Alexandria, VA, March 22, 2005—Members of the Hearing Industries Association (HIA) met early this month in Coral Gables, Fl. Approximately 75 industry leaders and guests convened at the 2005 HIA Annual Meeting, focusing on the prospects for a hearing aid tax credit and the responsibility of the industry for consumer communications.
The HIA membership endorsed a Strategic Plan developed by the Board of Directors that commits the organization to actions that will benefit consumers and support the dispensers of HIA member products. Passage of the hearing aid tax credit legislation, development of a series of industry white papers, and maximization of hearing aid technology through training are key elements of the three-year plan, posted for members, along with meeting presentations from BHI and the Veterans Administration, at www.hearing.org.
As part of the meeting materials, HIA outlined member action steps and developed a member resource kit to encourage grassroots support of the tax credit legislation by manufacturers. According to HIA executive Carole Rogin, "HIA's goal is to welcome every member of our Association to Washington, DC for "Hearing on the Hill" on May 18th, and to set up meetings for them with elected officials with whom they have already visited at home." She noted, "Our dispensing and consumer allies are doing an excellent job at the grassroots level and, although there are relatively few companies, we employ thousands of people and that translates into votes."
At the meeting, HIA awarded its fourth "Volunteerism Award" to Jerry Ruzicka, Starkey Laboratories, for his leadership in building a political action component for HIA and his vision in crafting a strategic plan for the Association over the past three years. Ruzicka was also honored at the meeting as the outgoing HIA Chairman.
The Better Hearing Institute (BHI) also presented its plan for the year to HIA members at the meeting, putting forward its new website, www.betterhearing.org, and its comprehensive new consumer communication. BHI Executive Director Sergei Kochkin outlined consumer communications projects to be tackled with the assistance of BHI's new public relations firm, Strategy XXI, New York City, as well as a range of special projects for which BHI will seek project funding. Kochkin announced at the meeting that MarkeTrak, funded for BHI by Knowles Electronics, Inc., would be issued in the near future.
HIA elections were held during the meeting, re-electing directors Gora Ganguli, Gennum Corporation, Mikael Worning, Oticon, William Lankenau, Siemens Hearing Instruments, and Ron Meltsner, Widex. Randy Raymond, Rayovac Corporation, was elected as HIA Chairman, Cathy Jones, Phonak, was elected Vice Chair, and Ganguli was re-elected as Secretary/Treasurer. Carole Rogin, who continues as chief staff executive, was honored by HIA at the meeting for 25 years of service to the Association.
HIA, headquartered in Alexandria, VA, is the national trade association of manufacturers of hearing aids, implantable hearing devices, assistive listening devices, component parts and power sources for amplification devices.
