By: Judith Erwin, MA, CCC-SLP, TSHF Service and Education Award Chair
Celebration and excitement were evident at the annual Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) and Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation (TSHF) 2022 awards event during Convention in February. The following service and education awards were bestowed on highly qualified recipients.
The Burtis-Vogel/Elkins (BVE) Community Service Award is intended to advance the work of speech-language pathologists who exceed expectations in providing services that benefit the community at large or who advance the field of speech-language pathology. There were two BVE awards this year. Angelia Daniel received this award for chartering the Houston Chapter of Sisters in Speech Therapy and Audiology (S.I.S.T.A.s), an organization dedicated to increasing and retaining the number of minority speech-language pathologists and audiologists. S.I.S.T.A.s worked to establish mentor programs at several universities and in several states, established a scholarship fund for minority women in speech-language pathology and audiology, and worked diligently to be of service in their respective communities.
The second award was given to Dr. Angela Kennedy and Dr. Casey Taliancich-Klinger of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio for their project Bridging the Access Gap; Collaborative Outreach ThroughHousing Communities. The aim of this project was to bridge the gap between underrepresented minority groups and access to free speech, language, and hearing services for children in those underserved areas of San Antonio. This project worked collaboratively with nonprofit groups to connect directly with children and their families who were having difficulty accessing timely service delivery or who were having difficulty navigating healthcare and educational systems.
The TSHA Young Leadership Award is for students or young professionals in speech-language pathology and audiology who have demonstrated leadership abilities and who show potential to become leaders of TSHA. The recipient of this year’s Young Leader Award was given to Matthew Randal. Matthew is one of the current Graduate Student Representatives on the TSHA Executive Board and has been very active in engaging students on social media and increasing student membership in the Association.
The Cherry Wright Texas Educational Loan Support Trust supplements payment of educational loans for speech-language pathologists and audiologists employed in a public-school setting in the state of Texas. This year’s recipients were Christine Anderson, Fort Worth ISD; Kaley Ervin, Del Valle ISD; Laura Frausto, San Angelo ISD; and Tronda Moss, Fort Worth ISD.
The Carolyn Wells Service Award was established in honor of Carolyn Wells of Houston for her outstanding service to the Foundation. Linda Sissel was selected for this award in recognition of her 20 years of service to the Foundation Board as the accountant.
