2009-2010 Annual Report (English)
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ANNUAL REPORT • 2009 – 2010 The Canadian Hearing Society Board of Directors Co-Chairs Jo DeLuzio, Len Mitchell Vice-Chairs Lori Clemente, Elliott Knox, Jeanette Parsons Treasurer Jonathan Wollaston Secretary Denis Morrice Directors Ron Eilath Murray Pollard Sathish Subramanian Jay Innes Irene Rothe Lynn Sveinbjornson Salma Kanji Laurie Scott Norma Jean Taylor Jay Leather Paul Smith Management Staff Senior Management Denis Morrice Interim Chief Executive Officer Maribeth Meijer Chief Operating Officer Fred Enzel Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer Katherine Hum-Antonopoulos Vice President, Programs and Services Susan Main Vice President, Fundraising and Strategic Communications Gary Malkowski Special Advisor to the President, Public Affairs Kelly Murray Vice President, Marketing and Business Development Donald Prong Director, Human Resources Regional Management Hamilton Chris Kenopic Thunder Bay Nancy Frost Kingston Brian McKenzie Toronto Stephanie Ozorio London Marilyn Reid Waterloo, Peel Victoria Baby Ottawa Philippe Ramsay Windsor David Kerr Peterborough Maggie Doherty-Gilbert York Tim Maloney Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie Silvy Coutu Program Management Rex Banks Hearing Health Care Jo-Ann Bentley Communication Devices Program Karen Frayn CONNECT Susanne Gillespie General Support Services & Hearing Care Counselling Program Kelly MacKenzie Information & Public Awareness Gordon Ryall Employment Services Cheryl Wilson Ontario Interpreting Services THE CANADIAN HEARING SOCIETY ANNUAL REPORT • 2009 – 2010 | 1 Report of the Co-Chairs 2010 marks the 70th anniversary of Undoubtedly, the most significant under- the founding of The Canadian Hearing taking of the Board this year has been the Society – an impressive milestone. We, search for a new President and CEO fol- as co-chairs, are extremely proud of the lowing the resignation and subsequent record of service CHS has provided to departure of Kelly Duffin at the end of the community since 1940. We want to December. We recognize Kelly’s tremen- share some of the highlights from the dous contribution to CHS and thank her past year. for the strong leadership she provided over the last five and a half years. • Board and management participated in the second annual CHS Day at Queen’s At the same time, change brings with it Park in October. We met with many opportunities for growth. MPPs and senior officials in the Ontario government to reinforce the importance One of the first things the Board did was Jo DeLuzio, Co-Chair and specialized nature of CHS’s employ- to recruit an interim CEO, Denis Mor- ment and mental health programs. rice, in recognition of the considerable • The Board developed and implemented workload that senior management was a self-evaluation tool to ensure that we already carrying. It was not fair or real- strive to be the best and most effec- istic to expect them to assume the CEO tive group of volunteers that we can role for an unknown length of time. be. Funders are beginning to ask how Boards evaluate their performance and We were thrilled when Denis agreed this is one tool that we have established to return to CHS after serving as our and are using regularly. Executive Director from 1975 to 1992. • As co-chairs we attended a one-week He is well acquainted with our consum- course on leadership in bilingual educa- ers, funders, partners and programs. His tion for children who are deaf and hard extensive experience in the non-profit of hearing. The course was held at sector has given everyone comfort and Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, stability during this transition phase. The North America’s only liberal arts univer- Board thanks Denis for his unwavering sity for deaf students. commitment to CHS. • On the governance front, the Board Len Mitchell, Co-Chair continued to update and fine-tune the Our search for a new CEO is well under- Board Policies Manual to ensure consis- way at the time of writing this report. It is tency with the new bylaw approved at our hope that a new CEO will be in place the 2009 Annual General Meeting. by early summer 2010. The process that • We are gearing up to write a new we have engaged in has been rigorous, Strategic Plan as the current four-year consultative, transparent and unbiased Strategic Plan is near completion. – always with the best interests of CHS THE CANADIAN HEARING SOCIETY 2 | ANNUAL REPORT • 2009 – 2010 at heart. This process has taken time and The Canadian Hearing Society patience, and we thank everyone – con- sumers, funders, donors, staff, members, volunteers – for continuing to provide Vision top notch service and ensure the finan- cial stability and health of a $35-million A society where all people are respected; have full access not-for-profit organization during this to communication; and are able to participate without transition time. social, economic, or emotional barriers. The CHS 2010 Annual General Meet- ing marks the end of our second and final year as Co-Chairs. Though our Mission roles are changing in the coming year (Len becomes Chair of the Board and Jo The Canadian Hearing Society is the leading provider becomes Past Chair of the Board), we are of services, products, and information that: delighted to continue working together, • remove barriers to communication learning from each other and respecting • advance hearing health the different perspectives we bring to bear on Board work. • promote equity for people who are culturally Deaf, oral deaf, deafened, and hard of hearing CHS is committed to removing barriers for all people who are culturally Deaf, oral deaf, deafened and hard of hearing. To achieve this will require courage of conviction and perseverance. While there have been many improvements, as Denis illustrates in this Report, there is still a long way to go. We believe by working in solidarity, the members, staff, manag- ers and Board can achieve our vision of a truly inclusive society where all people are respected and have full access to communication and are able to partici- pate without barriers. On behalf of the CHS Board of Directors, we invite everyone to celebrate CHS’s 70th year of continuous service to the community. Happy Anniversary CHS! THE CANADIAN HEARING SOCIETY ANNUAL REPORT • 2009 – 2010 | 3 Report of the Interim CEO guage (ASL) – spoken English interpret- CHS Audiology Program Open House ing in medical, employment, education- events across the province over the past al, legal, government, social service, and year introduced CHS to hundreds of new business settings. consumers and through the CHS Doctor Referral Program engaged physicians Now, OIS not only continues to in- who would otherwise not be aware of crease accessibility by providing quality CHS, our services, and a trusted resource interpreting services, it has expanded to to refer patients to. include After-Hours Emergency interpret- ing services; la langue des signes québé- • CHS CONNECT mental health coun- coise (LSQ) – spoken French interpreting selling service to provide support, services, a renowned one-of-its-kind-in- education, advocacy and counselling. Canada Interpreter Internship Program; Establishing mental health services was the development of a screening tool for a huge undertaking. Denis Morrice, Interim CEO Deaf interpreters, who, in a variety of settings work alongside signed language CONNECT has expanded from being – spoken language interpreters; and available only in Toronto to operating video remote interpreting (VRI) trials with in all CHS offices. Ontario Provincial Police detachments in I have the distinct pleasure of not only northern Ontario where there is a chronic • Bell Canada’s Relay Service to facilitate being a part of CHS for part of the fiscal shortage of interpreters. Where there are phone calls between TTY (teletypewrit- year ending March 31, 2010, but also of no interpreters in the area, interpreters er) users and those without TTYs. Bell coming back to CHS and seeing how this are accessed through camera and video Canada became a significant supporter organization has exploded in terms of to provide access to individuals remotely. in establishing a world model. This was growth. Culturally Deaf, oral deaf, deaf- before internet protocols, email, and the ened, and hard of hearing people have • CHS Hearing Aid Program to custom World Wide Web. historically faced barriers to participation, fit hearing aids to people of all ages and services, information and communication combine the care of an Ear, Nose, Throat With the Web came the perfect platform that hearing people quite simply take for specialist, professional audiologists and for video and video is the perfect format granted. Since 1940, CHS has undertaken hearing aid technicians. for information in signed languages. to remedy that. With the generous support of the Ontario CHS’s Hearing Health Care Services now Trillium Foundation and Human Re- In my tenure from 1975 to 1992 as CHS’s include Audiology (hearing testing), hear- sources and Skills Development Canada, Executive Director, CHS fought to get vi- ing aid evaluation and sales, maintenance CHS continues to develop and post tal programs and services off the ground. and repairs, battery and accessory sales, information to the CHS website in four Services such as: custom-made swim plugs and noise pro- languages: English, French, American tection, communication therapy, referrals, Sign Language and la langue des signes • CHS Ontario Interpreting Services tinnitus consultations, communication québécoise. (OIS) to provide American Sign Lan- devices recommendations and sales. THE CANADIAN HEARING SOCIETY 4 | ANNUAL REPORT • 2009 – 2010 • CHS Waterloo hosted Hear the Music. • CHS Access 2000 initiative to improve available on DVD and through a CHS Presenter and world renowned expert accessibility and remove barriers faced online resource in English, French, ASL Marshall Chasin engaged and educated by culturally Deaf, oral deaf, deafened and LSQ. music students and others on music-induced and hard of hearing people. hearing loss and hearing preservation. • As organizations now place a priority on Now, thanks to CHS’s own Gary Mal- Emergency Preparedness, so too does • Sault Ste.