Overcoming those obstacles and dedicating his life's work to helping people with hearing problems are two prime reasons why Wass has been chosen as a 2005 Distinguished Graduate of Bellmont High School.

A 1975 graduate of BHS, Wass is the son of Valera and the late Emerson Wass.

The second youngest of 10 children, Wass graduated from Ball State University in 1979 with a B.S. in Speech Pathology and Audiology, and a minor in Deaf Education. In 1981, he received his Masters Degree from the University of Minnesota.

In 1982, Wass opened the Sears Hearing Aid Department at the Sears store No. 1680 in Washington Square Mall in Indianapolis. In 1992, he became partners with John W. Pickett, a fellow hearing aid wearer.

Originally having offices on the east and west sides of Indianapolis, today, the partners own nine full-time offices and two service centers as part of A Hearing Service, Inc.

Wass is a member of the Hearing Lions, an offshoot of the Lions Clubs' Seeing Lions program. In 1995, Wass signed up to travel to Mexico with other Lions from northern Indiana for an eyeglass mission. He was challenged by another member to take along some hearing aids and help with hearing problems as well as vision problems.

Wass, along with several other Lions, traveled to Rio Verde, a small, rural Mexican town. Once they were finally able to get their equipment into the country, they helped several hundred hearing-impaired children by fitting them with hearing aids.

Since 1995, Wass and the Hearing Lions have made seven more trips to Mexico, and have fitted over 5,000 hearing-impaired children with donated hearing aids.

Wass has had to deal with a bilateral severe sensori-neural hearing loss all of his life, a condition believed caused by a high fever during infancy. Because of his hearing loss, he had a speech and hearing teacher, Meryl Decker, all the way through school.

Late in high school, she suggested that Wass attend her alma matter, Ball State University, and major in Speech Pathology and Audiology. Upon graduating from BHS in May of 1975, Wass did so. He has devoted his life to helping the hearing impaired ever since.

Wass said, "I like to help people hear better. Every person has different needs and desires, and different physical ability to cope with their problems. I relish helping kids on the mission trips that I go on.

"Many of these children have a hearing loss similar to mine, with the similar cause of a high fever. Some may or may not have started to learn language skills, but after the Hearing Lions leave these children do have a realistic chance of developing these skills.

A resident of New Palestine, Indiana, Wass and his wife, Kathleen, have been married for 22 years years. They have three children: Amy, who teaches third grade in Danville, Indiana; Daniel, a recent graduate of New Palestine High School; and Kinzi, a junior at NPHS.

Professionally, Wass was elected president of the Indiana Hearing Aid Specialists Association (IHASA) in 2002, for a two-year term. He was re-elected president in 2004 for another two-year term.

As to how he has been able to overcome the many obstacles he has faced in his life, Wass said that "lots of people have set good examples for me. Being the ninth out of 10 children growing up on a dairy farm in Union Township, I witnessed family and neighbors trying as hard as they could to do the best they could, with what they had.

"Several of my older sisters were valedictorians in high school, and my brothers were athletically inclined. Being the second youngest child, I often had to compete and play with them and their spouse and/or friends. Perhaps this taught me to keep striving, and not giving up easily."

Asked what advice he has for today's BHS students, he said, "Do all you can, while you can, with all that you have. Apply this to academics, athletics, music, or service projects/goals."

By Decatur Daily Democrat