On May 20th, a special Memorial Day Program will be presented by Cecil Latham. Hear the extraordinary story of Vietnam POW Captain Rocky Versace and the 38-year quest by friends and fellow prisoners to get the Medal of Honor awarded to this true American hero. Please take this opportunity to invite any veterans or other interested parties to be our guest on this day.

Congratulations to ZOI President Crystal Agnew for being selected as this year’s District Serteen of the Year and Regional Serteen of the Year. Crystal will also be competing for International Serteen of the Year.

ZOI held its annual Valentine’s Ball on February 8 at the Williamson County Convention Center. This year’s Belle of the Ball winner was Crystal Agnew. The Valentine’s Ball raised approximately $1,000 for various ZOI activities.

Spring will be very busy for ZOI, with the club participating in the Relay for Life, the Three-Legged Willy Race, and the Sertoma Golf Tournament. ZOI will also be coordinating their annual Easter Egg Hunt held at Old Settler’s Park and has plans to decorate another room at the Women’s Crisis Center.

Officers for the 2003-2004 year will be elected at the April meeting and the End of the Year Banquet will be held in May.

It is well recognized that hearing is critical to speech and language development, communication, and learning. Children with listening difficulties due to hearing loss or auditory processing problems continue to be an under-identified and underserved population.

The earlier hearing loss occurs in the child’s life, the more serious the effects on the child’s development. Similarly, the earlier the problem is identified and intervention begun, the less serious the ultimate impact.

There are four major ways in which hearing loss affects children—

1. It causes delay in the development of receptive and expressive communication skills
2. The language deficit causes learning problems that result in reduced academic achievement.
3. Communication difficulties often lead to social isolation and poor self-concept.
4. It may have an impact on vocational choices.

For more information visit: http://www.asha.org/hearing/disorders/effects.cfm