Rear Admiral W. Gene Sizemore, 33, Grand Cross
The first national conference of Scottish Rite Clinics and Centers for Childhood Language Disorders was held in Denver, Colorado, on Friday and Saturday, September 20-21, at the Red Lion Hotel and the Denver Consistory, and was an outstanding success in reaffirming the mission of our clinics and centers for children. A meeting of this nature had long been contemplated by Sovereign Grand Commander, C. Fred Kleinknecht, 33, and was at last achieved through the leadership of Chairmen, Ill. Earl K. Dille, 33, S.G.I.G. in Missouri, and Ill. Dwight A. Hamilton, 33, S.G. I.G. in Colorado, the latter the symposium's very gracious host.
Credit for the fine tuning and detail work belongs to Deborah Hayes, Ph.D., Director and Associate Professor, Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital in Denver. She was most ably assisted in these arrangements, including agenda schedules and the selection of topics and speakers, by Cynthia Jacobsen, Ph.D., of Children's Mercy Medical Center, Kansas City, Missouri, and by Ms. Barbara McQuitty, B.A., Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders, St. Louis, Missouri.
Denver was chosen as the location of this first-ever conference since this is where The Supreme Council first became interested in childhood language problems. The initial interest of the Scottish Rite in this particular philanthropic effort, assisting children suffering the effects of aphasia, followed the lead of the Denver and Rocky Mountain Scottish Rite Bodies which in 1952 created a philanthropic foundation in Colorado to treat aphasic children.
Six years later, in 1958, the Scottish Rite involvement in childhood aphasia was expanded with a project founded in California. Now, 38 years later, there are foundations existing in every state of the Southern Jurisdiction supporting an expanding network of support for this major philanthropic endeavor.
The one and one-half day meeting in Denver focused primarily on the development and delivery of quality services applicable to all Scottish Rite Clinics, Centers, and Programs across the Southern Jurisdiction. At present there are 115 of these in operation, and several more are expected to open their doors within the coming year.
The objectives of the conference were to leave the participants with the ability to discuss the importance of Scottish Rite Clinics in meeting the needs of children with learning disabilities; to recognize the components of successful clinic development; and to identify innovative and community-responsive clinical service delivery models.
The symposium agenda, listed later in this article, was presented by outstanding and most professional speakers who provided ample material and information to satisfy these objectives and, from comments of those present, fully met the expectations of the 137 registered attendees, representing 36 states and territories.
In honor of the occasion, the Governor of Colorado, the Honorable Roy Romer, issued a Proclamation recognizing the 20th day of September as Scottish Rite Foundation Recognition Day in Colorado.
Program highlights included the outstanding opening address of Judith Montgomery, Ph.D., Past President, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; the keynote address by Illustrious J. C. Montgomery, 33, President, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital; the special sessions of Tom Boles, 33, Grand Cross, on Planned Giving; Foster Cline, M.D., "Parenting with Love and Logic," and last, but certainly not least, the video greeting and congratulations at the banquet on Friday evening of Illustrious Ernest Borgnine, 33, Grand Cross. Brother Borgnine, who had planned to be present for the occasion, sent his message via a videotape which was eloquently introduced by Lieutenant Grand Commander, Illustrious H. Douglas Lemons, 33, S.G.I.G. in California.
Among the speakers and their topics were: Welcome and Introductions, Deborah Hayes, Ph.D., The Children's Hospital, Denver, CO; Scottish Rite Services to Children in the 21st Century, Judith Montgomery, Ph.D., American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Bethesda, MD; Development and Delivery of Innovative Programs, Gilbert Herer, Ph.D., Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC; Program Quality Evaluation, Deborah King, M.A., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, Clinician's Exchange, Amy Brophy-Neilsen, M.S., St. Mary's Rehabilitation Center, Grand Junction, CO; Planned Giving: Ensuring the Future, Tom Boles, 33, G.C., Director of Development, The Supreme Council, 33, Washington, DC; Program of Celebration, The Fruits of Your Labor, J. C. Montgomery, 33, Scottish Rite Hospital, Dallas, TX; Service Delivery Models, Shelley Gray, M.S., University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, Cynthia Jacobsen, Ph.D., Children's Mercy Medical Center, Kansas City, MO; Public Relations/Donor Recognition; Barbara McQuitty, B.A., Scottish Rite Clinic, St. Louis, MO; Treatment Outcomes, Barry Pendry, Ph.D., All Children's Hospital, St. Petersburg, FL; Clinic Management, Philip Levinson, Ph.D., Scottish Rite Clinics, Portland, OR; Love and Logic: Successful Parenting, Foster Cline, M.D., Sandpoint, ID; Closing Remarks, Cynthia Jacobsen, Ph.D.
In evaluating this unique conference, participants felt the information received and the contacts made were of great value. Thus, having found the Denver Clinic and Center Symposium to have been a very successful investment of time and effort, initial steps are being taken towards holding a Scottish Rite, National Clinic and Center Conference in 1998.