AuDNet Inc
During a recent board meeting, AuDNet, Inc, Burnsville, Minn, elected the corporation’s 2005 executive management team.

Kathy Foltner, AuD, was appointed as chief executive officer. In this role, she will be responsible for defining ongoing business strategies and negotiating opportunities and contracts for AuDNet. “I am excited to have the opportunity to serve my audiologist colleagues and the profession of audiology,” says Foltner.

Also elected to the executive management team were:

David Smriga, MA, was re-elected as president of AuDNet, and will be responsible for business operations. John Zeigler, AuD, will serve as vice president of marketing. He will be in charge of all marketing efforts, including individual practice promotion, electronic communications, and media relations. Gregory Frazer, AuD, was appointed vice president of business development and will be responsible for business transaction programs, including matching buyers and sellers of audiology practices. James McDonald, ScD, AuD, will serve as vice president of professional relations. He will work with industry and academic institutions to ensure that AuDNet continues to meet the needs of current and future audiologists. Grant Smith, BA, was appointed vice president of sales. He will be responsible for ongoing recruiting for AuDNet membership and customer-growth strategies.

Cochlear Americas
Awarded for their outstanding accomplishments by Cochlear Americas, Denver, Colo, were students Timothy J. Brandau, Taylor McClelland, and Lori Mette. They were awarded the third annual Graeme Clark Cochlear Scholarship, an open grant to Cochlear Nucleus® implant recipients.

Lori Mette and Taylor McClelland (left), and Timothy Brandau (right) with former Miss America Heather Whitestone McCallum, a Cochlear Nucleus® 24 Contour™ recipient, and current chair of the Graeme Clark Cochlear Scholarship Foundation.

In 1987, Brandau of Rudd, Iowa, was the first child in Iowa to receive a multi-channel implant. He currently attends the University of Iowa, working on a degree in biomedical engineering.

McClelland received his implant as a sophomore in high school. He currently attends Bethany Lutheran College in Kansas where he is active with the college basketball team and is planning a career in sports management.

Mette received her implant in 2003, inspiring her to return to school. She is enrolled at Eastern Illinois University, working to become a certified special education teacher.

Starkey Hearing Foundation
Rebecca Lanier, 113, received the gift of hearing courtesy of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, Eden Prairie, Minn. Lanier, a Cleveland area resident, began to lose her hearing in the late 1990s. When the foundation learned of her age, hearing impairment, and financial need, it flew her to Minneapolis for a hearing aid fitting with William Austin, founder of Starkey Laboratories and the Starkey Hearing Foundation.

William Austin, founder of Starkey Laboratories, and the Starkey Hearing Foundation, Eden Prairie, Minn, fits Rebecca Lanier, 113, with new hearing aids.

Mission to Mexico. Ray Jones of Jones Audiology and Hearing Aid Centers, Fort Worth, Texas, and Howard Hait of Hearing Aid Healthcare Services, Palm Springs, Calif, partnered with the Starkey Hearing Foundation for a 3-day trip Guadalajara, Mexico, resulting in more than 700 needy children receiving hearing aids.

The two companies enlisted in the opportunity to co-sponsor the trip with the Starkey Foundation during the Foundation’s 2004 So the World May Hear Gala. The companies pledged a total of $70,000 to support the trip.

Student Humanitarian Awards. On March 30, the Starkey Hearing Foundation presented its first annual Student Humanitarian Awards at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC. The awards were presented at a dinner sponsored by Starkey Laboratories after the National Association of Future Doctors of Audiology (NAFDA) annual conference.

The Foundation’s award recognizes the humanitarian service given by the two recipients, Alison M. Bruns and Philip C. Griffin, who will have an opportunity to attend a Starkey Foundation Mission later this year as part of their award.

Bruns expects to finish her AuD from Ball State University in 2007. Diagnosed at age 5 with a sensorineural hearing loss that affects three-fourths of her maternal family members, she intends to practice pediatric audiology, and her own experience with hearing loss has uniquely positioned her for that work. “I feel a need to help children with hearing loss overcome the obstacles associated with it,” says Bruns. Currently in pediatric rotation at St. Vincent’s Hospital, she will spend 5 weeks in the pediatric department this summer at the Medical Hospital of South Carolina. Bruns has volunteered extensively and received numerous awards throughout her academic career.

Griffin is pursuing his AuD degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he expects to graduate in 2007. Fluent in Spanish, he plans to use his language skills to bring hearing care to Hispanic Americans here in the United States and to underprivileged populations abroad. “In whatever city I enter into the practice of audiology, I intend to establish a community hearing aid bank for financially challenged persons with hearing loss.” One of Griffin’s research interests is multicultural issues in audiological care, and he has already been active in that area, having organized and managed hearing care centers for Latino health fairs in the Chapel Hill area.

“We are so very proud of these young people,” says Starkey Hearing Foundation Founder William F. Austin. “Their passion for helping others hear will be an important asset, not only to their careers, but also to those who need their skill and caring attitudes. Their eagerness to serve is a tremendous positive example for us all.”

CAOHC
The Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC) has approved three new council members for its board of directors.

Diane S. DeGaetano, RN, BSN, CAT, COHN-S, is a representative for the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN). She is the occupational health manager for North America for Merial, Limited, Atlanta, Ga.

Ronald D. Schaible, CIH, CSP, PE, is a representative for the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE). He is the practice manager for environmental, and occupational health, safety, and human factors for Robson Forensic, Inc, Lancaster, Pa.

Thomas L. Hutchinson, MA, MHA, FAAA, CCC-A, is a representative for the Military Audiology Association (MAA). He is the audiologist, and supervisor of the Navy’s hearing conservation, and audiology department at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, NH, and Brunswick Naval Air Station, Brunswick, Me.