Thank you, Larry Evans – NAD Board Member
The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) depends on the work of the Board Members who volunteer their time for the deaf and hard of hearing community. The Board plays an integral role in reaching out to the four corners of America and serve as important advocates as the NAD fights for equality. Their responsibilities include ensuring that every decision of the NAD is aligned with the mission and vision of the NAD. However, it is with sadness that the NAD announces Larry Evans’ resignation as the Region III Board member for personal reasons.
Larry ran for Region III Representative at the NAD Conference in Louisville, Kentucky in 2012 and has been on the NAD Board since then. Larry often shared concerns and ideas from Region III with the NAD Board and served as a key player for the local deaf and hard of hearing community. He has served as an important liaison to deaf and hard of hearing senior citizens for the Board.
NAD President Chris Wagner shares gratitude, “Larry is a phenomenal team player and the NAD Board will miss seeing him in his grand cowboy hat in our meetings. We will always remember his wonderful passion for our community. Thank you Larry, for being a champion!”
“It has been a great pleasure to serve on the NAD Board for the last three years and represent the interests of Region III. I will miss working with the Board and Headquarters but know that they are in good hands,” said Larry Evans.
Larry resides in Austin, Texas with his wife Betty and two family dogs Mike and Hope. In their retirement, they travel in their RV and visit their adult children and grand children.
With no time to spare, the NAD Board is excited to announce Holly Ketchum, from Little Rock, Arkansas, as the new Region III Representative! Holly will fill in the remainder of Larry’s term, which is until the NAD Conference in Phoenix, Arizona in 2016. She joins Jerry Nelson, who also represents Region III.
Holly Ketchum, a native of Little Rock, obtained her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and her master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. For the past 14 years, she has worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDHH) Coordinator at Arkansas Rehabilitation Services in the Little Rock field office.
As coordinator, she has the statewide responsibility of providing technical assistance, consultation, and training to VR counselors and allied professionals who serve consumers who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind. She is also responsible for developing and managing inter-agency agreements, coordinating interagency services, and ensuring compliance with disability rights laws and policies as they relate to people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind. She is the chairperson for the SDHH Advisory Board.
In addition to her work, she currently serves on the Advisory Council for the Telecommunication Access Program (TAP), the Arkansas Crime Victims with Disabilities, and the Advisory Board for Interpreters between Hearing Individuals and Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. She serves on the advisory committee for Arkansas’ state Grants to Enhance Culturally Specific Services for Victims of Sexual Assault, Dating Violence and Stalking Program, which will be effective in the Fall of 2015.
She has also served as an officer and board member with the Arkansas Association of the Deaf (AAD) for more than 20 years. For the past 14 years, she has taught ASL I and ASL II courses for the Interpreter Education Program at UALR. In her free time, Holly spends time with her husband, Stanley, and their daughter, Shala who attends the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She also enjoys exercising and being an active community member.
“I am excited and honored to be joining the NAD Board as a Region III Representative,” said Holly Ketchum. “There is much work to be done, and I look forward to adding to the strength and dedication of everyone on the NAD team.”
The NAD Board members are dedicated volunteers who ensure that the NAD is fulfilling its mission of preserving, protecting, and promoting the civil, human and linguistic rights for all deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States.
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The NAD was established in 1880 by deaf leaders who believed in the right of the American deaf community to use sign language, to congregate on issues important to them, and to have its interests represented at the national level. As a nonprofit federation, the mission of the NAD is to preserve, protect, and promote the civil, human, and linguistic rights of deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States. The advocacy scope of the NAD is broad, covering the breadth of a lifetime and impacting future generations in the areas of early intervention, education, employment, health care, technology, telecommunications, youth leadership, and more.
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