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Samuel Cheris, Chairmen of the Board
Sam became Chairman of the Board in 2008 with thirty years of involvement at IHDI. Sam was one of the first people invited to join the Board of Directors in 1979. When the co-founders decided to formalize the Hearing Dog program with incorporation and non-profit status, they chose a law firm to help with their incorporation and Sam was the attorney that assisted. When the Board of Directors was organized, the co-founders knew they needed the expertise of people outside their organization to guide them and Sam had made such a positive impression that it was natural to have him serve on the Board.
Sam’s professional resume boasts 28 years at the same law firm, where he was Chief Financial Officer. After leaving the firm, he worked as General Council for both an internet data company and a geophysical company. In the non-profit world, Sam has held positions on the Boards and volunteered with multiple organizations.
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Matt Bailey, Treasurer
Matt Bailey is a Senior Consultant at RSM McGladrey in Denver, Colorado. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania. Matt lives in Denver with his wife, new son and two dogs. He is excited about the opportunity to advise, implement new things and support the staff and Hearing Dog program.
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Sharon Beckfield, Board Member
A retired nurse who remembers IHDI’s start, was when asked to serve on the board. She has been married for for 52 years and has four children, five grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
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Dr. Margaret Montana, Board Member
Dr. Montana has been a Board member for over 10 years. She began her involvement with IHDI wanting to support a group that could save the lives of shelter dogs. So far, she has been a “Silent Sponsor”of over 17 dogs. She is the proud owner of Saxon the German Shepherd and Maddie the Bull Mastiff and is looking forward to her continued involvement with and support of IHDI.
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Statement from the Chairman of the Board
IHDI’s Board of Directors consists of professionals in veterinary medicine, law, medicine, insurance and business. Board members provide funding for the program through individual monetary and in-kind donations, Hearing Dog sponsorships, reduced professional service fees and personal time. Several members have served the organization since the program’s inception and others have joined within the last year.
This year, IHDI celebrates its 30th anniversary and the placement of its 1,100th hearing dog. The program is known worldwide for its successful training methods, and works with other similar programs in the United States on a referral basis to better serve the deaf community. Individuals from Australia, Japan and Norway have been trained at IHDI’s facility in order for similar programs to be created in other countries. Actress June Lockhart, best remembered for her roles in television’s “Lassie” and “Lost in Space,” has served as IHDI’s national spokesperson for more than 27 years.
Through careful attention to budget and fundraising, the organization has built an endowment that has grown substantially, with a goal of $1,000,000. This board-directed endowment was started more than ten years ago with money received from an inheritance. The endowment has helped the organization by providing income distributions to the operating fund, covering the costs of special programs and making up deficits in years when fund-raising has not met annual goals.
As with any non-profit organization, funding is our biggest and most important challenge. An organization’s loftiest and most significant goals will not see fruition without funding. IHDI has had many challenges and successes in the area of funding, but has managed to build, over the past 30 years, a strong base that includes support from private foundations, service organizations and individuals. Through direct contact with supporting organizations and individuals, we continue to add to a nation-wide network of contributors and ambassadors for our organization; people who speak for us, hearing dog teams who travel to deaf and hearing-impaired meetings to spread the word about how hearing dogs help people with hearing loss, and service organization representatives, such as Lions Clubs’ Hearing Dog Chairmen, who make presentations to clubs in their regions of the country to educate people about Hearing Dogs.
- Samuel Cheris, Chairman of the Board
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