WASHINGTON, DC - William and Tani Austin, founders of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, will receive the Service to America Leadership Award for their dedication to providing free hearing aids to thousands of children and adults around the world.
Considered the NAB Education Foundation's highest honor, the Service to America Leadership Award recognizes those individuals and organizations that have improved lives of others through extraordinary public service. The award will be presented during the Celebration of Service to America gala held Monday, June 14, at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. Now in its 12th year, the Celebration of Service to America Awards recognizes outstanding community service by local broadcasters.
"The Starkey Hearing Foundation has enriched the lives of people across the globe, providing more than 442,000 hearing aids to those in need in the past decade alone," said NABEF President Marcellus Alexander. "We salute the dedication and perseverance of the Austins and their Foundation staff, and look forward to honoring them for their outstanding public service efforts during this year's Celebration of Service to America Awards."
The Starkey Hearing Foundation was established in 1984 under William Austin's "So the World May Hear" concept. Through the work of donors and volunteers, William and Tani Austin have delivered more than 100,000 hearing aids annually to countries spanning the globe. The success of the foundation in the past decade has launched a commitment within the organization to distribute more than 1,000,000 free hearing aids worldwide in this decade.
In addition to providing hearing aids through worldwide hearing missions, the foundation promotes the research and education of hearing health through their Sound Matters initiative. For additional information, or to learn how to make a donation to the Starkey Hearing Foundation, click here.
As previously announced, the Celebration of Service to America Awards will honor Haiti's Signal FM radio for their outstanding service to the Haitian community during the aftermath of the recent earthquake disaster. The Celebration of Service to America Awards will also recognize local radio and television stations for their commitment to serving their communities. To view this year's list of station winners, click here.
About The Celebration of Service to America Awards
The Celebration of Service to America Awards are sponsored and produced by NABEF with major support from Bonneville International Corporation and the National Association of Broadcasters. In recent years, ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," entertainment industry icon Quincy Jones, legendary rock star Sir Elton John, former President Bill Clinton, First Lady Laura Bush, Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, boxing legend Muhammad Ali, former President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalyn Carter, and former First Lady Nancy Reagan have been presented with the Celebration of Service to America Leadership Award at the event. Details about the Celebration of Service to America Awards are available at www.nabef.org/ServicetoAmerica.
About Bonneville International Corp.
Founded in 1964, Bonneville International's heritage traces its early roots to KSL Radio, which first went on the air in July of 1922 (originally as KZN) in Salt Lake City and to KSL-TV, which had its on-air debut in 1949. Bonneville currently owns and operates 28 radio stations in the Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Phoenix, St. Louis, and Cincinnati markets, with company headquarters in Salt Lake City. The company's working motto is "Do good, do well, make a difference, and have fun," and it structures its innovative and successful business model on the three principles of 1) building its people, 2) making a difference in its communities, and 3) meeting aggressive financial goals. Bonneville enjoys a long-standing reputation and is known industry-wide for its quality, values-oriented programming, its technological innovation, and its nationally recognized and award-winning commitment to serving the communities where it broadcasts.
About NABEF
The National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation (NABEF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving broadcasters and the public interest by supporting and advocating community service, diversity, education and broadcasting issues and trends.
About NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for America's broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.