Mary L. Smith of Kentwood, Louisiana has been selected as the Hamilton Relay 2016 Better Hearing and Speech Month Recognition Award recipient for the state of Louisiana. Mary serves as a positive role model and is a dedicated advocate for individuals who are hard of hearing, deaf or deaf-blind.
As an advocate, Mary served as the chair of the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf, the secretary for the Louisiana Chapter of the Gallaudet University Alumni Association and the Louisiana School for the Deaf Alumni Association. She was a sponsor for both the Junior Louisiana Association for the Deaf and the Junior National Association for the Deaf.
She is currently a member of the Louisiana Association for the Deaf (LAD) and has held several offices, including president, secretary and board member. During her term as president, LAD membership increased to 400 members. Mary was also involved in amending the Louisiana Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program to mandate the inclusion of a parent of a child who is deaf, a representative who is deaf and representation from the Louisiana Association for the Deaf, Louisiana School for the Deaf and the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf on the Advisory Committee.
As a member of the Louisiana Deaf Caucus, Mary advocated for Text-to-911. In 2014, Tangipahoa Parish was the first parish in Louisiana to implement Text-to-911 capabilities.
We commend Mary for her dedication to improving the lives of those in her community and are proud to present her with the Hamilton Relay 2016 Better Hearing and Speech Month Recognition Award for the state of Louisiana.
This leadership recognition has been brought to you by Hamilton Relay.
About Hamilton Relay
Hamilton Relay provides contracted Telecommunications Relay and Captioned Telephone services through 26 contracts to 19 states, the District of Columbia and the Island of Saipan, and is a provider of Internet-based Captioned Telephone services nationwide. More information is available at hamiltonrelay.com.