By Kathy Spozio

This is the second in a four-part series intended to acquaint you with the twelve people who volunteer as Regional Representatives of the Amputee Coalition. The April issue's inaugural article gave an introduction to the role of the regional representatives including some background and history, a copy of their job description and responsibilities, and profiles of the first set of three; Joyce Arthur, Region D; Karen Gardner, Region J; and Ed Collum, Region I. This issue will acquaint you with three more reps and their regions. In the interest of saving space and time, please refer to the April issue for the background information mentioned above.
http://amputee-coalition.org/communicator/vol2no2pg3.html 

Karlene Kaufmann is the liaison from Region C and represents Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. A determined woman, who went back to graduate school at the age of 55 to earn a MSW in geriatrics, Karlene uses her training and education to volunteer as a direct service worker for hospice care in the Frederick, Maryland, area, in addition to working with amputees both locally and in the wider geographic area of Region C. 

What started out to be flu-like symptoms, resulted in a diagnosis of Toxic Shock Syndrome from a sinus infection; eventually causing the loss of both of Karlene's legs below the knee and also most of the digits on her hands. Needless to say, her life was drastically changed. As a single mom raising three daughters, Karlene shares that she was "proud of them because getting used to their mom having to learn things all over was difficult." 

Formerly an elementary music teacher, choir director, and organist, Karlene's 1984 experience with amputation, along with the encouragement of her daughter and her prosthetist, led her to an involvement with the Amputee Association of Maryland with which she has participated in all aspects of the organization, including serving on the board of directors and as president. She became a volunteer at the Kernan Hospital clinic where she was a peer counselor for ten years, extending her peer visitation skills statewide, and now does the same as a peer counselor for the Amputee Coalition. In addition, Karlene has advocated for people with disabilities in many other capacities such as chairperson of the Handicapped Accessibility Committee for the Frederick Arts Council, Symposium Speaker for "Ministry to the Sick" for Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, board member of the Federated Charities of Frederick County, and program director for seniors at the Howard County Office of the Aging. 

It's apparent that there isn't much that keeps Karlene from enjoying life and she has numerous skills and interests to prove it. Included among them are knitting (she once was co-owner of a yarn shop and woman's boutique), bridge, reading, the arts, and sports. 

Karlene has been an Amputee Coalition regional rep since January, 2001. Her work thus far has involved efforts primarily in the Maryland, DC, and Virginia areas because of her already established connections. She has also networked with Joyce Arthur, Region D rep, on efforts in Ohio (formerly a part of Region D), and is planning a trip there in late June to help her further organize responsibilities in the Buckeye State. Karlene has also been allocating time working with the Amputee Coalition Youth Initiative, identifying and recruiting youth to attend the June 2001 National Conference. Of the over 100 letters that were mailed to her region, seven responses were forwarded to the national office. Although it's only been six months that Karlene has been a rep, she has covered a lot of area and is currently working on building a database for the entire region. 

Karlene readily admits that her favorite mode of communication is using the telephone, "I like to talk one on one." She says she believes that "little hints go a long way," and "no question is too great or small to ask." Certainly, mottoes like these are central to being a first-rate volunteer, and it appears that the Amputee Coalition is lucky to have found Karlene to help assist Region C with its growth and development.

Karlene Kaufmann
Frederick, MD
301-473-4086 
karly@mindspring.com 

"Still developing" is the phrase that Charlie Steele, regional representative for Region A, uses to describe his district, which covers Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. 

One of the four new regions structured less than six months ago, Region A is a work in progress under the leadership of Charlie, a below knee amputee since 1990. Following an allergic reaction to heparin, a drug administered in June of 1990 when he was undergoing heart bypass surgery, the circulation in Charlie's left leg shut down. Unfortunately, amputation was inevitable after nine surgeries and four months of hospitalization. 

A former IBM executive, bank manager, and Air Force veteran, Charlie now spends many of his hours as a volunteer both nationally with the Amputee Coalition and locally with ASPIRE (a New York City based support group), and with his homeowners corporation (serving as the vice president). In addition, he is an advocate for literacy and mentor programs and has great interest in the arts, reading, writing, traveling, and health and fitness.

As an Amputee Coalition volunteer Charlie wears many hats. In addition to his duties as regional rep, he serves on the board of directors and is a peer visitation trainer and peer visitor. For ASPIRE, which he has been a member of for four years, his duties involve leading the adult group and chaperoning, counseling, and mentoring the youth division. This includes responsibilities on outings for both the annual summer camp and winter ski event. 

To keep in touch with his region, Charlie utilizes various modes of communication, including email, snail mail, and telephone. He is especially adept in utilizing the broadcast function of his email program to reach the support group leaders he works with. In a recent message he shared information by updating the support group leaders in four different areas: 1) the Amputee Coalition National Conference (encouraging support group leaders to let him know who might be attending so they can look for each other); 2) the new "First Step" publication (he gave a brief overview of the magazine and encouraged the leaders to utilize it for peer visitation); 3) the Communicator (he reminded everyone to look for it online and use it as a resource); and 4) he extended an offer of assistance (ending with his home telephone number). Charlie shares that he also likes to use email to "send attachments and/or links to amputee-related sites, share articles, and make peer referrals, and encourages the support group leaders to send information back to him as well so he can distribute it to others." What an excellent way to keep in touch and update your region on what's happening!

In the last six months there have been three peer visitation trainings in Charlie's area; New York City, White Plains, NY, and Boston, Massachusetts. On the schedule for this summer is the planning of a joint barbecue by three of the support groups in the New York City area. But as Charlie has said more than once, the area is "still developing" and "my goals are to have a well functioning network of all support groups in my region and to encourage all groups to urge their members to spread the word that we exist to hospitals, rehabs, prosthetic shops, etc." 

When asked about the drawbacks of his regional rep responsibilities, Charlie says, "My biggest obstacle is time and money," and "Rural groups have a distance/mileage obstacle to increasing membership and/or group attendance." But he also offers some ideas on meeting the challenges that he identifies. Perhaps the Amputee Coalition can look for "grants to use teleconferencing to reach groups and also retain membership," suggests Charlie. 

As you can see, there's a lot going on in Region A, and I think Charlie gets an "A" for all his dedication and hard work. Keep on keeping on Charlie!

Charles Steele
New York, NY
212-877-7050
Charlieatl@aol.com

Region E is covered by Betty Thompson, and encompasses Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Betty, who has been a below-knee amputee for 27 years, was hit by a drunk driver while on a pleasure ride on her motorcycle in 1974. Bike riding is still her passion, but she's switched to the non-motorized version and chooses to spend a lot of her free time on the Silver Comet Bicycle Trail.

After being an amputee for 23 years, Betty found literature on the Amputee Coalition at her prosthetist's office in 1997, became a member, and attended her first conference in New Orleans the same year. Last year she offered her services after receiving a membership volunteer mailing from Amputee Coalition, and was subsequently asked to fill the post of regional rep. "I believe in the Amputee Coalition and its core values of providing resources for amputees," Betty asserts, continuing on to affirm, "Knowledge is power."

Since 1980, Betty has been involved with the Amputee Foundation of Greater Atlanta and is currently serving as its president. Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month and a summer picnic and holiday party are part of the group's annual activities. Although there is an extensive mailing list, approximately 35 members, ranging in age from 20 to 70, come together for mutual support and programming activities.

Finding time in her busy work schedule can't be easy for someone who travels extensively, both domestically and internationally as the North American senior buyer for ingredients for The Coca-Cola Company, and is also a single mom with two college age sons. But Betty says, "I would always volunteer; I believe in it." 

Admittedly, Betty is not afraid to say what she thinks, and for that reason I would describe her as an outspoken advocate for amputees. Along with her regional activities, she also is working within her state to help bring about the enactment of legislation similar to the Colorado Prosthetic Mandate, passed last year with the help of another regional representative, Karen Gardner, Region J, with whom she is currently networking. In addition, Betty serves as both a peer visitation trainer and visitor. This year's youth initiative is an area where Betty has spent a lot of volunteer hours, mailing out 500 letters in her region. Other regional work involves referrals for peer visitation along with networking with support groups and prosthetic facilities.

In the four years that Betty has been involved with the Amputee Coalition she says she has seen and experienced the "growing pains," but she continues, "I see improvement and believe that the organization is making a positive effort." She cites the "wonderful Web site" as an example of the progress that has been made and goes on to say all volunteer organizations experience problems and the Amputee Coalition is no different. Betty feels that the organization is much bigger than the sum of all the imperfections and is an important resource for the amputee population.

Well-spoken Betty! Region E has a lot to gain with your pragmatic attitude, leadership skills, and volunteer experience.

Betty Thompson
Powder Springs, GA
770-439-6230
bthompson@na.ko.com