2022 AKSHA Award Winners!

Thank you everyone for your nominations for AKSHA Awards! We are thrilled to recognize our amazing SLPs and Audiologists in Alaska!

Sourdough Award Winner 

Rhonda Ward Price

 AKSHA Sourdough Outstanding Contributions in Speech Language Pathology and/or Audiology

This award recognizes an Audiologist and/or SLP who demonstrates long-term dedication to issues in the state, advocacy, leadership, or outstanding clinical practice.

Some things to know about Rhonda:

Rhonda Price, now Rhonda Price-Burt, has been working as a Speech Language Pathologist, primarily with adults, since 1995.  During Rhonda’s initial few years as an SLP, she practiced in Oregon, Idaho, and Hawaii.  Rhonda then moved to Alaska and began the bulk of her SLP career initially in Anchorage in 2001 before transitioning to the Mat-Su Valley in 2004.  For several years, while working for Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, she simultaneously covered all settings as an SLP including: home health, outpatient, and inpatient.  Rhonda eventually became the senior outpatient SLP for the Mat-Su Regional Rehab Clinic where she worked until 2019.  Rhonda continues to work with Mat-Su Valley adult patients, primarily in the outpatient setting, as she now works for Maple Springs SNF. 

Rhonda Price is the quintessential Speech Language Pathologist, and for several years, a rare find in the medical setting in the Mat-Su Valley.  Although never flashy, Rhonda has been a leader in her field as she has kept her nose to the grindstone providing quality speech-language-cognitive-voice-swallowing evaluations and treatment, always with evidenced based practice.  Rhonda led the way as Mat-Su Regional Medical Center was really the only local option, for decades, for Valley adults to receive quality speech/swallow therapy. Rhonda worked with hospital administration, including multiple departments within the hospital and rehab clinic to ensure that appropriate procedures were created and updated.  Rhonda collaborated with the Radiology Department, Nutrition Services, and her fellow SLPs for a cohesive process for Modified Barium Swallow Studies (MBSS). 

Before IDDSI.org, Rhonda helped to craft a dysphagia diet menu to ensure that patients suffering from dysphagia were able to consume a variety of foods on the safest/least restrictive diet. She was the only certified SLP in the valley to provide ‘Vital Stim’ neuromuscular electrical stimulation, a component of dysphagia treatment that was effective for many of her patients. And oh the joys of staying up on the changes in Medicare, Medicaid, private insurances, and making sure that her patients did not go over their ‘cap’ that was shared with Physical Therapy.  Rhonda kept the Speech Therapy Department on track, with little fanfare.  She continued to do so as Maple Springs Skilled Nursing Facility opened its doors in the Mat-Su Valley a few years ago. Once again, leading the way for the Speech Therapy Department.

For those of us that have had the opportunity to work with Rhonda, to collaborate with Rhonda, to learn from Rhonda, we were with one of the best SLPs that Alaska had to offer…certainly Mat-Su Valley!  The patients whose lives she has touched is easily numbered to be in the thousands.  Patients that she has worked with directly, and those that benefit from working with an SLP that Rhonda mentored. 

Rhonda has dedicated most of her professional life to Alaska.  The hours she has put in over time, goes well beyond that of a 40-hour work week.  Although she does not seek the spotlight, she is very much a bright star in the SLP Family of Alaska.  Rhonda Price-Burt is very deserving of the AKSHA Lifetime Achievement for her outstanding history of clinical practice in the field of Speech Language Pathology within AKSHA and Alaska.

Nominated by Mary Dooher and Julie Swaner

President’s Award Winner

Amy Hogue

 President’s Award Given by the association president for service to the association

 This award recognizes an executive board member, committee chair, or member of the association who provided exemplary service to the association.

Andrea would like to recognize Amy Hogue and thank her for the support she has given in the transition into the position of President during COVID and her continued support as Past President.  Amy currently resides on the Kenai Peninsula and has been with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District for 22 years.  Amy has been an advocate for AKSHA throughout her career, supporting as President, Communications Chair and helping to devise and create better systems while also bringing many members to AKSHA from the Kenai and surrounding areas. She  has been a leader in Alaska for speech pathologists in schools and just completed serving on the ASHA School Finance Committee allowing Alaska to be at the national table.  Amy is always willing to lend a hand with a smile.  Thank you Amy!

Winner of the Helen Beirne Scholarship is Carol Mitchell

Carol is working as an SLPA in the MatSu Borough School District.  She is a graduate student working toward her M.S. in Communication Disorders through the UAA/ECU program.  She is the National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association graduate president and is your graduate school student representative on the AKSHA Board!  Thank you for taking leadership roles as student!  Great job!

Please consider nominating someone today for our upcoming 2023 AKSHA Convention!