In July 2024, the Maine Association of the Deaf received one of the highest honors the National Association of the Deaf can bestow.
At the Council of Representatives session of the 57th NAD Biennial Conference in Chicago, NAD President Jenny Buechner presented MeAD with a special Spirit of NAD Award — in recognition of MeAD’s response to the Lewiston mass shooting and our commitment to Maine’s Deaf community through the crisis and its aftermath.
“Thank you for your work, your commitment and service to the community,” Buechner said at the presentation. “We really value your work. We are behind you all the way.”
Co-President Tommy Minch accepted the award on behalf of MeAD and the community we serve.
“This award means a lot to our community after all the experiences we have gone through,” Minch said. “This award shows that the NAD recognizes us as a strong organization through this crisis. We are grateful.”
MeAD Representatives Terry Morrell, Meli Stamp, Sitara Sheikh, Heather Richards-Kretlow, and Tommy Minch pose together holding the Spirit of the NAD Award — a wooden laser-engraved plaque featuring the Chicago skyline in layered navy and light blue relief, presented at the 57th Biennial NAD Conference in Chicago, July 1-6, 2024.
What the Award Means
The Spirit of NAD Award is presented in recognition of exemplary commitment, dedication, and service to the American Deaf and hard of hearing community — at the local, state, and national level.
For MeAD, it is a recognition not just of our organization, but of the entire Maine Deaf community. The people who showed up for each other in the darkest hours after October 25, 2023. The interpreters who deployed on short notice. The community members who grieved together, organized together, and kept going.
MeAD was built by this community and exists to serve it. This award belongs to all of Maine’s Deaf community.
The NAD Board Comes to Maine
The recognition continued beyond Chicago. In September 2024, MeAD hosted the NAD Board of Directors during their visit to Maine — a rare honor for a state association. The Board held its regular meeting at the Maine Resiliency Center in Lewiston on September 27, and joined the community the following day at the Deaf Culture Festival at the Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Falmouth.
Having the NAD Board meet in Lewiston — at the resiliency center built in the aftermath of the shooting — was a powerful statement of solidarity and recognition.
Looking Forward
The Spirit of NAD Award is an honor. It is also a responsibility. MeAD will continue to advocate for Maine’s Deaf community — on emergency communications, interpreter workforce development, legal access, mental health resources, and everything else that makes a full, equitable life possible for Deaf Mainers.
We are grateful to the NAD, to our community, and to everyone who stood with us.
Learn more about MeAD’s work →
Maine Association of the Deaf (MeAD) is Maine’s only Deaf-led advocacy organization. Est. 1877. Learn more at deafmaine.org.