30 attend Deaf Awareness Workshop

From: Houghton Lake Resorter, MI
Nov. 14, 2002

The deaf and hearing worlds united again recently at Kirtland for the 15th annual Deaf Awareness Workshop entitled “Lights. . .Camera. . .Action!”
Thirty participants, some traveling more than 700 miles, gathered on a foggy morning in the woods to mingle, learn and share a day of information on closed captioning and to be trained on interpreting for deaf access to theaters.

Panelists included Brenda Dawe, American Sign Language instructor and interpreter who organized the Oct. 12 event; Gary Carton, director of Kirtland’s Center for the Performing Arts; Ron Swartz, chairman of the Deaf C.A.N. (Detroit interpreter and advocacy agency; and Juliette Regnier, co-founder of the Cleveland (OH) Sign Stage, actress and certified interpreter.
“I learned a lot,” said one ASL student who attended the conference who gave the conference a six on a scale of 1-5. “I was glad I had this opportunity to attend this workshop.”
Another attendee said, “I always benefit from these workshops, especially when the deaf offer their perspectives and opinions.”
The workshop was co-hosted by Subchapter 6 of MIRID (Michigan Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf) and the Division on Deafness. A grant from the College of St. Catherine’s was awarded to help offset expenses.
“Without financial support from these sources and the “hands on” help from MIRID 6, Kirtland staff, student volunteers, and the first class interpreters, and all those braving the fog to spend their time and money to attend, the next offering would not be possible,” Dawe said.
The next workshop is scheduled for March 21-23, 2003.

©The Houghton Lake Resorter 2002