founders

September 2006, by Nancy Peterson

The Wicklunds are long time residents of Fountain Hills, Arizona and have embraced the Southwest culture and all that goes with it. Anne is the docent chairwoman who works tirelessly for the newly formed River of Time Museum in Fountain Hills, and Wayne dutifully follows her example by helping out when needed. Additionally, they have owned and operated several successful businesses over the years and most recently embarked on a new venture that combines their passion for helping others with their entrepreneurial spirit.

Their business, hearingimpaired.net, was formed when the Wicklunds discovered that Wayne's hearing loss had worsened, and he was suffering not just that -- but also a lack of understanding with friends and colleagues. He was constantly having to ask people to repeat what had been said to him but, more often than not, he just missed out because he didn't want to embarrass either himself or the person speaking.

In 2001, the Wicklunds added a new member to the family, a beautiful white German Shepherd puppy named Snow. Wayne and Anne set about training their new puppy to assist Wayne as a "Hearing Service Dog." Today Snow is perfectly trained and provides active support to Wayne in every way. "When Snow puts on his vest, he is on the job!" says Wayne with pride. "He is my ears. I take him everywhere, from business meetings to just going to dinner -- Snow is there to help me."

In addition to the assistance that Snow provides, the Wicklunds began to research methods of informing the public of Wayne's hearing impairment. Being very active in their community, they found most people were prepared to respond -- as long as they were made aware that Wayne needed to be addressed more directly and thoughtfully due to his hearing loss.

With the motivation of helping others with hearing loss, the Wicklunds created some carefully designed products intended to assist the hearing impaired. These include: a beautiful cloisonne lapel pin, a tasteful door sign for home or office, an embroidered patch for jackets, a small desk sign for your office desk, window decals for cars or glass office doors, visor cards for cars, doorknob hangers (primarily for use in hotels -- but can be used everywhere), Emergency Deaf Response Cards, service dog supplies, and more. These products remove the stigma and embarrassment of constantly having to remind people of the special needs of the hearing impaired -- but most importantly -- they help people to live life normally.

Today the Wicklunds are on a mission to bring these helpful and often crucial products to everyone who needs them. They are eager to help and ready to answer any questions from information about hearing service dogs to recent legislation that will improve the lives of those who suffer from hearing loss. In Spring of 2006, and after years of experience, Wayne and Anne jotted down helpful tips on how to make trips more comfortable when traveling with service dogs for others, CLICK HERE to read their suggestions!

Approachable and helpful, both Anne and Wayne are ready to help -- why not give them a call or send an e-mail -- you may just improve your life very significantly or that of someone you know!