Building Community with
Earnest Covington and ODHH

By Carolyn Odio

I was happy to attend an ODHH community meeting with ODHH Director Earnest Covington III on April 8th in Olympia, Washington.

Earnest gave a Powerpoint presentation outlining the history of ODHH and his staff and their job duties. He also discussed the budget process and the services ODHH offers the hard-of-hearing and Deaf communities.

In Q&A part of the meeting, a question about the new airport came up. Earnest was asked whether he had a “seat at the table” of this newly formed Port of Seattle committee. He said he did not, but he would pursue that. 

As I was speaking with one of his staff, she promised to pose another comment to him:  Why can’t they use those TV screens all over the airport for captioning the PA speakers/gate announcements that we cannot always hear, especially when we’re sitting at the gate? This would be a huge benefit for all of the passengers, especially in case of a mass emergency.

I enjoyed getting to know Earnest and other Deaf and hard-of-hearing folks in Olympia. I urge you to attend one of the upcoming meetings in your area.