For Lisa, 50th Anniversary provided inspiration, affirmation

Lisa Sloan-Limmer, speech pathologist, shares a story of affirmation from the 50th Anniversary party:

"As a somewhat new staff member, I found our 50th celebration both educational, heart-felt and a bit of a reaffirmation in my job of choice. Life is a journey, not a destination. We have too few chances to see the end results in the children's lives that we touch. It was so wonderful to see the return of children from past journeys at BRSHF, who are now adults leading lives of their choice and opportunities.

For me, the most heart-felt experience was not the squeals of joy and delight from the children that were enjoying the activities and playground, but the squeals of joy and delight of adults as they reconnected with others who have shared their past. It was so exciting seeing such a powerful connection between former classmates and families, as well as the reconnection between the women who recognized the potential of a special population that was significantly underserved, had a vision, made a plan and jumped into founding this wonderful organization. The bonds that are made through trials and successes such as those that created BRSHF started a great journey. Learning the history behind where I work and meeting those who lived it gives me a better perspective of the journey that we are on now, and that will make a difference for the next 50 years in the lives of the wild and wonderful children that we "chase and pull, coddle and coax" on a journey through the 'Loud and Clear!'"

Current and former staff reflect on BRSHF's history                 Former BRSHF students recreate their groundbreaking photo from 1967

Audiology Mobile Testing Unit impresses at 50th Anniversary

Dr. Natalee Menge, BRSHF's Audiologist, shared this interaction she had with a gentleman at the 50th Anniversary celebration on Sunday, September 12:

"My department has a Mobile Testing Unit (MTU) that we bring to health fairs and group homes around the 10-parish Capital Area United Way service area. We're pretty proud to be the only ones in the Baton Rouge area that provide free hearing screenings as outreach to this area, so we wanted to make sure the MTU was on hand for the 50th Anniversary celebration!

I knew that the MTU was provided by members of the Sertoma Club of Baton Rouge, who found an abandoned hearing booth in a field and converted it into the mobile unit that I use today, thanks to funds from the local chapters of Quota Club and Delta Zeta. Well, while I was explaining the uses of the MTU during the celebration, a man walked up and introduced himself as the Sertoma member who built the trailer! It was so great to get to meet him and hear about the process of finding and building the unit. He was very excited to see it and to know that it was still in use, providing services to community members who might not know about or have access to hearing healthcare otherwise."

Sertoma and Quota Club members furnishing and presenting MTU, 2003

Tricia sees former client's success at 50th Anniversary

Tricia Henderson, Supervisor for Speech Services, has worked at BRSHF for many years. She shared this experience that touched her at our 50th Anniversary celebration earlier this fall:

"A young man in his 20s walked into the clinic carrying a ziploc bag and asked if a former therapist still worked here. I said 'no,' but told him she still lived in Baton Rouge, happened to be a neighbor of mine, but was now working in another field. He held up the ziploc and within were lots of memorabilia from his days at BRSHF some 20+ years ago! His mother had saved them all and, in one picture, there he was on top of the slide smiling ... an adorable 3 year old. That young man is now a manager of a car repair shop. As he spoke I could not help but be amazed at how mature and well spoken he is as an adult....another ordinary miracle at BRSHF!

(And by the way, I dropped a copy of the photo off at his former therapist's house. She was thrilled to hear of his success! That's the deal here....we carry our clients in our hearts long after they leave BRSHF!)"

                              






Former clients, parents, and staff reflect and catch up at the 50th Anniversary Party

Current clients helped celebrate 50th Anniversary

Irina Kochergin, speech pathologist, had this update to share about the 50th Anniversary celebration, held at BRSHF on September 12:

"As we've been preparing for the 50th Anniversary party, a lot of the focus has been on the history of the Foundation - getting former clients, staff, and friends to come back & celebrate the work of this outstanding organization over 5 decades. But the celebration was just as much for them as it was for our current clients and patients, who are a part of the amazing work we're doing here and now! This was proven by one young child, a current speech client, who was so excited to come to the clinic's birthday party, that he and his mother baked and decorated a birthday cupcake. He brought it with him to the party and shared it with his friends, along with the other food and treats available. It's moments like this that prove we are making an impact in these kids' lives, and I'm proud to be associated with BRSHF at such an exciting time!"

Tricia tells how our history lends credibility

Tricia Henderson is Director of Speech Services, and has been employed at BRSHF for 27 years. As part of her job, she (along with the other speech therapists) conducts speech evaluations to diagnose a child's specific speech needs, and to determine placement in our programs. She has this recent story to share:

"The child came in with three people, the father, the mother, and the stepmother. They were quite serious about the evaluation of their small son and as we walked down the hall, the father, a policeman, asked quite seriously: "So how long has this clinic been here?" I happily replied: "Oh, we just had a birthday party celebrating our 50th year!" He looked totally surprised and said, "Well, then, I guess you know what you are doing!" I laughed and said, "Yes, we've been at it longer than anyone else in Baton Rouge. We were the very first speech and hearing clinic in town. We know very well what we are doing. You came to the right place!"

As I said this, I felt very proud of our history.....50 years.....loud and clear!"

Audiology Patient Gives Back

We had a very successful 50th Anniversary celebration last week, thanks to the participation of many individuals and community organizations! One such individual is a client of Dr. Menge's, who was so grateful for BRSHF's services in the area of reduced-cost hearing aids, that he wanted to donate some of his time back to the clinic. This is his story, as told by Natalee:

"One of my patients came in a few weeks ago for a hearing aid follow-up appointment and mentioned that he had seen a sign in the clinic about people volunteering.  He asked, 'What do your volunteers do?'  I mentioned that we have a group of LSU student  workers who help out in the group therapy classrooms or filing charts - both of which I figured he would not be interested in, being a middle-aged man.  He asked about helping with yard work and if I thought it would be a good idea.  I told him that we don't usually turn down free labor and that I would talk with our director, Melissa Juneau, about him coming to help out with the front flowerbeds.  Thanks to this gentleman's hard work, our front hedges and lawn have been trimmed and tidied up just in time for the 50th Anniversary! While that was certainly not necessary of him, it's nice to know we touch people's lives in a way that moves them to such kind action." 

Birthdays All-Around!

This week, as we're gearing up for BRSHF's 50th Anniversary celebration, we had a staff birthday of our own to celebrate! Trenae' Webb, Speech Pathologist Extraordinaire, gives this update:

"At BRSHF we celebrate the little things, we celebrate the big things, we celebrate our clients, we celebrate us! If you see one of our language clients spontaneously requesting "water" as they pass the water fountain or pausing from taking a step as they are cued to "wait!" with a shout by a therapist, our faces light up with excitement. When we're blessed with new therapy supplies or funding for necessary equipment around the clinic, happy energy shared between us all yields the ambiance of pay day!

This week, the fun continued as we took a pause out to celebrate our boss, Mrs. Melissa Juneau's 50th birthday! Decorated by our wonderful office administrators, Mrs. Bonita and Mrs. Jenna, streamers, birthday banners, and balloons nicely adorned her door and office and were awaiting her entrance to her surprise. It didn’t stop there! The staff gathered around the intercom to serenade her in singing happy birthday as she cut into her birthday cake!

It’s wonderful to have a great boss! And it’s not quite above suspicious that as she celebrates her 50th year of life, the Foundation shares in its 50th celebration of operation! What can I say? Some things just “fit” so well! Happy Birthday Mrs. Melissa!"  

BRSHF common site of reunions

Not only is BRSHF gearing up for our 50th Anniversary reunion & celebration on September 12. Dr. Natalee Menge, staff audiologist, observed this chance meeting of two hearing impaired clients as a result of her clinic schedule!

"I saw 2 hearing impaired teenagers back-to-back last week, both have been long-time patients at the clinic. I didn't think anything of it, but I knew in the back of my mind that they had attended the same elementary school. When the second child and mother arrived for their appointment, they recognized the mom in the waiting room. They were so excited to see each other again, it had been a few years since they had seen one another. The moms were able to visit and catch up, I was unaware of this since I was in the sound suite with the other child working on their hearing aids. I had a knock on my door and when I opened it, they were all standing there, both moms and 2 children, waiting to see the child I had been working with. She was surprised to say the least. It was great to see two children re-connect after being apart for a few years, especially when  no one anticipated it. Reunions like this occur frequently at BRSHF, whether it be between childhood friends, parents, or grandparents, and each time it happens it makes my day a little brighter."