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Credit: Merik Goma Photography
L to R: Sharon L. Hanson, Rachel Bailey, Gloria Matthews, Christina Manning and Michael Cross
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April 15, 2016, Deaf Access Services held their second annual
Spring Gala at
The Grapevine Banquets in Depew, NY. The evening was pleasant, enjoyable and a success. Gloria Matthews, who was the Event Coordinator did a wonderful job organizing this event in such a short time. She is also DAS'
Community Relations Assistant and has only been on the job for five months! She was surprisingly recognized for her hard work and contribution to making this event a reality by DAS Executive Director, Sharon L. Hanson and Co-Chairs, Christina Manning and Michael Cross. Alongside Gloria was her intern Rachel Bailey of Niagara University, who was also recognized for her hard work, persistence and leadership abilities. Without these two young ladies taking charge and the assistance of the DAS staff, we wouldn't have pulled it off. So thank you once again!
 As the evening moved forward, dinner was had and dessert was served, as the 230 guests were treated to live entertainment of belly dancers from the Belly Dance Academy located in Tri-Main Center in Suite 415. Since this was a Deaf and Hard of Hearing event, it was nice to have a visual performance. There were some mix reviews about the performance but overall, it was a treat to see them perform with their butterfly wings and real swords!!
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Credit: Merik Goma Photography
MC Jodi Johnston, Channel 2 News Anchor (former)
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Shortly after the performance, our Mistress of Ceremony, Jodi Johnston, former Channel 2 News Anchor, welcomed the guests and kicked off the award ceremony.
First up was the
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Credit: Merik Goma Photography
L to R: Christina Manning, Michael Cross, Mark Schroeder and Sharon L. Hanson
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Honorable Mark Schroeder, who was awarded
DAS Community Member of the Year. Mark actively supports the Deaf, Hard of Hearing communities and has participated in Deaf Awareness Week activities for the past 20 years. He continues to sign whenever the opportunity presents itself. Mark has been a supporter of Deaf Access Services and has referred Deaf and Hard of Hearing people to DAS for Employment Services.
Next were
Edward and
Laura Welsh, Co-Founders
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Credit: Merik Goma Photography
L to R: Laura Welsh, Christina Manning, Michael Cross, Sharon L. Hanson and Edward Welsh
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and Owners of
Deaf
Emergency
Awareness
Form (aka Project D.E.A.F).
D.E.A.F is a booklet designed to utilize illustrated critical vocabulary in an effort to facilitate communication between medical staff and Deaf/HH patients in an emergency situation. Its sole intend is to immediately assist with assessing a patient's needs and to bridge the communication gap until an Interpreter, either in person or via Video Remote Interpreting (VRI), becomes available. The Welshs were awarded
DAS Business Partner of the Year. To view the Medical Minute video utilizing this booklet, please
click here
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Finally,
David Whalen, Project Director of Niagara University's
Disabilities Awareness Training for First Responders
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Credit: Merik Goma Photography
L to R: David Whalen, Christina Manning, Michael Cross and Sharon L. Hanson
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was awarded
DAS Community Advocate of the Year. David reached out to Deaf Access Services to help assist in developing the training section pertaining to the interactions between First Responders and the Deaf/Hard of Hearing communities. Together they developed 200 signs specific to First Responders and Emergency Personnel. These signs are currently being used across New York State in its "Train the Trainer" workshops and are available on Niagara University's website.
With the success of that collaboration, Dave and DAS developed an additional feature for the training module, a video introducing Video Remote Interpreting (VRI). This new feature will be used nationwide to demonstrate to First Responders the importance and worth of having an on-site method of facilitating communication with anyone that uses American Sign Language (ASL).
This program has been delivered across New York State and has begun to be presented in Arkansas, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. It has also been used to train the FBI Buffalo Field office!
Enjoy the VRI video below.
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First Responders' - VRI PSA
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As the evening continued, guests mingled, checked out the silent auction and basket raffles items, played the trivia game and made new connections.
We hope everyone enjoyed their time at this wonderful event and we thank you all for coming out and supporting DAS as well as the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Communities. THANK YOU!
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