Chicago Region RID Conference Draws 375

“Visions of Excellence – A Professional Commitment” was the theme of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) Region III conference hosted by Illinois RID July 27–30 in Chicago.

Cheryl Moose, Co-Chair of the conference along with Lou Scott, and current IRID President, said, “As Co-Chair of the RID Region 3 Conference I was proud to see attendance hit 375 participants! I was honored to play host to Daniel Burch, President of RID; Ben Hall, Vice-President of RID; RID board members Judith Carson, Pam Brodie and Richard Laurion; and our Keynote presenter, Robert Lee, and the many guests, presenters, working interpreters and conference participants who came to Chicago for the conference.”

Conference presenters were diverse and plenty.

There were four areas of interest – Medical, Educational, Potpourri, and Deaf Interpreting.

Presenters included Lee from Boston, Daniel Langholtz from San Francisco, and John Lewis from Washington, D.C.

“The entertainment on Friday evening was great fun and featured comedy from Peter Cook, and interpreter comedy from our very own Ari Asha Castalia,” Moose said.

Lee, who gave the Keynote speech, made several important points in his presentation.

In an interview with Lee, he said, “When talking about Professional Commitment (the conference theme) I asked what was it that I was committed to. I talked about learning to ‘become’ an interpreter, and I said that I was committed to the idea that Deaf people invite interpreters into their lives and community, therefore we as interpreters must work with Deaf people to define what an interpreter is.”

He also commented on the professionalism of interpreters present at the conference.

“I was honored to be asked to present and I feel that people really were willing to talk about some hard issues….looking at our work and ourselves. I think people’s willingness to discuss their own work was great and I appreciated all the involvement of the audiences.”

This type of professionalism in interpreting issues was found throughout the conference. A notable characteristic of the conference was the high number of Deaf individuals present.

Moose said, “I am most proud of offering Deaf Interpreter Training led by Langholtz from San Francisco and seeing the attendance at this 10 hour training reach over 20 participants.

The RID Region III Conference planning committee was dedicated to providing quality professional development to Deaf and Hearing Interpreters and I really believe that is exactly what we accomplished.”

Yet another area where Deaf people were greatly involved was a historical reception between National Association of the Deaf (NAD) Chapter Presidents and RID Chapter Presidents.

RID President Daniel Burch said, “The Region III reception for the NAD Presidents [and RID Presidents] was magic. I liken it to seeing robins as the harbinger of spring. This historic moment where NAD state affiliate chapter presidents could meet socially with RID affiliate chapter presidents definitely opened up a new era of dialogue between our two associations.”

The conference was pulled off with a $10,000 surplus – which certainly was good news for RID.

According to Moose, “The Region III Conference planning committee was so excited by the teamwork during the planning and the positive feedback received during the conference itself that we have bid for the National Convention to be held in Chicago in the year 2003.”

Moose also added, “Overall, it was an experience I’ll never forget!”