From The President
I would like to thank the membership for this opportunity to serve again as your president. It is both an honor and a privilege to serve in this capacity, and I want you to know I am committed to keeping the association at the top during the next two years.
THAA has come along way since I last served as your president in 1996. Over the past ten years, our membership has tripled, our annual convention attendance has tripled, our trade show has quadrupled, our quality of education has reached a pinnacle in the industry, and our government affairs program has become the strongest in our 60 year history. All of this is due to your hard work and great leadership from our Board of Directors and chief-elected officers who served during this time. I extend my personal thanks to Amy Trost, Chris Czop, Steve Carpenter, Ray Kelly, and Bill Gilliam for serving as president over the past decade and leading this association to such great success. Their contribution to THAA, the hearing aid industry, and the hearing impaired of Texas is immeasurable.
The next two years will be critical for THAA and licensed dispensers in this great state. As you know, during its last session, the Texas Legislature postponed sunset review of the statute that governs our professional license until 2013. However, your THAA Board of Directors has decided to go forward in the 2009 session to seek changes that are needed in our profession now. Over the next year, the Board, along with the THAA Sunset Committee, will be developing the final changes we will introduce in the 2009 session. I urge all of you to continue to participate in this process as we mold a new act that will govern our profession for many years to come. All of the information about this issue will be posted on this web site under the link to sunset review on the home page. I hope each of you will follow this process closely. It's very important to our future!
During my tenure as president, I intend to continue the association's commitment to quality education. We all know the hearing aid industry is changing rapidly - and we must keep pace with those changes to maintain quality service to the hearing impaired of Texas. For this reason, we will be providing top lecturers on subjects that improve our ability to fit and dispense hearing aids. I invite all of you to become involved in this effort, as well. Telling the Board what you want and need in the way of CE programming is very helpful to us.
I am very proud to announce our 2008 annual convention will be held in Houston, June 26-29, at the InterContinental Houston. As you know, many of our members are located in the Houston/Harris County area, and we are happy to recognize their continued contribution to the association by conducting in the annual meeting in their backyard. I urge all of you to make plans to attend each of these conventions. Your support of this event helps fund many other association activities and efforts.
I look forward to the next two years as an opportunity to improve our profession and maintain the trust of the hearing impaired of our great state. Your help will be both needed and appreciated. Thanks again for the opportunity!
