Savannah Speech and Hearing Center, a nonprofit organization serving the speech pathology and audiology needs of the Coastal Empire since 1954, is pleased to announce Caroline Steed as this year’s recipient of the Annie F. Oliver Award for Volunteer of the Year.

The Annie F. Oliver Award recognizes excellence and a strong commitment to volunteering for the betterment of the Savannah Speech and Hearing Center Community. Steed was honored with the award at a special volunteer reception held this week. The award was created in 1979 to honor Annie F. Oliver, an administrator of the Savannah Speech and Hearing Center from 1962 to 1978 and a community volunteer. 

Steed volunteered over 188 hours of her time assisting with various programs at the center including 140 hours with the Center’s Sound Start Program.  Inspired by her volunteer work at the center, Steed hopes to attend graduate school in the fall to earn her master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders and pursue a career in speech-language pathology.

In addition, volunteers were recognized for donating over 1570 hours to Savannah Speech and Hearing Center during 2018 including 238 hours spent screening over 6935 students in public, private and preschools in the greater Savannah area.  

“This was a record year of volunteering at the center and we could not have done it without the support  of our board of directors and our community partners which include Georgia Southern University’s Department of Communication Science and Disorders, Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools, and the Telfair Museums’ Outreach Program,” said Ann Curry, Volunteer Coordinator at Savannah Speech and Hearing Center.