Board of Directors

John Berry

HSF CEO and Co-founder
Former Owner – Blount Hearing and Speech Services

John Seymour Berry received a BA from Saint Edwards University in 1968. During his tenure at the University of St. Edwards, John worked as house parent and supervisor at the Texas School for the Deaf. Because of this experience, John began his Masters in Deaf Education at the University of Texas in 1968. He transferred to the University of Tennessee where he received his MS in Deaf Education in 1972.

After graduating, John worked at the University of Tennessee for 10 years and served as a teacher-clinician and coordinator of the Verbotonal Preschool Program. He was an instructor and supervisor of the Verbotonal Adult Aural Rehabilitation Program. John also studied in Zagreb, Croatia, at the Centre SUVAG to become a trainer in the Verbotonal Method and is a certified Verbotonal Aural Rehabilitation Therapist.

In 1975, John started Blount Hearing and Speech Services, which has served over 20,000 patients and has a staff of eight employees. In 1981, John and Tutt Bradford co-founded the Hearing and Speech Foundation (HSF), fulfilling John’s passion to provide quality services for the hearing needs of economically-disadvantaged hearing impaired individuals. John also focused his energies to launch the HSF Research and Development Program that houses an anechoic chamber used in studies on speech acoustics.

John’s career goals have included establishing both domestic and international hearing aid assistance programs; being involved in research to explore the field of auditory perception; and establishing a therapy and training centre to promote the principles and strategies of the Verbotonal System. In June 2012, the centre became a reality. The HSF is housed in a facility conducive to therapy, research and training; it joins a network of 22 countries that implement the Verbotonal techniques in helping individuals with hearing and other communication difficulties.

John was born December 25, 1943, in Blanco, Texas, and is the oldest of eleven children. He has two children and several grandchildren. John and his wife, Sara, live in Laurel Valley.

Noel H. Case

HSF Director
Retired Sun Trust Bank

Noel H. Case is retired from Sun Trust Bank. Noel began his banking career in 1975 with Citizens Bank of Blount County.

Noel attended Maryville High School and went on to The University of Tennessee’s School of Business/Transportation from 1973-1977. He attended many Banking schools; Tennessee School of Banking at Vanderbilt, General Banking School, Consumer Lending and Commercial Lending School. Noel also is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.

Noel has been involved in many organization and served on many boards in Blount County. Blount County Chamber of Commerce, Maryville City Schools Foundation, Habitat for Humanity of Blount County – President, Boys and Girls Club, American Heart Association – Chair of founding board, Alcoa Rotary Club – President, United Way of Blount County – Division Chair, Leadership Blount and Dogwood Arts Festival Co-Chair.

Noel is married to Laura Case and has a daughter Jennifer Morgan (James Morgan) and two grandchildren, Riley and Sam.

Mandy Dockery

HSF Director
Teacher Blount County – Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Visually Impaired 

Mandy currently works for Blount County Schools as an Itinerant Teacher for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Visually Impaired. She also serves as an instructional coach and Child Find coordinator. She has been with Blount County Schools for six years. Before that, she served as Reading Interventionist for Anderson County Schools. Mandy graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education and a minor in Child and Family Studies. She then went on to earn a Masters degree in Education for Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Mandy’s second Masters degree is from Trevecca Nazarene University in Education for Visual Impairments.

At a very young age, Mandy was diagnosed with Bilateral Sensorineural Moderate-Severe Hearing loss and Aided. She attended an oral/aural program at University of Tennessee for 2 years before mainstreaming into a public school system. She was a recipient of The Hearing and Speech Foundation from diagnosis to early adulthood and through their support and resources has become successful in navigating a hearing world. For this reason, she decided to pursue a degree in education after exploring various career fields.

In addition to teaching, Mandy works as a developmental therapist with Little Tennessee Valley Educational Cooperative working with families and their children ages birth-3+ with hearing loss. This job allows her to pursue her passion to ensure that every student is offered equal access to his or her education and to offer her unique personal experience in navigating a world made for the hearing. Mandy is also a co-president for the local Knoxville Hearing Loss Association chapter, which is a support group for adults and families who are living with hearing loss. Mandy received the Southeast Regional Institute on Deafness outstanding teacher of the year award in 2022.

Jackie Eul

HSF Director
Office & Marketing Coordinator – Leadership Blount County, Inc.

Jackie Eul currently works at Leadership Blount as the Office and Marketing Coordinator. She also is the Program Director for Fit.Green.Happy., the nonprofit arm of Mountain Challenge.

Laura Grayble

HSF Director
Realtor – DeLozier Realty & Auction

Laura is a Realtor® with DeLozier Realty & Auction. She became acquainted with the Hearing and Speech Foundation during her years of employment with Blount Hearing and Speech. It was during this time of employment that she began to understand the scope of the need the Foundation provided to the underserved/under-insured in East Tennessee. She is honored to be able to volunteer as a board member and to provide support to the efforts of the Hearing and Speech Foundation.

Laura was born and raised in Blount Co, TN where she still resides with her husband, Kevin and son, Logan, 2 dogs (Milo and Otis) and 3 chinchillas (Mocha, Frappe, and Java).

For stress relief, she and her husband take off in their Jeep and see where the roads lead.

John A. Hinkle

HSF Executive Director
Retired, Senior Vice President First Horizon Bank

John A. Hinkle, is retired from First Horizon Bank after 40 years of service. Prior to retiring he was Senior Vice President of First Horizon Bank’s Government Banking Department in Knoxville for 3 years. Prior to that he was Senior Vice President of the bank’s Regional Bank Operations Center located in Maryville which processed banking transactions for all of the middle and east Tennessee First Horizon locations.

Mr. Hinkle attended the University of Tennessee. He graduated from the American Bankers Association Business of Banking School and the Bank Administration Institute’s University of Wisconsin School of Banking.

Active in the community, Mr. Hinkle has served on numerous United Way committee’s over the past 20 years, as well as chairing the 2009 United Way Campaign and was Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2012, he is currently a member of the Community Impact Committee. He is a graduate of Leadership Blount County’s class of 1999 and was Leadership Blount County’s Chair of the Board of Directors in 2012. Mr. Hinkle was on The Hearing & Speech Foundation’s Board from 2008 – 2010 where he created the signature fundraising event, “The Away Game Tailgate Party”, he also served on the Hearing and Speech Advocacy Board in 2011 and 2012 and was the Foundation’s building project manager for the foundation offices. Mr. Hinkle is currently on the board of the Hearing & Speech Foundation and serves as the Executive Director, he is also on the board of James White Fort in Knoxville and serves as Secretary of the Board.

Melinda James

HSF Director
Retired, Registered Nurse

Melinda is a retired Registered Nurse after 25 years of practice at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. She began her career in nursing in the operating room at UT. After earning specialty certifications in the OR and Orthopedics, she worked with University Orthopedic Surgeons until her retirement. Currently Melinda volunteers in the community for several nonprofit organizations. She is on the board of James White’s Fort in Knoxville and is chair of the Fort’s Beautification Committee.

Dr. Joseph Johnson

HSF Director
President Emeritus, University of Tennessee

Dr. Joseph Johnson is the President Emeritus of the University of Tennessee and was president of UT from 1991 to 1999. Before being named president, Dr. Johnson was Executive Vice President and Vice President for Development. Duties of Executive Vice President consist of serving as the number two executive under direction of the President of the statewide University of Tennessee with emphasis on coordination of relationships and decision implementation within The University of Tennessee. The University of Tennessee’s total 1990-91 budget was in excess of $850,000,000 and includes four primary campuses with 40,000 students, Agricultural Extension, Agricultural Research, the Institute of Public Service, the Space Institute, and two hospitals. In the area of development, the University of Tennessee’s annual giving program raised over $6,000,000 to rank in the top ten among the nation’s public universities, and the University of Tennessee secured approximately $32,000,000 in all private gifts for 1989-90. As Vice President for Development, Dr. Johnson was also responsible for state and federal relations. The Executive Vice President is responsible for coordination of affairs throughout The University of Tennessee. Dr. Johnson received his B.S. in political science and history from Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama in 1955; his M.A. in public administration in 1960; and his Ed.D. with major in higher education administration and a minor in industrial management from in 1968. He received both his M.A and Ed.D. from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Dr. Johnson served as Sergeant for the U.S. Army from 1956-158.

His community involvements include Golden Key Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Council for the Advancement of Education, Greater Knoxville Chamber of Commerce Finance Committee, Board of Directors of Home Federal Bank of East Tennessee, Executive Committee of Smoky Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Past President of the Smoky Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Board and Advisory Council Member of the Southern Region Boy Scouts of America, Board of Directors of the Helen Ross McNabb Mental Health Center Foundation, Board of Directors of the Imagination Library – Knox County, Board of Directors of the East Tennessee Community Design Center, Board of Directors of Knox Area Rescue Ministries, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the East Tennessee Discovery Center, Board of Directors of the University of Tennessee Medical Center, Board of Directors of the Tennessee 4-H Foundation. Dr. Johnson lives in Knoxville with his wife Patricia. They have two children, Kent and Kelly, and two grandchildren, Tucker and Luke.

Tonia Latham

HSF Board Chair
Epic Nine Marketing Consultant & Social Media Expert

Tonia Latham creates change! She is the Marketing Consultant and Social Media Expert with Epic Nine Marketing in Maryville. Previously, she was the Director of Development with Family Promise of Blount County and the Director of Finance & Operations with the Tennessee Valley Coalition for the Homeless. With decades of communications and marketing experience in for-profit and non-profit organizations in East Tennessee, she understands what local businesses need to market successfully in a continually changing digital landscape.

Tonia is a graduate of Leadership Blount Class of 2019. She was the Blount County Chamber Ambassador of the Year in 2020, and chairs the 2021 Chamber Ambassadors. A member of the Morning Cup Toastmasters, Tonia is the 2021 Toastmasters District 63 reigning champion for Table Topics Impromptu Speech Contest and Evaluation Speech Contest. She is a member of the Board of Directors for The Hearing and Speech Foundation and is a member of the Chilhowee Club. Tonia also leads multiple marketing workshops throughout Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, and Kentucky, has been a guest speaker at the UT Haslam College of Business, and has been a guest lecturer in non-profit studies & advocacy at Maryville College and Carson-Newman University. Additionally, Tonia leads Visioneering classes for individuals and businesses, helping people define and design their visions for the future.

Tonia’s passion is to help her friends and our community reach the top of their mountains!

Leslee Rook

HSF Director
Retired Director of HSF Therapy & Training

Leslee is from Knoxville, Tennessee, and received her Bachelor of Science in Special Education from the University of Tennessee in 1972. Focusing on applying the Verbotonal Method with hearing impaired children, Leslee worked 11 years as a demonstration teacher and program supervisor in the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. During this time she received Verbotonal training from Dr. Carl Asp, Professor of Audiology and Speech Pathology; Dr. Petar Guberina, the method’s originator; and two Croatian experts from SUVAG CENTRE in Croatia.

Leslee studied in Zagreb, Croatia, in 1974 and 1976, and received Trainer Certification from the Institute of Aural Rehabilitation in 1980 in the specialty areas of body movements, classroom and individual therapy techniques. While at the University, Leslee taught English as a second language to deaf Taiwanese children, and consulted with professionals throughout the United States to implement the Verbotonal Method in schools, clinics and schools for the deaf, including the Dade County School System (Miami, Fla.) and the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.

In 1986, Leslee began a therapy program for an audiologist in a Knoxville-based ENT practice and used the Verbotonal strategies with more than 200 children and adults diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorders. She continued her work with children as a Hearing Specialist with Knox County Schools in Knoxville from 1997 to 2011, as well as a consultant to the Dade County Public Schools Verbotonal Program.

Leslee developed a manual “Strategies for Developing Speech, Language and Auditory Perception: Body Movements” in 2010, the first of a series of training manuals and DVDs produced by The Hearing and Speech Foundation. She has served on the Advocacy Board of the Hearing and Speech Foundation since 2004 and has been involved in the Training Program since 2001.

Leslee joined the HSF staff in June 2011 as the Director of Therapy and Training Programs. She and her husband Paul, a retired audiologist reside in Farragut and enjoy boating, fishing, reading and traveling.

William R. Shepard (Rick)

HSF Secretary/Treasurer
Retired County President, United Community Bank

William R. Shepard (Rick), is the retired County President of United Community Bank in Blount County. Prior to his current position, Mr. Shepard retired from SunTrust Bank after 21 years, serving as Regional President, Commercial Lender and various positions during his career at SunTrust. Mr. Shepard is retired from the Tennessee Air National Guard after 21 years of service and a veteran of the Gulf War in 1991. Mr. Shepard is a graduate of East Tennessee State, Community College of the Air Force, Tennessee School of Banking and LSU Graduate School of Banking. Mr. Shepard is an Eagle Scout.

Mr. Shepard’s current and past community involvements include:

Member New Providence Presbyterian Church, Board member of Smoky Mountain Council Boy Scouts of America and District Chairman, United Way of Blount County Board Chairman in 2007 and Campaign Chairman in 2016, Board member of Secret Safe Place for Newborns, Alumni and Board Member and Board Chairman of Leadership Blount, Past Board Member and Board Chair of New Hope Children’s Advocacy Center, Board member and VIP Chair of Blount County Chamber of Commerce, Board Member and Treasurer of Blount County Education Foundation, Board member and President of East Tennessee American Cancer Society Leadership Council and Relay for Life Chairman. Other community initiatives and involvement include, Knox Area Rescue Ministries, Maryville College Community Campaign and Blount Memorial Hospital foundation.

My family is the fifth generation of Blount County natives who settled in Cades Cove in the 1800s and I was raised on a small family farm in Wildwood. For 38 years, I’ve been a banker in the Knox and Blount County area.