The 18th Annual Communication Awards

	October 1999

The 18th Annual Communication Awards
By Gregg J. Donaldson

The 18th Annual Communication Awards were held on September 7, 1999, at the Kennedy Center. It was a fun-filled night full of entertainment, celebrating the arts, as well as stories of personal achievements. The awards are a project of the National Council on Communication Disorders. They are also sponsored by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the National Association for Hearing and Speech Action. The evening was wonderfully hosted by, local morning news anchor Joe Krebs, of NBC - Channel 4 and actress, Amy Ecklund, of The Guiding Light.

The awardees were an eclectic group of people. They included musicians, an author, a humorist a councilwoman and a couple of young people, receiving Individual and Youth Achievement Awards. Here are some highlights:

Mr. Paul E. Berger, author of story chronicles his experiences surviving a severe stroke causing aphasia and apraxia at the age of 36. It also shows he successfully returned to school. Today he works full time as a draftsman. The Bergers live in Virginia. Paul received an Individual Achievement Award For more information about the book, visit: http://members.aol.com/pospower

Mrs. Betty Ann Krahnke, was also honored with an Individual Achievement Award, for her tireless work as Montgomery County Councilwoman, in Chevy Chase Maryland, since 1990. Mrs. Krahnke has ALS and in her acceptance speech, thanked the use of technology for helping her to stay active. She used a computer to express her remarks. She is also active with several organizations.

Bernie Williams, an 18 year old freshman student, at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. He studies are in the Computer Technology field. Mr. Williams is a quadriplegic, as a result of being struck by a car when he was young. He is a resident of Washington, D.C. Williams received his Youth Achievement Award, from former Senator and Astronaut John Glenn. He dedicated his award to his mother, for her love and support.

Joel Rutledge, a humorist from San Francisco, who received the Charles Van Riper Award for his achievements, hilariously entertained the audience. Host Joe Krebs presented Rutledge his award Mr. Rutledge is a stutterer and has some vision impairments. He has appeared on PBS, the Comedy Channel, CNN, and is a frequent speaker at corporate meetings across the country.

Among the highlights of his routine, he asked the crowd if they had seen a conversation between a stutterer and a Type A person? Without stopping a beat, he said, "It's not a pretty sight." He further explained how he would wonder 'why he had been put on earth?' Then the answer came to him: It was to tee off A-type people who would finish his sentences for him. He loves to throw in a monkey wrench by saying, "Bob, (wonderfully timed pause), that's not what I was going to say." (Confidential pause), "Even though, it was."

Other awardees who performed on the piano, were Ms. Cydnie Breazeale-Davis, (Individual Achievement), and Ms. Caitlin Parton, (Youth Achievement), respectively. Co-host Amy Ecklund presented these awards.

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