Award for those individuals who consistently stretch the boundaries of what is accepted in the education of our deaf and hard of hearing children. We want to recognize those who work so tirelessly and collaboratively on behalf of our kids. Advocates get a reputation for seeing the negatives; for always pointing out where the system has fallen short. "Advocate" means to "stand in support of," and for this award, we stand in support of the incredible group of 2003 nominees: Joyce Sexton and Jess Buri, Susan Dickinson, Dinah Beams, Donna Ewing and BJ Blocker. The participants in attendance at the Colorado Symposium on Deafness, Language and Learning, held November 2003 in Vail, CO, were treated to stories about the nominees. We'll share a few excerpts below.

Joyce Sexton and Jess Buri, from Northern Hearing Services in Alaska, received a recommendation for this award from Linda Erickson in Anchorage. She writes, "When my family has visited with these two lovely women, they have always given us more then an "Office Visit"...They really try to genuinely help with other issues. they really do care. They go beyond what most other professionals do. They never give up." "These women have touched my life, my daughter Lindsey Hannah's, and many other families in our state. Thank you so much for allowing such a wonderful chance for those of us that would love to advocate for the special folks in our lives. "

For Susan Dickinson, a nomination was read by her son and daughter. "I will tell you about this lady. She really helped me learn how to type and read and use a pager. There is no one in the world who could teach me like Susan did. I would give her everything in the world if I had it." one man wrote. Cheri Davis, Highlands Ranch High School, sent in this: "When I read the words "those who forge ahead with a tireless spirit", I knew this award would be perfect for Susan. She never, ever stops working for her students. It is a privilege to witness her creativity and high standards in the classroom everyday. I do need my energy to keep up with her!"

Dinah Beams received nominations from parents and coworkers: Brenda Nowicki sent this in: "Just listen to her name, it says it all. Her name is a direct classification of the kind of person she is: a dynamite person beaming her light of spirit wherever she walks. I remember when I first met Dinah; I knew I had chosen the right person for our family..So many people think it's about 'the deaf child' and neglect the fact that this is a family occurrence, not an individual one. She takes this to heart and opens the door allowing families to choose the path that fits their unique situation. She doesn't generalize, but understands that families are diverse in nature and gives all of the resources to tailor to their individual circumstances. Bottom line, we've not had to choose between 'the deaf world' and 'the hearing world,' but we have created a world of our own and Miss Dinah is a huge part of our creation. She has been the best resource for our family to accomplish this. She's assisted us in a non-biased approach to research all of the options and choose what is right for our family.

"I went through a withdrawal when Elise turned three and Dinah didn't come to the house anymore. If fact she had to wean me. I'd call twice a month just to "check-in". To this day, when we make accomplishments in our lives I always include Dinah with a note of gratitude or a call to say how much she means to us. I still utilize her as one of my top resources and she takes time out of her personal schedule to let me fill her in on what's happening in our lives. She is my confidante, consultant, and role model."

CHIP Facilitator Mary Fowler wrote "Dinah seems to find time that doesn't exist. She is where families need her when they need her. Dinah is a phenomenal asset to our field and to every individual that is fortunate enough to work with her as a Co-Hear."

Donna Ewing who shared the Families First Award in 2003, was nominated by a number of families and coworkers. Pam Marlowe, a coworker, writes, "Someone like Donna doesn't come along very often. She takes a personal interest in each and every one of her students. Sometimes, we'd eat lunch together in the car, but Donna would insist on a view of 'her kids' even on her break."

Another coworker, Rita Albright, wrote in: "I have had the privilege of getting to know Donna through our collaborative planning around a child in our district with a dual sensory loss. Donna brings enthusiasm, energy, commitment, and passion to our team meetings and to her services with this child. When it feels that we have reached a dead end and wonder where to go and what to do next, Donna frequently provides a practical 'next step.' showing an excellent mastery, not only of the field of hearing impairment, but also of child development. She revitalizes other service providers and takes an untiring, expectant and positive approach with the children she services.

The field of deaf blindness is a challenging field, requiring extensive knowledge of the auditory and visual sensory channels. Very few individuals have thorough training in this area. Donna continually probes and researches what are best practices around teaching children with dual sensory loss. She has made me a better teacher of the visually impaired by continually modeling a "let's figure it out" or a "we can do this" attitude. Donna does not shy away from a challenge!

Donna regularly goes beyond the scope of her job description. This past summer she provided a home intervention program for her student with dual sensory loss to insure that, over the summer, he would maintain the skills he had worked so hard to develop and be able to enter first grade with these skills intact.

I am sure you have many excellent nominees for this award who are very deserving. I hope it is possible to recognize all of your nominees as being outstanding in their approaches with children who are deaf and hard of hearing. However, if it is possible to choose only a few to recognize with this award, Donna Ewing would be an excellent choice."

Finally, our second award winner, BJ Brubaker-Blocker, received many nominations for her work at the Aspen Camp School for the Deaf and shares the award with Donna Ewing. Dane Seaver, a camp participant, sent this in: "BJ is a tireless advocate and friend to kids who are deaf or hard of hearing. She has pursued her life's work through the Aspen Camp School for the Deaf, which serves hundreds of our kids each year. For many of these kids, this camp experience is their favorite-if only-fully accessible social event with like peers. The camp experience is first rate from the physical setting.to the programs, and unique adventures that create experiences the campers will remember their whole lives long.

Whether you are deaf or hard of hearing, and you talk or sign, or whatever, you will feel comfortable and accepted by BJ. BJ has somehow managed to keep this whole operation afloat financially with solid backing from her community.

Many, many campers get to go to Aspen Camp due to a scholarship made available to them from that resource. BJ's leadership and guidance provide a warm, loving structure of support for everyone at camp. Plus, she's always available to talk personally with a family or a kid if some extra TLC is needed."

Kristen Weiner, Program Coordinator at ASCD, had this to say: "This is BJ's 20 year anniversary at the camp. She continues to give, give and give without complaining. It is her undying love for this camp and the Deaf children out there. Her strength and determination has continued to hold up the fort here for so long. Running a camp is definitely not an easy task as I have seen. However, BJ has clung to the mission and value of providing the camp experience to all of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing children for as long as possible.

BJ is determined to bring any Deaf/HOH child to the camp for we know it does worlds of good in a child's life! It does not hurt to dream big and BJ is still dreaming BIG for the future of ACSD! There is so much more that I could say about how special, supportive, and important BJ has been and still is to ACSD. BJ, indeed, has devoted her whole heart, spirit and soul into ACSD!"

We are thrilled, as a nominations committee, to have received so many nominations and recognize pioneers working with our kids. Our gratitude and congratulations go out to all of them!

Previous recipients of our award are Ruth Mathers, Cathy Noble Hornsby, Brian W. Smith, Cheryl DeConde Johnson, Christine Yoshinaga Itano, and Denise Davis Pedrie.