On March 5, 2008, AG Bells President Karen Youdelman and Executive Director Alexander T. Graham presented U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) with the 2008 AG Bell Award of Distinction at a Capitol Hill constituency breakfast in recognition of the Senators lifelong dedication and commitment to hearing loss issues.
The Alexander Graham Bell Award of Distinction is given to leaders who have made outstanding contributions on a local, national or international level to promote and address hearing loss-related issues. Past recipients include Senator Patrick Leahy; Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson; former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy; among many others.
A longtime advocate of early hearing detection and intervention, communication access and civil rights for Americans with disabilities, Harkin personally knows the unique challenges that deaf and hard of hearing individuals face every day. His late brother, Frank, lost his hearing in early childhood. For more on this story, look in the upcoming May/June issue of Volta Voices.
