John has built a reputation as a leader in the community and has been instrumental in bringing the hearing and deaf communities together through various types of social and educational activities. He has been a well-respected Pastor of the Canal Blvd. Baptist Deaf Church in New Orleans for the past 15 years and has been in the pastoral ministry for the past 20 years. He graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1985 and attended the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina flooded the area and essentially destroyed the church that John spent so many years building. He and his family were forced to leave. Immediately after relocating, John focused on ways to locate and assist a countless number of senior citizens and deaf individuals in New Orleans – helping many relocate within Baton Rouge and other parishes for their safety. He spent many hours providing assistance and working with the Red Cross to search for families and their loved ones who were relocated across the country.
Over many months after the hurricane, John rebuilt his church. Through his leadership, the deaf community slowly reestablished communication and other social activities. John became the sponsor of monthly meetings where he invited students, educators and friends to meet. John and his wife developed a webpage that kept everyone informed on events happening in the city and in the church.
John has been described by his peers as a compassionate, non-judgmental individual. We applaud him for all the efforts he has put forth in the community and are pleased to present him with this year's Hamilton Relay Deaf Community Leader Award.
This leadership recognition has been brought to you by Hamilton Relay.
About Hamilton Relay
Hamilton Relay offers a variety of services including Telecommunications Relay Services, Captioned Telephone and Internet Relay services. Hamilton provides Telecommunications Relay and/or Captioned Telephone services to 17 states, the District of Columbia, the Island of Saipan and the Virgin Islands. More information is available at hamiltonrelay.com.