The I. King Jordan Award for Distinguished Achievement
Each year the Association of Late Deafened Adults (ALDA) presents their highest honor, the I. King Jordan Award for Distinguished Achievement, to a deserving recipient. Here is the criteria for being eligible for this award.
“This award is presented at the discretion of the ALDA Board of Directors, but will never be more than one recipient in a given year. The award will be presented to a Late-Deafened person who has:
a) Had a successful and distinguished career in their chosen field of endeavor,
(b) Made significant contributions to their community, profession, and/or nation,
c) Provided an outstanding role model for late-deafened adults everywhere, and
d) Clearly demonstrated to the hearing community that a person`s competence, integrity, and human worth are not necessarily diminished by the fact they are deaf.”
At the recent ALDAcon in Scottsdale, AZ, past president, David Litman, introduced the 2015 recipient of the I King Jordan award with these words.
“As I was going through my education, there were several times I came across writings by this person. I was always impressed with his large body of work and diverse issues of hearing loss that he addressed. As a social worker, I was excited to see how much he addressed coping with hearing loss and the emotional impact hearing loss has on our lives and everyday communication.
But until last year, I had never met the man behind the writing. The first time I met him it was through a third person. She informed me that he was frustrated by the lack of clear lighting during the luncheon at ALDAcon 2014 and wanted to know if we could do anything about it. AND HOW HAPPY I WAS THAT HE SAID SOMETHING! I talk with people every day through my work about being assertive about your hearing loss. If you say nothing about what you need; you get exactly that back—NOTHING. It showed me that not only does he talk the talk in his writings, but also walks the walk in his everyday life.
So when it came time to nominate someone for the I King Jordan award, this person came to my mind immediately. But I still did not know a lot about this person but he made it so easy for me to learn more about his vast work and the help he has been for people with hearing loss. Please don’t take my word for it. This is what people have said about him:
You are a treasure of information and a treasure for sharing it.
You have been so helpful to all of us that we all are in debt to your compassion and expertise. You are kind of like the Ann Landers of the hearing loss, tinnitus, drug and helpful advice world.
There is a place in heaven for people like you who care about others and go out of their way to help even when there is no monetary compensation. You are a credit to your profession and I am humbled by your humanity.
Thanks for giving me all the time this has taken! The information you’ve given me has FAR exceeded all the information I’ve gotten from countless DOCTORS over the years!
This is just the tip of the iceberg in regards to testimonials about what he has offered to people through his writings, but mostly through his compassion and ongoing communication with people that have hearing loss.
His professional work has covered topics that any late deafened adult must read—issues like tinnitus, grieving for hearing loss, ototoxicity, Meniere’s, communication challenges and much much more.
ALDA is a stronger, richer, and better organization with his being a part of our family and I hope everyone in this rooms follows his lead and the lessons he has taught us not just in his writing but more importantly in his actions and empathy.
It is my honor to present the 2015 I King Jordan award for distinguished achievement to Dr. Neil Bauman!”
In 2015 the I King Jordan award was presented to Dr. Neil
on September 18, 2015 at the ALDAcon in Scottsdale, AZ.
Dr. Neil receiving the I. King Jordan award.
(click on picture for larger size)
From left to right, David Litman, ALDA past president, Dr. Neil, Tina Childress, audiologist, the 2014 recipient of this award, and current ALDA president, Steve Larew.