The Early Years of PRWAD-ADARA:
"The 1960's, A Different Time"
By Robert R. Lauritsen
May 1997
For the next few minutes, I would like all of you to join me in a time shift back to the 1960's - more than 30 years ago. Try to think of what our world was like at that time. Color TV was just coming in, Deaf people were just getting the TTY - the big old clunkers donated by AT&T, NTID was still a dream, there were no regional postsecondary education programs (now changed in scope and mission), there was no RID, interpreters were essentially all CODAs, captioned TV was still years away. There were few services for deaf adults anywhere in the United States, nor the world. E-mail was more than 20 years away, fax machines had not been thought of, there was no Internet, World Wide Web, and no homepages. As we look around at our world today, we can almost think of the 1960s as the Dark Ages of American Technology.
The Beginning
But there was a spirit in the 1960s - a need was being felt to do something constructive for Deaf people. It all began with a conference held a Fort Monroe, Virginia in 1961. David Myers, then a Gallaudet student, long-time member of PRWAD/ADARA and now of Texas, was there as he is with us tonight. This was one of the first of hundreds of workshops, conventions, and conferences that were to be held throughout the coming decades. At Fort Monroe, deaf adults [and] lay people who worked for free came together and said more has to be done. Some of those early pioneers included Fred Schreiber, Dewey Coates, Gordon Allen, and Ed Carney. Boyce Williams, from Washington DC, was there providing a federal presence. These pioneers were not professionals in the field of Deafness. They were printers, teachers in residential schools, workers in aircraft factories and roofers. Those in attendance were local lay leaders who worked their crafts by day and served the Deaf community in the evenings and on weekends.
The early 1960s was a time in history when federal dollars began to flow for a wide variety of deafness activities including money for workshops. For a period of time, participants had all expenses paid by the federal government to attend these workshops. Boyce Williams, with the leadership of Mary Switzer, was deeply involved with the flow of federal funds that were utilized in the 1960s, the 1970s, and the 1980s for a wide variety of workshops in the area of Deafness. Special words of praise and admiration must be said for Boyce Williams, a deaf man from Kenosha, Wisconsin, teacher at the Indiana School for the Deaf, and the first deaf person to be employed at the federal level in Rehabilitation. Boyce was ever present for decades and all of us here tonight owe Boyce an eternal debt of gratitude for his leadership. Indeed, it can be said that if Boyce Williams had not been the guiding light for Deafness and Rehabilitation, it is doubtful if there would have been a PRWAD/ADARA and it is doubtful we would be here tonight in Milwaukee.
In October 1964, a national workshop was held in the Hotel Andrew Jackson in Knoxville, Tennessee entitled, "Improved Vocational Opportunities for Deaf People," which was a key workshop that lead to the establishment of NTID and the then three regional postsecondary education programs (Seattle Community College, Delgado, New Orleans, and St. Paul). In those early days a lot of "piggy back" meetings took place at national gatherings. Those of us involved always seemed to have second agendas. At an after-hours session in Knoxville on October 21 some thirty professionals and lay persons shared their concerns, their thoughts, and their dreams. From this beginning, a steering committee evolved which lead to the establishment of PRWAD (Professionals Rehabilitation Workers with the Adult Deaf) some 19 months later. Members of the early planning meeting included Gary Blake, William Woodrick, Roy Patton, William Craig, Norm Tully, Alan Jones, Roger Falberg, Farrell Mitchell, Geno Vescovi, James Whitworth, Boyce Williams, and myself.
The Official Birthdate
Enter Dr. Stephen Quigley, a prominent teacher trainer and researcher of the University of Illinois. Dr. Quigley was a master at securing federal funds. With assistance from Dr. Quigley, the steering committee obtained federal funds to hold a national workshop on Rehabilitation Casework Standards for the Deaf in St. Louis on May 23-27, 1966. This workshop provided the vehicle for yet another piggyback meeting to be held which established PRWAD. May 25, 1966 is the official birth date of this organization. Gary Blake chaired the organizational meeting, Doug Burke (now deceased) was the parliamentarian. The motion to establish the organization was by Dr. William Desmond Phillips and it was seconded by Edsel Ford. The initial by-laws were prepared by Roger Falberg and were presented with assistance by Geno Vescovi.
There are three of here tonight that were in St. Louis in 1966 - Dave Myers, Doug Watson from Arkansas, and myself. I cannot speak for recent years, but I can assure you that in the early years one of the most popular parts of any PRWAD Conference was the business meeting and proper parliamentary procedure was adhered to with a vengeance!
One source of pride that the planning committee had was that the first slate of officers offered was made up of equal numbers of deaf persons and hearing persons.
The First Officers
The first officers of PRWAD were President James Whitworth (Georgia), Vice-president Bob Lauritsen (Minnesota), Second Vice-president Geno Vescovi (California), Treasurer Al Pimental (NTID), Secretary William Woodrick (Tennessee), and Board of Directors Gary Blake (Kansas City), Richard Johnson (Washington, DC), Alan Jones (deceased), and Mrs. Beatrice Lamb (deceased). Before leaving St. Louis, Roger Falberg was appointed as the first editor of a yet to be named journal. Again, with the assistance of Dr. Stephen Quigley, the first journal was published within the first year. The 1960s were not the day of Insty Prints or desktop publishing. Roger Falberg not only wrote numerous of the articles but he set, by hand in hot lead on linotype machines, the first editions of the Journal of the Rehabilitation of the Deaf . The first editions were published at the University of Illinois and then at the Missouri School for the Deaf. Glen Lloyd became the second editor of the Journal and Al Pimental was the first business manager.
The second slate of officers took place in 1967. Gary Blake became the President. I was the Vice-president, Dr. Stephen Quigley was the Second Vice-president, William Woodrick was Secretary, and Al Pimental was Treasurer. Board members were Glenn Lloyd (replaced by Norm Tully when Lloyd became editor of the Journal), Boyce Williams, Alan Jones, and Vic Galloway. Some folks think that I was the first President. I was not. I was the first Vice-president and during that term the President stepped down and I took over as Acting President. This also happened with the second group of officers. So I decided to run for President for the third election and won. I thought I would be done at the end of that term, but it was during that time that the board voted in the Board position of Past President, effectively keeping me on board for another two years.
The First Conferences
The first convention of PRWAD was in Pittsburgh in 1967, entitled "New Vistas for Competitive Employment of Deaf Persons." Eighty-eight persons were in attendance. The Council of Organizations Serving the Deaf (COSD) was in existence at that time, and Herb Pickell and Eugene Petersen were the first delegates of PRWAD to COSD.
In 1968, the membership reached 350 individuals due in large part to the efforts of Robert Gonzales. A newsletter was established with Larry Stewart as the first editor. The second national conference of PRWAD was held in Hot Springs, Arkansas in 1969. In the early days, national conferences followed federal funding. That is, if a university or rehabilitation facility had a federal grant, the odds that they would host a conference were quite high.
A Cherished Memory
At the Rochester, New York convention in 1970, the third conference, your officers had a "precious moment" I want to share with you (note: there was a time in our history when a lot of bombings were taking place). The convention was at the Flagship Hotel and our convention was punctuated with numerous bombings in the neighborhood. At that banquet we had a head table and there were 300 people in attendance. As we looked out over the banquet room, what we saw was about 25-30 banquet tables, and every table was made up of persons who were both deaf and hearing from a wide variety of disciplines. It was one of the most integrated settings we had ever seen, and those of us at the head table said, "Yeah! This is what PRWAD is all about!"
PRWAD: The Site for Federal Leadership and National Impact
The 1974 conference was held in Tucson. At that meeting in an after hours session around the hotel swimming pool, the first major national effort for training interpreters on a national level took place. Representatives from New York University (Jerry Schein), Gallaudet College (Lottie Reikof), California State University at Northridge (Ray Jones), The University of Tennessee (Bill Woodrick), Seattle Community College (Ron Lafayette), and St. Paul TVI (Bob Lauritsen) met with Jim Buress from RSA and Boyce Williams. We "created" the National Interpreter Training Consortium (NITC) that night which was the model for future federally funded interpreter training programs.
Another early contribution of PRWAD was the Model State Plan which was to undergo several changes with contributions by the National Association of the Deaf and New York University (Dr. Jerry Schein). The Model State Plan established the Rehabilitation Counselor for the Deaf (RCD) among other things.
Name Change
The name change from PRWAD to the American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association (ADARA) took place at the San Antonio meeting in 1977 with Rex Purvis (recently deceased) as President.
Finances
In the early 1980s, financial difficulties began. During the Steve Sligar's term as President in 1985-87, ADARA was in deep financial trouble. The National Association of the Deaf was assisting with financial and office management. This arrangement was not working out and Steve, with assistance from Gloria Wright, move the office to Little Rock, Arkansas. During these years, Sharon Carter was the Executive Director. Other Executive Directors included Art Norris and Charlie Hill. The position of Office Manager was established in the mid-1980s with Marie Huie assuming this position.
Financial Turn-Around
The 1987 ADARA Conference in Minnesota provided a financial turn-around with a profit of $30,000 being realized.
Awards
ADARA has three great awards: the Boyce Williams Award, the Fred Schreiber Award, and the Gene Petersen Award. How appropriate that these awards are in honor and memory of three great deaf men who changed in a positive way the lives of deaf people in the United States. Should another award be established, I would be presumptuous and suggest that the award be named in honor and in memory of another great Deaf American, Larry Stewart. Of the twenty three award winners, I know seventeen individuals. These are truly distinguished individuals and ADARA should take great pride in having recognized these persons.
Some of you may not be familiar with the beginnings of what you now call the Bell Flasher Award. My recollection of this award was that at the Washington DC Conference in 1972 (conference chairperson was Dr. Thomas Mayes), conference planners were struck by the excellence of so many presentations that were made during the conference. It seemed worthwhile to present an award to the outstanding presentation both as an award for the work people made in preparation for their presentation, but also to provide an incentive for continuing excellence in future conferences. The award was called the Bell Ringer Award going back in history to the 1870s and the invention of the telephone - Alexander Graham Bell.
Individual Contributions
Over the past thirty years, there have been numerous individuals who have made truly significant contributions to ADARA. This presentation would be quite lengthy if I were to name all of them. As I have thought back to my active time in ADARA, there is one name that keeps coming to mind. That is Craig Mills of Florida. Craig was head of the Florida Rehabilitation Services and was a master of all of Rehabilitation. Craig was one of those persons who could finger spell but could not master sign language. But he did understand the needs of deaf people. He was active in the National Rehabilitation Association and brought deafness into the mainstream of rehabilitation. He was a key person in expanding rehabilitation counseling services for deaf and hard of hearing people throughout the United States. He was instrumental in creating a section on Deafness in CSAVR. Craig Mills was a master at "personal inclusion" (perhaps he learned this from Boyce Williams!). In addition to getting Deafness into the national mainstream of rehabilitation, Craig got numerous individuals started in professional careers in deafness. Craig is the person who insured that Doug Watson entered the graduate programs at New York University under the leadership of Dr. Jerome D. Schein.
The Building Blocks
PRWAD/ADARA was built on a simple foundation. There was a great need in the 1960's to gather professionals together in local and national networks to work together to improve the lives of all deaf people in the United States. What a professional organization could offer were a variety of forums for dissemination and exchange of information. We tried to do that through: national conferences, publications (the Journal, the newsletter, and deafness annual publications), and involvement in policy making decisions at the state and federal level.
This tradition continues with ADARA. In 1997, you are continuing with the same organizational objectives. You as an organization have made the necessary changes to keep current with the changes in our society. You have your mission statement. You have your strategic plan. You have your publications. You have the national conferences. Milwaukee is your 16th conference. You are keeping current with your strategic plan. You have board priorities which include membership, fund raising, and legislation. You are continuing your efforts at self-improvement using focus groups and a variety of evaluation techniques.
A Simple Way to Evaluate
A very simple way to evaluate the effectiveness of any activity including an organization such as ADARA is to ask three simple questions. There are more sophisticated ways to evaluate, but this method works for me. The questions are:
What have I seen?
What have I learned?
What difference does it make?
In the early days as we asked these questions, we knew we were making a difference. As I have been here this week and observed the networking, the enthusiasm, and the passion for ADARA, it is an easy task to say that ADARA is making a positive difference. What I have seen here this week is a passion for ADARA. I saw your passion at your board meeting early in the week. I saw passion at the opening session on Wednesday morning with M.J. and Gay. Throughout the week, I floated and observed almost all sessions, and again I saw passion for ADARA. Each presentation I attended was a quality session. The overall planning of the Milwaukee conference involved a lot of passion with Alisha Bronk and Sue Kay Bailey and their co-workers planning and carrying out an excellent overall ADARA conference. There is no question in my mind that ADARA is alive and well. With Michele Berke taking the reigns as the 18th President of ADARA and your planning committee for the next ADARA conference in Washington DC in 1999 well underway, your future is in good hands.
Speaking for the Past Presidents of PRWAD/ADARA, thank you for keeping and growing the dreams of the 1960s into the next century.
"The 1960's, A Different Time"
By Robert R. Lauritsen
May 1997
For the next few minutes, I would like all of you to join me in a time shift back to the 1960's - more than 30 years ago. Try to think of what our world was like at that time. Color TV was just coming in, Deaf people were just getting the TTY - the big old clunkers donated by AT&T, NTID was still a dream, there were no regional postsecondary education programs (now changed in scope and mission), there was no RID, interpreters were essentially all CODAs, captioned TV was still years away. There were few services for deaf adults anywhere in the United States, nor the world. E-mail was more than 20 years away, fax machines had not been thought of, there was no Internet, World Wide Web, and no homepages. As we look around at our world today, we can almost think of the 1960s as the Dark Ages of American Technology.
The Beginning
But there was a spirit in the 1960s - a need was being felt to do something constructive for Deaf people. It all began with a conference held a Fort Monroe, Virginia in 1961. David Myers, then a Gallaudet student, long-time member of PRWAD/ADARA and now of Texas, was there as he is with us tonight. This was one of the first of hundreds of workshops, conventions, and conferences that were to be held throughout the coming decades. At Fort Monroe, deaf adults [and] lay people who worked for free came together and said more has to be done. Some of those early pioneers included Fred Schreiber, Dewey Coates, Gordon Allen, and Ed Carney. Boyce Williams, from Washington DC, was there providing a federal presence. These pioneers were not professionals in the field of Deafness. They were printers, teachers in residential schools, workers in aircraft factories and roofers. Those in attendance were local lay leaders who worked their crafts by day and served the Deaf community in the evenings and on weekends.
The early 1960s was a time in history when federal dollars began to flow for a wide variety of deafness activities including money for workshops. For a period of time, participants had all expenses paid by the federal government to attend these workshops. Boyce Williams, with the leadership of Mary Switzer, was deeply involved with the flow of federal funds that were utilized in the 1960s, the 1970s, and the 1980s for a wide variety of workshops in the area of Deafness. Special words of praise and admiration must be said for Boyce Williams, a deaf man from Kenosha, Wisconsin, teacher at the Indiana School for the Deaf, and the first deaf person to be employed at the federal level in Rehabilitation. Boyce was ever present for decades and all of us here tonight owe Boyce an eternal debt of gratitude for his leadership. Indeed, it can be said that if Boyce Williams had not been the guiding light for Deafness and Rehabilitation, it is doubtful if there would have been a PRWAD/ADARA and it is doubtful we would be here tonight in Milwaukee.
In October 1964, a national workshop was held in the Hotel Andrew Jackson in Knoxville, Tennessee entitled, "Improved Vocational Opportunities for Deaf People," which was a key workshop that lead to the establishment of NTID and the then three regional postsecondary education programs (Seattle Community College, Delgado, New Orleans, and St. Paul). In those early days a lot of "piggy back" meetings took place at national gatherings. Those of us involved always seemed to have second agendas. At an after-hours session in Knoxville on October 21 some thirty professionals and lay persons shared their concerns, their thoughts, and their dreams. From this beginning, a steering committee evolved which lead to the establishment of PRWAD (Professionals Rehabilitation Workers with the Adult Deaf) some 19 months later. Members of the early planning meeting included Gary Blake, William Woodrick, Roy Patton, William Craig, Norm Tully, Alan Jones, Roger Falberg, Farrell Mitchell, Geno Vescovi, James Whitworth, Boyce Williams, and myself.
The Official Birthdate
Enter Dr. Stephen Quigley, a prominent teacher trainer and researcher of the University of Illinois. Dr. Quigley was a master at securing federal funds. With assistance from Dr. Quigley, the steering committee obtained federal funds to hold a national workshop on Rehabilitation Casework Standards for the Deaf in St. Louis on May 23-27, 1966. This workshop provided the vehicle for yet another piggyback meeting to be held which established PRWAD. May 25, 1966 is the official birth date of this organization. Gary Blake chaired the organizational meeting, Doug Burke (now deceased) was the parliamentarian. The motion to establish the organization was by Dr. William Desmond Phillips and it was seconded by Edsel Ford. The initial by-laws were prepared by Roger Falberg and were presented with assistance by Geno Vescovi.
There are three of here tonight that were in St. Louis in 1966 - Dave Myers, Doug Watson from Arkansas, and myself. I cannot speak for recent years, but I can assure you that in the early years one of the most popular parts of any PRWAD Conference was the business meeting and proper parliamentary procedure was adhered to with a vengeance!
One source of pride that the planning committee had was that the first slate of officers offered was made up of equal numbers of deaf persons and hearing persons.
The First Officers
The first officers of PRWAD were President James Whitworth (Georgia), Vice-president Bob Lauritsen (Minnesota), Second Vice-president Geno Vescovi (California), Treasurer Al Pimental (NTID), Secretary William Woodrick (Tennessee), and Board of Directors Gary Blake (Kansas City), Richard Johnson (Washington, DC), Alan Jones (deceased), and Mrs. Beatrice Lamb (deceased). Before leaving St. Louis, Roger Falberg was appointed as the first editor of a yet to be named journal. Again, with the assistance of Dr. Stephen Quigley, the first journal was published within the first year. The 1960s were not the day of Insty Prints or desktop publishing. Roger Falberg not only wrote numerous of the articles but he set, by hand in hot lead on linotype machines, the first editions of the Journal of the Rehabilitation of the Deaf . The first editions were published at the University of Illinois and then at the Missouri School for the Deaf. Glen Lloyd became the second editor of the Journal and Al Pimental was the first business manager.
The second slate of officers took place in 1967. Gary Blake became the President. I was the Vice-president, Dr. Stephen Quigley was the Second Vice-president, William Woodrick was Secretary, and Al Pimental was Treasurer. Board members were Glenn Lloyd (replaced by Norm Tully when Lloyd became editor of the Journal), Boyce Williams, Alan Jones, and Vic Galloway. Some folks think that I was the first President. I was not. I was the first Vice-president and during that term the President stepped down and I took over as Acting President. This also happened with the second group of officers. So I decided to run for President for the third election and won. I thought I would be done at the end of that term, but it was during that time that the board voted in the Board position of Past President, effectively keeping me on board for another two years.
The First Conferences
The first convention of PRWAD was in Pittsburgh in 1967, entitled "New Vistas for Competitive Employment of Deaf Persons." Eighty-eight persons were in attendance. The Council of Organizations Serving the Deaf (COSD) was in existence at that time, and Herb Pickell and Eugene Petersen were the first delegates of PRWAD to COSD.
In 1968, the membership reached 350 individuals due in large part to the efforts of Robert Gonzales. A newsletter was established with Larry Stewart as the first editor. The second national conference of PRWAD was held in Hot Springs, Arkansas in 1969. In the early days, national conferences followed federal funding. That is, if a university or rehabilitation facility had a federal grant, the odds that they would host a conference were quite high.
A Cherished Memory
At the Rochester, New York convention in 1970, the third conference, your officers had a "precious moment" I want to share with you (note: there was a time in our history when a lot of bombings were taking place). The convention was at the Flagship Hotel and our convention was punctuated with numerous bombings in the neighborhood. At that banquet we had a head table and there were 300 people in attendance. As we looked out over the banquet room, what we saw was about 25-30 banquet tables, and every table was made up of persons who were both deaf and hearing from a wide variety of disciplines. It was one of the most integrated settings we had ever seen, and those of us at the head table said, "Yeah! This is what PRWAD is all about!"
PRWAD: The Site for Federal Leadership and National Impact
The 1974 conference was held in Tucson. At that meeting in an after hours session around the hotel swimming pool, the first major national effort for training interpreters on a national level took place. Representatives from New York University (Jerry Schein), Gallaudet College (Lottie Reikof), California State University at Northridge (Ray Jones), The University of Tennessee (Bill Woodrick), Seattle Community College (Ron Lafayette), and St. Paul TVI (Bob Lauritsen) met with Jim Buress from RSA and Boyce Williams. We "created" the National Interpreter Training Consortium (NITC) that night which was the model for future federally funded interpreter training programs.
Another early contribution of PRWAD was the Model State Plan which was to undergo several changes with contributions by the National Association of the Deaf and New York University (Dr. Jerry Schein). The Model State Plan established the Rehabilitation Counselor for the Deaf (RCD) among other things.
Name Change
The name change from PRWAD to the American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association (ADARA) took place at the San Antonio meeting in 1977 with Rex Purvis (recently deceased) as President.
Finances
In the early 1980s, financial difficulties began. During the Steve Sligar's term as President in 1985-87, ADARA was in deep financial trouble. The National Association of the Deaf was assisting with financial and office management. This arrangement was not working out and Steve, with assistance from Gloria Wright, move the office to Little Rock, Arkansas. During these years, Sharon Carter was the Executive Director. Other Executive Directors included Art Norris and Charlie Hill. The position of Office Manager was established in the mid-1980s with Marie Huie assuming this position.
Financial Turn-Around
The 1987 ADARA Conference in Minnesota provided a financial turn-around with a profit of $30,000 being realized.
Awards
ADARA has three great awards: the Boyce Williams Award, the Fred Schreiber Award, and the Gene Petersen Award. How appropriate that these awards are in honor and memory of three great deaf men who changed in a positive way the lives of deaf people in the United States. Should another award be established, I would be presumptuous and suggest that the award be named in honor and in memory of another great Deaf American, Larry Stewart. Of the twenty three award winners, I know seventeen individuals. These are truly distinguished individuals and ADARA should take great pride in having recognized these persons.
Some of you may not be familiar with the beginnings of what you now call the Bell Flasher Award. My recollection of this award was that at the Washington DC Conference in 1972 (conference chairperson was Dr. Thomas Mayes), conference planners were struck by the excellence of so many presentations that were made during the conference. It seemed worthwhile to present an award to the outstanding presentation both as an award for the work people made in preparation for their presentation, but also to provide an incentive for continuing excellence in future conferences. The award was called the Bell Ringer Award going back in history to the 1870s and the invention of the telephone - Alexander Graham Bell.
Individual Contributions
Over the past thirty years, there have been numerous individuals who have made truly significant contributions to ADARA. This presentation would be quite lengthy if I were to name all of them. As I have thought back to my active time in ADARA, there is one name that keeps coming to mind. That is Craig Mills of Florida. Craig was head of the Florida Rehabilitation Services and was a master of all of Rehabilitation. Craig was one of those persons who could finger spell but could not master sign language. But he did understand the needs of deaf people. He was active in the National Rehabilitation Association and brought deafness into the mainstream of rehabilitation. He was a key person in expanding rehabilitation counseling services for deaf and hard of hearing people throughout the United States. He was instrumental in creating a section on Deafness in CSAVR. Craig Mills was a master at "personal inclusion" (perhaps he learned this from Boyce Williams!). In addition to getting Deafness into the national mainstream of rehabilitation, Craig got numerous individuals started in professional careers in deafness. Craig is the person who insured that Doug Watson entered the graduate programs at New York University under the leadership of Dr. Jerome D. Schein.
The Building Blocks
PRWAD/ADARA was built on a simple foundation. There was a great need in the 1960's to gather professionals together in local and national networks to work together to improve the lives of all deaf people in the United States. What a professional organization could offer were a variety of forums for dissemination and exchange of information. We tried to do that through: national conferences, publications (the Journal, the newsletter, and deafness annual publications), and involvement in policy making decisions at the state and federal level.
This tradition continues with ADARA. In 1997, you are continuing with the same organizational objectives. You as an organization have made the necessary changes to keep current with the changes in our society. You have your mission statement. You have your strategic plan. You have your publications. You have the national conferences. Milwaukee is your 16th conference. You are keeping current with your strategic plan. You have board priorities which include membership, fund raising, and legislation. You are continuing your efforts at self-improvement using focus groups and a variety of evaluation techniques.
A Simple Way to Evaluate
A very simple way to evaluate the effectiveness of any activity including an organization such as ADARA is to ask three simple questions. There are more sophisticated ways to evaluate, but this method works for me. The questions are:
What have I seen?
What have I learned?
What difference does it make?
In the early days as we asked these questions, we knew we were making a difference. As I have been here this week and observed the networking, the enthusiasm, and the passion for ADARA, it is an easy task to say that ADARA is making a positive difference. What I have seen here this week is a passion for ADARA. I saw your passion at your board meeting early in the week. I saw passion at the opening session on Wednesday morning with M.J. and Gay. Throughout the week, I floated and observed almost all sessions, and again I saw passion for ADARA. Each presentation I attended was a quality session. The overall planning of the Milwaukee conference involved a lot of passion with Alisha Bronk and Sue Kay Bailey and their co-workers planning and carrying out an excellent overall ADARA conference. There is no question in my mind that ADARA is alive and well. With Michele Berke taking the reigns as the 18th President of ADARA and your planning committee for the next ADARA conference in Washington DC in 1999 well underway, your future is in good hands.
Speaking for the Past Presidents of PRWAD/ADARA, thank you for keeping and growing the dreams of the 1960s into the next century.