Blog & Vlog

New Board Member Impressions

By Guest Blogger on April 26, 2010

Greg Pease, a member of the Bridges Board of Directors, is a guest blogger this week.

I was honored to join the Board of Directors of Bridges last year and am pleased to blog a few of my initial impressions. 

I was surprised to learn that Bridges is the only organization of its kind in Middle Tennessee and is thus uniquely positioned to fulfill its mission of uniting the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Hearing communities.  By providing services like sign language interpretation and sign language education and by providing programs like the Youth Services Program and college scholarships for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, Bridges serves a critical role in the lives of our fellow citizens. 

As one example of a program that is making an impact, I learned that the Youth Services Program is an after-school program conducted at the Bridges’ downtown Nashville location that meets three days a week and that provides mentoring and tutoring to Deaf and Hard of Hearing children ages 8-18.  I visited the program and was struck by the excitement among the children and by the dedication of the staff members and the volunteers who work with the children.  A warm sense of community surrounds the Youth Services Program and is indicative of the effort to create a welcoming and helpful community resource.

I have found that the staff members, under the dynamic leadership of Sallie Hussey, are a motivated group that seeks to further the success of the organization and to promote the organization by new avenues such as this blog. The staff and the board are keenly focused on being wise stewards of the available resources and of furthering the mission.

I am excited about the future for Bridges and invite you to visit this blog regularly to learn more about the great things happening here.

—Greg Pease