A Path Toward an Accessible World
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A PATH TOWARD AN ACCESSIBLE WORLD WORLD AN ACCESSIBLE TOWARD A PATH A PATH TOWARD “America is well into the so-called “Information Age.” The best-paying and some of the fastest-growing jobs and careers involve collection, analysis, AN ACCESSIBLE WORLD and interpretation of information. All of us are bombarded daily with more information than were our parents; sifting the wheat of knowledge from the chaff of information is a crucial skill in daily life today.” Dr. Frank G. Bowe - Winter 1997 GA-SK Newsletter 1968 - 2018 “We want that little hand-held gizmo with perfect speech recognition capabilities that we can point to a speaker and be able to read the text of TDI’s 50 Years of Service and Contributions to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community what he or she is saying instantly. We’d like CART (computer-aided real time translation) to be within a hair of 100% accurate and give us ALL the information going on around us, including sound effects … I’m just getting warmed up. Stop me now!” Cheryl Heppner 1998.1 GA-SK Newsletter “The original founders of APCOM (the company formed to manufacture acoustic couplers) and TDI were pioneers in advocacy. Their communication 1968 - 2018 methods were different - some of them were f uent in sign language, the rest did not sign for one reason or another. In spite of this difference (remember - diversity!), they all learned to work together to plead their cause before federal agencies and industry. Not only did they talk about their situation, they also came up with possible solutions to problems and acted on them. As their network grew, they cultivated friends and allies who then helped make things happen.” Jim House 1998.4 GA-SK Newsletter From a Board Views column, titled “We Want You!” by in Volume 47, Issue 4 (2017) - “It is important to welcome new members of all ages and hearing loss while retaining loyal members so we can more fully represent the great diversity of our country. We need a larger base of younger members to carry out our mission and vision.” Sheila Conlon-Mentkowski, Board President TDI World Magazine Volume 47, Issue 2 “There are some times, when we try to convince industry and government that our access needs can be met as readily achievable, simply through extra effort, and with much less expense. Equally important, we have to take into account some constraints that industry has had with its resources, or A TDI World Anniversary Commemorative Edition government with its regulatory responsibility.” Volume 49, Issue 2 Claude Stout, Executive Director TDI World Magazine Volume 48, Issue 3 Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. First TDI Board Meeting 1972 TDI Board & Staff 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1968 – 1977: TDI BEGINNINGS ...................................................................................................... 2 From Modest Beginnings to an Advocacy Powerhouse ..................................................................................................................... 3 TDI’s First President & Executive Director: H. Latham Breunig ........................................................................................................ 15 TDI Agents - The Nuts and Bolts of TDI .......................................................................................................................................... 16 Teletypewriters Made Easy! .......................................................................................................................................................... 20 Board Presidents - Navigating the Future Through Leadership and Vision for TDI ............................................................................ 24 Board Members - Charting the Future for TDI ................................................................................................................................. 25 1978 – 1987: A NEW ERA FOR TDI ...............................................................................................27 A New Era for TDI.......................................................................................................................................................................... 28 TDI’s Second Executive Director: Barry Strassler ........................................................................................................................... 29 TDI’s Third Executive Director: Tom Mentkowski ............................................................................................................................. 32 1988 – 1997: TDI EMERGES AS A POWERFUL FORCE ................................................................37 Tdi Emerges as a Powerful Force ................................................................................................................................................... 38 TDI’s Fourth Executive Director: Alfred Sonnenstrahl ..................................................................................................................... 40 A Brief History of TDI Biennial Conferences ................................................................................................................................... 49 A Kaleidoscopic Look at Accessible Technology ........................................................................................................................... 54 1998 – 2007: TDI GOES DIGITAL...................................................................................................58 TDI Goes Digital ........................................................................................................................................................................... 59 TDI’s Fifth (and Current) Executive Director: Claude Stout ............................................................................................................. 60 Staff – Implementing TDI’s Goals Via Programs and Services ......................................................................................................... 72 Repackaging TDI ........................................................................................................................................................................... 76 2008 – PRESENT: TDI GROWS IN STATURE .................................................................................77 TDI Grows in Stature ..................................................................................................................................................................... 78 A Tale of Two Roberts ................................................................................................................................................................... 96 Technology Changing over the Years - Life with Mr. QWERTY ........................................................................................................... 98 Technology Changing over the Years - Relay Services ..................................................................................................................... 99 Technology Changing Over the Years - Movie/TV/Internet Captioning ........................................................................................... 100 Technology Changing Over the Years - Emergency Communications .............................................................................................. 101 Technology Changing Over the Years - Emergency Notifications.................................................................................................... 102 Technology Changing Over the Years - Hearing Aid Compatibility .................................................................................................. 103 Technology Changing Over the Years - Consumer Advocacy Tools ................................................................................................. 104 Accessibility Initiatives from the Corporate World and Academia ................................................................................................. 105 Technical Advisors - the Geniuses Behind TDI .............................................................................................................................. 121 Pro Bono Law Entities & Their Filings on Behalf of TDI and Other Consumer Groups...................................................................... 125 Allies with TDI in the Trenches..................................................................................................................................................... 133 Consumer Advocates - The Power of One, Two, Three or More....................................................................................................... 134 Our Future Depends on the Never-Ending Advocacy from TDI ....................................................................................................... 146 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................150 ABOUT THE AUTHORS ............................................................................................................... 151 Copyright © 2018. All rights reserved. This book A PATH TOWARD AN ACCESSIBLE WORLD is copyrighted by Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. You may not reproduce in whole or in part, by printing, duplicating, mimeographing, photocopying, scanning, downloading, or any other means, without express written permission from TDI. TDI has no affiliation with any company