The chapter newsletter for April 2005:

April Speaker's Meeting:

Speaker's Meeting: Tonya Barlow will speak on balance issues associated with hearing loss at the April 12 meeting of Derbytown SHHH. Please Note: We have moved our meeting from the Louisville Free Public Library to St Leonard’s Elementary School Library, 440 Zorn Avenue. See the map below. There is a big parking lot in front of the school. The time remains the same—6:30 p.m. Tonya Barlow, M.S.,CCC-A, director of audiology at Avada Audiology and Balance Centers in the Louisville area, will speak on balance issues at the April 12 Derbytown SHHH meeting. She received her training from the University of Louisville School of Medicine and has been in private practice for more than 15 years. She specializes in vestibular disorders and the treatment of tinnitus and hearing loss.

Will You Help Us?

As a Chapter of Self Help for Hard of Hearing People, we are dedicated to education, advocacy, and support for people who do not hear well, and those around them. This is how we help ourselves. Derbytown’s primary outreach, outside of our monthly speaker meetings, is currently limited to our State Fair Hearing Assistive Technology Booth which we shared with the Kentucky Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (KCDHH) in past years. KCDHH has informed us that they will partner with the Department of Education in a booth this year.

The Derbytown Board met on February 24, 2005, and voted to continue the booth this year. Although we will be seeking co-sponsors, the Board feels that this is an important project that can impact many people throughout Kentuckiana and in which we must play the lead role. Our HAT HOUSE Booth demonstrated Hearing Assistive Technology (HAT), explained and demonstrated the Kentucky Relay Program, introduced CapTel phones, discussed hearing aids and hearing issues and distributed information on the TTY/Phone free distribution program. This was a major service to hard of hearing people, their family, friends and employers. Our Board feels that this outreach must continue.

Will you help us? We will need many volunteers to cover the 400 hours of the State Fair. We will need equipment and furniture for the displays. Most of all, we will need more than $4000 to cover the booth rental, electricity, and handouts. While the Fair is almost four months away, we need to reserve our space and equipment now. Will you donate ten, fifteen, twenty dollars or whatever you can to this project? Please send your tax deductible donation to Derbytown SHHH, P.O. Box 8150, Louisville, KY 40257-8150 as soon as possible.

I do appreciate your cooperation and support of Hard of Hearing people and their families and friends.

---Ed Schickel

Informal Dinner:

We will meet at Piccadilly Cafeteria, 133 S. Hurstbourne Pkwy., for an informal dinner on Saturday, April 23 at 2 p.m. Several people have suggested that we change to location of our informal dinners. Would you attend if we changed locations? Where do you suggest?

Captioned movies: No captioned movies are currently scheduled at Stonybrook.

SHHH National Convention, June 30-July 3, 2005: If you missed the early bird deadline, you can still register for the SHHH National Convention. The registration fee is $235 until April 22 and $285 thereafter. You can register online at Convention Registration or fill out the form that was included with your latest issue of "Hearing Loss" and mail it to 2005 SHHH Convention, 7910 Woodmont Ave. #1200, Bethesda MD 20814 or fax it to 301/913-9413.

Other Dates to Remember:

April 16: The 8 p.m. performance of "Oklahoma," sponsored by PNC Bank Broadway in Louisville, will be captioned. The performance will take place in Whitney Hall at the Kentucky Center for the Arts. For tickets, call the Access Hotline at 502-562-0111, 502-562-0140 TTY; the Kentucky Center Ticket Service at 502-584-7777, 502-562-0730 TTY; or the toll free line at 1-800-775-7777. Be sure to mention that you need captions.

April 30: The 8 p.m. performance of "Movin' Out," sponsored by PNC Bank Broadway in Louisville, will be captioned. The performance will take place in Whitney Hall at the Kentucky Center for the Arts. For tickets, call the Access Hotline at 502-562-0111, 502-562-0140 TTY; the Kentucky Center Ticket Service at 502-584-7777, 502-562-0730 TTY; or the toll free line at 1-800-775-7777. Be sure to mention that you need captions.

The K Card program is designed to allow people with disabilities to purchase tickets to selected performances at a low price in order to determine which type of performances they can enjoy despite their disability. The performances are mostly ballet, orchestra concerts, and children's plays. These performances are not captioned or sign interpreted but some of our members, particularly those with cochlear implants, may be able to understand/enjoy them. Tickets must be purchased at the Kentucky Center box office (inside at the counter), and you must have your K Card with you when you make your purchase. Each K Card holder may purchase two tickets to each performance (and the person who accompanies you does not have to be hard of hearing or deaf). To get your K Card or to determine the times for the following performances, email Stacy Ridgway or call the Access Hotline 502-562-0111 (V) or 502-562-0140 (TTY). The following are Kentucky Center performances for which you can use your K Card to obtain $5 tickets:

April 9 The Louisville Ballet will present "Swan Lake."
April 21 The Louisville Orchestra will present a Coffee Concert featuring the Ahn Trio.
April 22 The Louisville Orchestra will present a Classic Concert featuring the Ahn Trio.

May 12: Our spring dinner will be held Thursday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m. at Mr. Gatti's, 1108 Lyndon Lane, off Westport Rd. near Herr Lane. Please contact Hazel Tucker or 241-9165 TDD) now to let her know how many from your household will attend. Mr. Gatti's must know right away so they can assign us a room large enough for our group. We will meet inside and someone will be there to direct you to our party room. The dinner will consist of pizza, pasta, salad bar, and soft drinks, as much as you want. If you are a senior citizen, the cost will be $4.95 plus tax. Others will pay $5.95 plus tax, drink included. If we have as many as 50, we will get a 15% rebate, which will be added to the funds for our State Fair booth. Please note that we will not have our regular speaker's meeting in May.
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