Spotlight On...

Academy Better Hearing Center

Rep: Delaine McCarty
Hearing Loss

High fever, head trauma, birth defects, certain drugs or measles can cause hearing loss. However, hearing loss after 50 is a common part of aging. Deterioration of the tiny hair cells in the inner ear can no longer transmit electrical impulses effectively; therefore, you lose some hearing. This type of hearing loss is not reversible. Hearing aids can improve this sensory neural hearing loss.

An obstruction in the ear canal or middle ear can also cause a hearing loss. The obstruction interferes with the sound vibrations before reaching the inner ear (hair cells). This loss can result from severe head trauma, a ruptured eardrum, birth defects, or wax impaction and fluid in the middle ear. This conductive hearing loss is usually reversible with surgical or medical care.

Testing is the only way to determine if you have a conductive or sensory neural hearing loss. To rule out a medical or surgical problem it is important to be examined by an otolaryngologist. Symptoms of “fullness” or a “blocked” feeling can result from fluid in the middle ear or a ruptured eardrum. An impedance test can help diagnose fluid. A physician will diagnose a perforation.

Academy Better Hearing Center recommends that you see a physician for the following symptoms:

1. Sudden hearing loss
2. Active drainage in the ears
3. Hearing loss just in one ear
4. Acute or chronic dizziness
5. Ears that feel full or blocked.
6. Pain or discomfort in the ears.

Academy Better Hearing Center recommends the following assessment for you to determine your Social Hearing Acuity. If you:

1. Ask others to repeat themselves
2. Hear some people better than others
3. Have difficulty hearing phone conversations
4. Become stressed from trying to hear
5. Increase the volume on the radio or television
6. Cannot hear door bells, alarm clocks, smoke alarms
7. Have difficulty understanding conversations in groups
8. Need to look at faces in order to understand

You should have your hearing tested if you can answer YES to any of these hearing loss symptoms. The sooner that you realize you may have a hearing loss, the easier it is to treat. Hearing loss associated with aging is very gradual. Depression, paranoia, insecurity and early dementia can be confused with hearing loss.

A realistic treatment plan cannot give back hearing you have lost, but can focus on what you have left just as glasses don't restore our sight, but enhance the sight that is still available. Hearing aids cannot restore hearing loss; they amplify the hearing that is functioning. It is important to use what we have, not worry about what is lost.

Delaine McCarty is the owner of Academy Better Hearing Center. She graduated from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Dallas. She is Board Certified in Medical Technology, Board Certified in Hearing Instrument Science, a member of the American Society of Clinical Pathology, a member of International Hearing Science, and a member of the Auditory Society.

Delaine has been married to Doctor Kelly McCarty, an Ear, Nose, &Throat Surgeon for 28 years. He encouraged Delaine to open Academy Better Hearing Center in 1995 for the service of patients with hearing loss associated with nerve damage. He convinced Delaine that because of her experience working with him since 1984, his patients would benefit if she would care for their hearing needs. Delaine loves working with the hearing impaired, finding it “very challenging and most rewarding”.

Delaine and Kelly have lived in Colorado Springs for 13 years. They have one daughter, Morgan, who is a sophomore at CU Boulder.

President's Message Presidents' Caucus

I enjoyed representing Colorado Springs at the 2003 Presidents Caucus in Salt Lake City. I believe there where 100 plus gals in attendance including the corporate board and staff members.

I met fellow Presidents from all over the country and talked with them about issues like: membership, programs, fund raising, non-compete, attendance, and direction of EWI for the future.

One day was spent in the Academy of Leadership with Lori Giovannoni as the presenter. This is module one: Thinking like A Genius, Volunteer & Professional Leadership. Lori has a very entertaining delivery and captured her audience with her up-beat presentation and stories. I hope that some of you will have the opportunity to go to module three at the annual convention in Denver.

EWI works hard to help with the personal development part of our mission statement. Our MA (membership advisor) has four chapters she is responsible for Salt Lake City, San Diego, Spokane and Colorado Springs. We had a dinner together to discuss problems and challenges we are having with the chapters. It is very obvious that all of these chapters including Colorado Springs are very strong. Most of the other chapters are struggling with membership. I found it interesting that only 11% of the nationwide EWI membership is small business and at the presidents caucus only four of us were with small businesses.

We have 75 firms who have either renewed their membership or have just joined. We’ll have one to post after our board meeting and we have five prospects. Help us to push the window this year by increasing our membership to the magic number of 101 firms.

If you need information about membership please contact Kathleen O'Leary at Lane Sales or Vanessa Moorman at Lamar Outdoor Advertising. Both of their phone numbers and e-mail addresses are on the side of this newsletter.

EWI Corporate Website

If you have tried to get into the EWI Corporate site to update your directory information and have been unsuccessful, we have found that it will NOT work with Netscape. You must use Internet Explorer to get in.

Everyone needs to login to the members area of the corporate website to review your profile. The website address is: http://www.executivewomen.org. Click on Members Only, then Edit Profile. Your login will be your first initial and last name in all capital letters. Your password will be your first name in caps then 03. For example, userid is LTODD, password is LORRIE03.

Have You Met These New Members?

SHARE THE NEWS!

Please send submissions for the Chapter Pulse to:

Contact: Kathy Wallace

Phone: 548-0582

E-mail: kawallace@msn.com

Next Deadline
March 20

Please email as
MSWord attachment.

Thank you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

"Women and Strokes"

Last month's meeting was held at the Penrose/St. Francis Learning Center. Dr. Clark enlightened us with stroke and heart disease symptoms and prevention. Laura, the dietitian, explained the "Dash Diet", which focused on eliminating hypertension. Her on-site, live food examples illustrated the the differences between fast food indulging and making healthy choices.

Did You Know?

by Wanda Reaves

She’s a New York City gal! She’s a bright spot in our EWI Chapter! Her sparkle is contagious.

This EWI member was born and reared in the Bronx. (She’s lost her accent!) She attended St. Francis Catholic School for the early years. Since her dad served in the U. S. Army she attended high school in Germany. While there she was a disc jockey on The Teen Show for the Armed Forces Network. For those of you that are not familiar with the Armed Forces Network it is a radio network that keeps those serving our country away from home informed about what is happening back home in the States. She was a disc jockey on the show for two years.

Her parents retired in Colorado Springs and she fell in love with the Pikes Peak region. Shortly thereafter she fell in love with the man who is now her husband.She picked him up, but it wasn’t in a bar!!!---it was in a grocery store! You go girl!

She and her husband lived in Boulder where she worked for the Boulder District Court system. When her husband’s parents’ health failed they returned to Colorado Springs where she became one of the first in El Paso County as a paralegal in law office management.
Twenty six years ago she and her husband started their business with $200 and a First National Bank loan which led them to a very successful business. Originally that business was in wholesale with a retail operation beginning fifteen years ago. She takes great satisfaction in the fact that their original clients still return for their service. A major kick-off for their business was the Women’s Trade Fair sponsored by Penrose Hospital fifteen years ago. Word of mouth is their most successful advertisement.

Another most rewarding aspect of their business is their service to senior health care facilities. Weekly visits are made to serve the elderly with adjustments and other kinds of optical service. With enviable vision they purchased a parcel of land south of Colorado Springs in a setting where a multitude of wildlife exists. According to the Colorado Wildlife Division it is reported that the reason the area has the most abundant number of wildlife species is because the plains meet the mountains there. She sometimes can watch a cougar creeping around their property. She was involved in the formation of the original fire district for their area and she served on that board for many years.

Her most embarrassing moment was when she was in her store and serving an elderly couple. As she was talking to these clients her black half-slip fell down around her ankles! Her favorite authors are Robert Ludlum, Tom Chancy and Mutineer.

This is one lucky woman to have a husband that she loves so much. When I asked her what she does to have fun, she didn’t hesitate; she says, “Being with my husband”. He’s a pretty lucky fellow, too, I would say. They love skiing together. Her hobby is gardening and she loves to travel with her husband. They often go to Puget Sound to visit friends. She also loves going back to New York. And the good news, folks, is that she is taking computer lessons! Yes, that’s right - they have a laptop! We can soon (but not yet) add her to our e-mail list!

On a sad note this wonderful woman just lost her mother. She wants her many friends in EWI to know that they held a private memorial service for her mother. I know you have guessed who this is by now. You’re right! It’s Kathy Kelly, a past president of EWI and a bright light in our organization.

March
Chapter Meeting

RSVP Guests and Regrets ONLY
Jeanne Roblewsky djroblewsky@email.msn.com

RSVP by March 5th!

What:March Chapter Meeting
Date: March 12, 5:30pm. Topic:"Perfecting Connecting", speaker Sara Michelle
Where: Phantom Canyon Brewing Company, 3rd Floor.
Cost: $30.00

April's Meeting

April 9: Women Traveling Alone, 5:30 at Jack Quinn’s

Membership Status

Member Firms - 78
Additional reps - 14
Sustaining - 6
Life - 9
Honorary - 1
Transitional - 1

Membership Postings

None

New Members

Institute for Facial and Cosmetic Surgery
Reps: Tanya Sheldon and Stephanie Abeyta.
Major: Medicine
Minor: Plastic surgery

Serene Spaces
Rep:Debra Witte
Major Classification: Interior Designs
Minor Classification: Feng Shui

Membership Changes

Add Staff has a new rep: Jayme Holligan

Members Not Renewing

McGinnis GMAC Rep: Sharon McGinnis
Cheyenne Village Rep: Linda Bloom (now a sustaining member)
Cliff House Rep: Michelle York
Colorado Springs Balloon Classic Rep: Patsy Buchwald
N. Central Assn of Colleges & Schools Rep: Ann Elrod
Colorado Springs School No rep in 2002
USAA Rep: Cindy Lindhorn (now a life member)
Whitney Electric Rep: Penny Whitney

The EWI Regional Spring Conference for 2003 will be held May 15-17, 2003 in San Antonio, Texas.

The 2003 EWI Annual Meeting will be held in Denver, CO next Sept. 24-27! We are lucky to have this event close by so that many of our members can attend and see EWI in action at the national level.

Minutes

Executive Women International
Colorado Springs Chapter
Record of Board of Directors Meeting
February 6, 2003

President Sally Seidlitz called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.

In attendance were Kelly Wood, Nancy Kelly, Joan Saucerman, Jane Marshall, Beth Alexander, Lorrie Todd, Lanonah Krumanocker, Marti Hartman, Kathy Wallace, Jean Roblewsky, Vickie Keeler, Verna Severson, Bea Steahlin, Sally Seidlitz and Linda Williamson.
No motions were made. Meeting was adjourned at 6:00pm.

The next Board meeting will be Thursday, Mar. 6th at 4:30 pm at Accent Digital Imaging.

E X E C U T I V E
W O M E N
I N T E R N A T I O N A L

Corporate Office Contact Information

515 South 700 East, Suite 2A

Salt Lake City, UT 84102-2801

Phone (801) 355-2800

Fax (801) 355-2852

Website:www.executivewomen.org

Email:ewi@executivewomen.org

P R I N C I P L E S

• To bring together key individuals from member firms of EWI to achieve world-class status as an organization through applied standards of excellence.

• Forge and cultivate mutual business and professional goals through personal association and interchange.

• Afford the opportunities and structure for leadership and professional development.

• Provide a wide scope of community, educational, and philanthropic services and contributions.

• Encourage flexibility and adaptability in a membership as diverse in its demographics as in its interest, needs, and staying power