Dispenser Of The Year
Each year, the association honors one of its members with the coveted THAA Dispenser of the Year Award. The award is given to the licensed dispenser who practices the highest standard of ethics when serving the hearing impaired of Texas. THAA is proud to announce its 2009 Dispenser of the Year is Amy Trost, BC-HIS.
Amy was born in Beeville, and at age 14 her family moved to Seguin where she graduated from high school and then attended St. Phillips College and Texas State University. She began working in the hearing aid business in 1997, and received her Texas license to dispense hearing aids from the State Licensing Committee in 1999.
Shortly after becoming licensed, Amy joined THAA and the International Hearing Society. The following year, she showed a willingness to excel beyond the normal requirements for being a hearing aid dispenser by obtaining the dispensing profession’s most coveted designation - Board Certified Hearing Instrument Specialist. And at this moment, she is on the verge of earning the prestigious credential of ACA from the American Conference of Audioprosthology.
In addition to her commitment to education, Amy became an active volunteer in her profession. For the past six years, she has unselfishly given her time and money to travel to Austin three times a year to help proctor the practical examination given by the State Licensing Committee. In addition, she also attended most every meeting of the licensing committee the day before the examination to learn the issues that face the dispening profession and the hearing aid industry.
Amy continued her volunteer service to her profession by serving on the THAA Board of Directors from 2001 to 2005. For two of those years, she held the office of Secretary of the association. She was also a member on the special THAA Continuing Education Committee – which is responsible for making the education programming at the association's annual convention the best in Texas. After two terms on the Board, she was elected by the membership to serve as President-Elect from 2005-2007. But, her term as president was moved forward when Ken Haesly was appointed by Gov. Perry to serve on the State Licensing Committee in 2006.
During her tenure as President, the membership almost doubled and the financial reserves grew. And in 2007, during the 60th anniversary convention, she presided over the largest attendance ever in the history of the association. As President, she appointed and served on the critical THAA Sunset Committee, which developed the content of HB 594 that was passed by the Texas Legislature in the 2009 session. There is no question that during her time on the Board and during her tenure as President, the association experienced the most successful years in its 60 year history.
And if that wasn’t enough, last year she accepted an appointment from Gov. Perry to serve a six year term on the State Licensing Committee in Austin.
One of the cornerstones of the dispensing profession has always been family. When you look through the THAA membership, you will see fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, and bothers and sisters working side-by-side to serve the hearing impaired of Texas. This profession is a family business. This year, THAA has taken another step forward in keeping with that tradition by honoring the first mother-daughter recipients of the Dispenser of the Year Award. In 2002 it was Helen Ross. In 2009, the association honors her daughter - the THAA 2009 Dispenser of the Year - Amy Trost.
