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WHAT: Former Miss America Heather Whitestone McCallum, a recent Nucleus®
24 Contour™ cochlear implant recipient and chair of the Graeme Clark
Scholarship Foundation, will inaugurate the first annual Graeme Clark
Scholarship with an award ceremony for the recipients and their families
at Innoventions at Epcot®, the ever-changing theme park of discovery at
the Walt Disney World® Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida on January 10,
2002. The Graeme Clark Scholarship, a unique award open to Nucleus®
cochlear implant recipients, is a fund intended to provide three college
age students with tuition assistance.
Upon completion of the award ceremony, recipients and their families will
enjoy a complimentary tour of Innoventions at Epcot® and have the
opportunity to use Disney's newest captioning technology. Innoventions, a
technology playground, provides a perfect venue to inaugurate the Graeme
Clark Scholarship award because it allows guests to experience many of the
breakthroughs in science and technology, that have affected many of our
lives including technologies for those with communication disabilities.
You are invited to participate in this event by attending the Graeme Clark
Scholarship award ceremony, tour Innoventions at Epcot® and have the
opportunity to experience Disney's newest captioning technology. You can
also interview Heather Whitestone McCallum and the Graeme Clark
Scholarship recipients.
MEDIA MUST RSVP BY JANUARY 8, 2003 IN ORDER TO
GAIN ACCESS TO THIS EVENT AND TO CONDUCT INTERVIEWS
Contact Information: Amanda McLaren
Kovak·Likly Communications
Phone: (203) 762-8833
WHEN: January 10, 2002 at 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: Innoventions at Epcot®, Lake Buena Vista, FL
WHO: Heather Whitestone McCallum, Chair Graeme Clark Scholarship
Foundation, Miss America 1995
Sarah Dockrey, Graeme Clark Scholarship Recipient
Lindsey Dolich, Graeme Clark Scholarship Recipient
Andrea Langhout, Graeme Clark Scholarship Recipient
ABOUT THE GRAEME CLARK SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION
The Foundation was established in 2002 in honor of Professor Graeme Clark,
Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Melbourne, for his
lifelong commitment to finding a solution for individuals with hearing
loss and his pioneering work in the field of cochlear implant technology.
Awarded by Cochlear, this scholarship consists of financial assistance
towards a college degree at an accredited university. The award, which
will be presented to three students annually, is paid in yearly
installments upon the completion of each year of study. Each award is in
the amount of $3,000 per year for a total of four years. Scholarships are
awarded on the basis of academic achievement and a demonstrated commitment
to the Cochlear ideals of leadership and humanity.
For more information about the Graeme Clark Scholarship Foundation, call
800/458-4999 (Voice) or 800/483-3123 (TTY) or visit the website at
www.cochlear.com.
HEATHER'S STORY
At 18 months of age, Heather was rushed to the hospital with a dangerously
high fever from the Haemophilus influenza virus. She was only hours from
death when the doctors administered powerful antibiotics that saved her
life. But several months later, Heather tested profoundly deaf in both
ears. The doctors concluded that this was a result of the virus, the
antibiotics or both.
Heather had been inspired by her family to work hard and never stop
trying. Without an interpreter, she attended public school until she was
12 years old, and then enrolled in the Central Institute for the Deaf in
St. Louis. In 1991, she graduated from public high school and went on to
attend Jacksonville State University.
Since she was crowned Miss America, Heather has been traveling across the
country giving motivational speeches to corporations, schools and
government agencies about overcoming challenges to achieve your dreams.
She served as a former executive board member on the President's Committee
on Employment of People with Disabilities, and is now a member of the
National Institute of Health's National Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders Advisory Council. She also spearheaded the
nation's largest multimedia public service campaign to identify early
hearing loss, and was a spokesperson for the Helen Keller Foundation for
Research and Education. In addition, Heather has authored three books,
Listening With My Heart, Believing The Promise and a third book, Let God
Surprise You, which is expected out in the fall.
Additional information and photos are available. Please visit
www.cochlear.com/MissAmerica.asp for more information. |
