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.

ODHH Director Earnest Covington III uses ASL as he shares how ODHH can help people with hearing loss across Washington State. Captions were also available.

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.

Community Meetings with ODHH and Earnest Covington III


Saturday, May 6th, 2023

1:00 to 3:00 pm

Spokane Public Library
Hillyard Branch
4110 N. Cook Street
Spokane, WA 99207

Saturday, May 20th, 2023

1:00 to 3:00 pm

Husky Union Building (HUB)
HUB 337
4001 E. Stevens Way NE
Seattle, WA 98195

Pay-by-Phone parking in lot N20 and N21. Go to the digital pay machine, input license plate number,
choose pre-arranged hourly, 3 hours, coupon number 110772.

Saturday, June 10th, 2023

1:00 to 3:00 pm

Tacoma Public Library
Anna Lemon Wheelock Branch
3722 North 26th Street
Tacoma, WA 98407
Free street parking and a small parking lot (5 spaces)

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