By: Kat Aoyama, PhD, TSHF President, and Judith Erwin, MA, CCC-SLP, TSHF Past President

From Judith Erwin:
As I write this article, the weather is changing, and the year is coming to an end. When this article is published, the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) Convention will be in full swing, celebrating TSHA’s 70^th birthday. It has been my great honor to serve as president of the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation (TSHF) for the past two years. The TSHF board is made up of very dedicated, hardworking volunteers who work tirelessly to support deserving professionals and graduate students in pursuing their degrees and to provide superior service to their clients. Through very excellent fiscal management by Sherry Sancibrian, Chair of the Financial Advisory Committee, and Peter Hearn, our Financial Advisor, we awarded more than $69,000 in scholarships and awards at the TSHA 2025 Convention in San Antonio. One of our highlights was to grant the Julie Beth Noel Leadership Award for the first time to the TSHA Executive Board! I also would like to thank the following board members for their tireless service to the Foundation: Candace Hicks, Treasurer; Donise Pearson, Past President; Gina Glover, Recording Secretary; Kat Aoyama, President-Elect/Scholarship Co-Chair; Patti Solomon-Rice, Research Award Chair; Michelle Mendietta, Education and Service Award Chair; Karen Bryant, Publicity Chair; Erin Bellue, Fundraiser Chair; Sydney Perricone, Awards Event Chair; Marva Mount, Relations; Kenyetta Bolling, Leadership Initiatives; and Becky Yates, Fund Development Chair. These dedicated board members work year-round to fulfill the Foundation's mission. I know the Foundation's future will remain in excellent hands under the leadership of Kat Aoyama.

From Kat Aoyama:
I am deeply honored to serve as President of the TSHF from 2026 to 2027. As I prepare for this new responsibility, Sherry Sancibrian gave me an article written by our founding president, Anne Mauzy, in 1998. Her article detailed the history of the TSHF and how she and the first board members established scholarships, research awards, and service awards. Anne Mauzy also arranged the first board meetings, raised funds, and wrote the policies and procedures that we use today. Her article was informative, eye-opening, and daunting for me as the next TSHF President! Although I feel an enormous sense of responsibility, I know the Foundation is in good hands with such a dedicated group of volunteers. Starting in 2026, Melissa Whitaker will serve as the Scholarship Chair, and we will welcome a few other new volunteers to the TSHF board. I sincerely thank Judith Erwin and all other past presidents for their work in establishing a solid foundation for the TSH Foundation as we know it today.