Dedication Given At The First Scott Haug Audiology Retreat

It is my privilege to join in welcoming you to the First Annual Scott Audiology Retreat. Given the Texas Hill Country setting, the outstanding facility, the relevance of the topics of presentation, and the quality of the participants, this is certain to be an enjoyable and productive event.

This retreat has come about through the dedication and commitment of many of Scott Haug’s friends. The effort and care that went into the planning and production of the retreat were truly a labor of love.

As many of you know, your colleague and friend, Scott Haug, died unexpectedly in 1984. Through memorial contributions, the Scott Haug Foundation was established as a nonprofit corporation. The Foundation will sponsor the Annual Scott Haug Audiology Retreat, which will provide a setting for professional sharing and growth.

At the time of his death, Scott was in the midst of an outstanding career as a clinical audiologist. He provided exceptional clinical services to hearing impaired persons and their families. He not only was an excellent diagnostic audiologist, but also considered it an important part of his job to work with patients and their families to achieve appropriate educational or vocational placement and to assist in their social adjustment. As a speech-language pathologist, I depended heavily on Scott, both to assist in the diagnostic and rehabilitative care of children and to help me understand the nature and implications of hearing disorders. His eagerness to help children – and his patience in trying to assist me in understanding hearing disorders – were characteristics which distinguished Scott. Those of us who worked with him realized that these “extra efforts” were not burdens to him. Rather these exemplary professional practices were a way of life for Scott. He was dedicated to improving clinical services to all persons with communication disorders.

Scott also was an enthusiastic and dedicated leader in advancing the profession of speech-language pathology and audiology. He organized and was a sustaining force in the association for audiologists in Austin. Largely through Scott’s beliefs that things should-and can-be better, the audiologists in Austin are a close-knit group.

Scott was a leader in the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association. He believed strongly that our collective efforts are essential to the advancement of the profession. When legislative matters were underway, he led others in supporting those efforts to improve the availability and quality of services for persons with communication disorders. When state agency programs for hearing-impaired persons were under consideration, he was a strong spokesperson for high quality services for all individuals, regardless of their age, handicapping condition, or ability to pay.

Scott was not a person who saw a problem and moaned or complained because no one else had fixed it. Rather he responded by actively pursuing solutions, and he led — and sometimes pushed or dragged — many of us with him on these solutions-finding pursuits so that we, too, became stronger advocates for positive changes in our profession.

While there is no doubt that those of us who worked with Scott respected and appreciated him for his outstanding professional skills and achievements, I wouldn’t want to leave the impression that our feelings and memories are of Scott as a somber figure whose life was limited to solemn professional endeavors. Yes, we hold Scott in high esteem for his professional skills and contributions. But our lives were more permanently affected by the person we knew.

Scott led us in caring for each other, in disagreeing and arguing without hating, in friendly but vigorous competition with each other, and in laughing together. He helped us learn that as colleagues and friends, we can be better and stronger and happier if we share both good times and bad. Scott believed in sharing. When one of us fell short in an effort, he covered our tracks, and he never failed to say “thanks” when we covered his. Scott let us love him, and he loved us back.

The quality of the professional presentations and the format and setting of the First Annual Scott Haug Audiology Retreat were chosen to reflect Scott’s commitment both to professional excellence and to find this an experience that you want to repeat and will return each year, bringing your colleagues with you.

Throughout the retreat, I hope that you learn and share, both through the formal presentations and through enjoying each other. I hope that you will join us in dedicating this and future Scott Haug Audiology Retreats to the celebration of the professional and personal enhancement we gained through knowing Scott.

Patricia R. Cole, Ph.D.

September 20, 1985

(Dr. Cole served as ASHA President in 1987 and as director of Health and Human Services Policy during the administration of Texas Gov. Ann W. Richards from 1991-1994. She was described as a “Texas Treasure” during her day of appreciation in the Texas legislature shortly after her death in 2001.)