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Deaf Seniors of America (DSA) is a membership
organization that was established after its first Confernce in 1992.
Originally called the National Association of Deaf Senior Citizens, the
current name was adopted in 1997. DSA carries out its mission through
conferences, New Horizons quarterly newsletter, and email communications
with its members. Members must be aged 50 years or older.
DSA is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization.
The first national Confernce for deaf seniors was held under the auspices
of Travis County Association of Deaf Senior Citizens in Austin, Texas in
1992. It drew more than 950 participants. After this Conference, a survey
was conducted among thousands of seniors throughout the country about the
desirability of having a national organization. The response was
overwhelming in favor of it.
The establishment of the National Association of Deaf Senior Citizens
took place at the second national Confernce hosted by the Ohio School for
the Deaf Alumni Association in 1994. The Columbus Confernce brought
together more than 1,700 participants. The Florida Association of the
Deaf undertook on short notice the task of putting together a
mini-Conference in Fort Lauderdale in 1995. More than 800 people
registered for this Conference.
The Arizona Senior Citizens Coalition hosted the fourth national
Confernce in Phoenix, Arizona in 1997. More than 1,700 participants
gathered at this Conference. At this Conference, the participants voted
to rename the organization Deaf Seniors of America (DSA). In 1999 the
Georgia Association of Deaf Senior Citizens had the honor of managing the
fifth national Conference in Atlanta. They had 1,300 participants.
In 2001, the Minnesota Deaf Senior Citizens hosted the sixth Conference
in Bloomington. Due to the 9/11 tragedy, only 1,030 participants were
able to come and the other five hundred could not make it to the
Conference due to flight cancellations coming and going. The seventh
National Conference was held in 2003 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Approximately 1,470 attended this Conference.
San Francisco, California was the site of the eighth National Conference.
The 2005 conference was hosted by the Bay Area Coalition of Deaf Seniors
Citizens. An all-time record breaking total of 2,739 registrants
participated in the Conference and many of them took advantage of
sightseeing in the Bay area.
For the second time, Florida was the site of
the national Conference. Managed by the Palm Beach County Association of
the Deaf, the 2007 Conference drew a total of 1,800 participants, many
who also enjoyed the tourist spots in Orlando.
Wherever the conferences were held, the local host organizations and
their members developed conference programs that were meaningful and
relevant to the needs of this population. As someone once said: "DSA
is an idea whose time has come." This idea is now a strong, vibrant
organization of more than 2,500 members from throughout the United
States.
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