Welcome to the West Valley Chapter of Arizona

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The Hearing Loss Association of America, West Valley Chapter, is a non-profit chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) dedicated to the welfare and interest of living with hearing loss.

We are a dedicated all-volunteer support group committed to living life to the fullest with our hearing loss. How do we accomplish that? By sharing our experiences, expertise and understanding of this invisible thing called hearing loss. Monthly, expert presentations on different hearing loss topics are shared. All of our meetings are captioned, so no more struggling trying to understand. We make it easy for you. We can help.

Scroll down to see our current month's presenter and meeting location information. Please visit our pages to learn how to live better with hearing loss. Join us!

Meeting Dates

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Upcoming Meetings

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Education

Our primary purpose is to educate ourselves, our families, friends, co-workers, teachers, hearing health care providers, industry, government, and others about hearing loss.

Information

We provide information on many aspects of hearing loss, from technological and medical advances to coping, parenting, and strategies to improve mental health issues related to isolation with hearing loss.

Advocacy

We advocate communication access in the workplace, hotels, schools, court systems, medical and entertainment facilities.

We promote new technology, research, and legislation that will improve the effects of hearing loss.

Support

We support individuals through our local chapters to promote self-confidence and empowerment to develop options for ourselves, and to open doors for others.

Board Members

Fred De Werth III

President
Fred De Werth III has been a member of HLAA since 2023. He is a native Phoenician. He and his wife of 55 years, Vicki, have been living in the West Valley since 2013. Fred's diverse career was in the Bell System for 39 years. During his professional career and as Director on two not-for-profit organizations his various teams included a variety of people who were hard of hearing, Deaf, epileptic and blind.
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Fred Williams

Immediate Past President
Fred is the immediate chapter past president. In addition to planning and making arrangements for the monthly speakers for our chapter meetings, Fred also runs the chapter's monthly online book group, the West Valley Readers/ H.O.P.E. session on Zoom, as another way for members to stay connected.
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Pat Williams

Member-at-Large
Pat has been an active member of the West Valley Chapter for the past nine years. Pat spent years as an educator with a focus on instructional technology. Pat is a hearing person with family members with severe hearing loss. Pat provides a hearing perspective assisting in building bridges between people with hearing and those with hearing loss. Pat focuses on chapter outreach.
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Shannon Tyree

Member-at-Large, 2025 HLAA Community Service Award Recipient
A member of HLAA since 2018. She enjoys presenting the latest tech information at the chapter's Tech Talk session every month. She manages the chapter’s website and Facebook page. She and her hearing service dog, Riley, also write a blog called MyGoldenHears.
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Candy Lawson

Treasurer
Candy served as Treasurer for another Arizona nonprofit organization for 13 years before becoming Treasurer for the HLAA-West Valley Chapter. In her current role, she is responsible for managing the chapter's finances and recommending financial policies and practices that will help strengthen and support the chapter’s continued growth. Candy joined HLAA approximately five years ago and has worn hearing aids since 2013, giving her a personal understanding of the challenges faced by people with hearing loss. Candy considers maintaining accurate and organized records to be one of her strengths. Her years of nonprofit financial experience, combined with her personal experience with hearing loss, allow her to bring both practical knowledge and strong commitment to the HLAA-West Valley Chapter.
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Kevin Ruffcorn

Member-at-Large
A recent member of HLAA, Kevin struggled with hearing loss for over 30 years. He wore hearing aids for 20 years before being implanted with a cochlear implant. He is now bi-modal with a Cochlear implant and a hearing aid. Keven is originally from Minnesota before moving to Arizona. Kevin is assisting the chapter with its Walk4Hearing efforts.

Vision Statement

The Vision of the HLAA West Valley Chapter is to provide awareness for community members that will be prioritized so that hearing wellness and services will be a fundamental component of health for adults with hearing needs.

Mission Statement

The Mission of the HLAA West Valley Chapter is to open the world of communication to people with hearing loss by providing education, information, advocacy, and support.

Code of Conduct

“The HLAA Board of Trustees has there fore adopted the following Code of Conduct which applies to all attendees of our organizations events.”

  • Attendees at HLAA events shall not indulge in any practices or activities that could bring HLAA into disrepute.
  • Attendees at HLAA-sponsored events shall not engage in discrimination or harassment based on hearing status or level of hearing loss, race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national origin, disability, marital status, citizenship status, veteran status, military status or any other protected category under applicable law.
  • Attendees at HLAA-sponsored events shall not engage in any threatening, hostile or abusive behavior at any HLAA-sponsored event or in the HLAA workplace. This includes any act that could cause another individual to feel threatened or unsafe through the use of verbal threats, expressions of hostility or intimidation. No individual covered by this Code of Conduct shall threaten or carry out any act of physical violence against another person at any HLAA-sponsored event or location and the possession of dangerous articles such as firearms or other weapons at any HLAA-sponsored event or location shall be prohibited.
  • Attendees at HLAA-sponsored events shall conduct themselves with the awareness that they are personally accountable for their behavior both in person, using the written word, in verbal interaction and online and shall adhere to all standards of accepted professional conduct and good business practices. HLAA condemns hate speech, epithets and other words meant to hurt and inflict physical or emotional harm to others.

This Code of Conduct shall be publicized to all attendees through its website and written publications, at public events, the Walk4Hearing and the Annual Convention. Violation of this Code of Conduct may subject any violator to expulsion and exclusion from any HLAA-sponsored event, as well as punishment and fines in accordance with any applicable federal, state or municipal laws, regulations and policies.