Dr. Z is saddened by the news of our “Father of VRS” Ed Bosson and his family…they lost their home in the recent floods in Texas. The entire VRS, telecommunications, deaf community and friends (including ZVRS) have done an Amish style barn-raising in the form of contributions to GoFundMe. (Any support they can receive will go a long way in restoring normalcy to their lives. Dr. Z and his wife, Judy have made a contribution.

Ed was the one who conceived the concept of VRS while he was an administrator at the Public Utility Commission of Texas in 1995 and he engineered 2 trials (in 1995 and 1999) which proved the concept of VRS. CSD in South Dakota took up his work and commercialized the service with the eventual support of the FCC; but it was Ed and the State of Texas who initially put up funds to prove the concept…for that, the entire deaf community thanks Ed big time!

For a video of their personal situation, click this link on iDeaf News (link no longer available).

Next week, the Austin-based staff of ZVRS will be rolling up their sleeves to help Ed and Lisa clean up their place.

Our hearts and prayers go out to Ed and Lisa.

Dr. Z