The We Share Foundation invites all clubs to select and honor deaf individuals from the local community whose accomplishments have made the community a better place to live. The Foundation provides an award certificate and letter of congratulations from the international president for your Community Champion.

Quota International of East Memphis, Tennessee, discovered a true Community Champion in one of its own members. In nominating Lordy Smith for this award, the club called her "an inspiration to both the hearing and deaf communities alike."

Lordy has been hard of hearing since birth and now has little more than a quarter of her hearing in either ear. But Lordy never let deafness stand in her way. "All things are possible if you Just Do It," she says.

A perfect example is Lordy's position as a choir director for the past 20 years. Lordy has adapted to her hearing loss with hearing aids and a volume adapter on her telephone—not to mention a hefty portion of determination. Widowed and left to rear four boys on her own, Lordy has worked two jobs while remaining involved in her church and in several organizations besides Quota. She is founder and president of the Memphis Chapter of the National Black Deaf Advocates and previously served on the Board of the Tennessee Council for the Hearing Impaired.

A certified deaf interpreter, Lordy has received numerous awards, including one from the Governor of Tennessee and another for efforts to develop leaders within the black deaf community.

The We Share Foundation is proud to recognize Lordy, a vital and inspiring Quotarian, as one of our Community Champions!

If your club needs more information on this program, click here. (To read and print out this form, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here to go to Adobe's Web site and download a free copy of Acrobat Reader.)

Community Champions recognize the difference one individual can make.