Memphis-based Stuttering Foundation Earns Gold

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (May 19, 2011) — The Stuttering Foundation, www.StutteringHelp.org, is the recipient of the prestigious Gold Hermes’ Creative Award for the organization’s 2011 Winter Newsletter, which featured the movie The King’s Speech on the cover. Click here to view a copy of the newsletter.

“This is a tremendous honor,” said Jane Fraser, president of the 64-year-old nonprofit organization. “Our newsletter is crucial to our outreach to all those who have concerns about stuttering. Design specialist Scot Squires and his team put a lot of work into the newsletter and are certainly proud of each issue.”

The Foundation received the award for the design and content of the quarterly newsletter, which reaches millions worldwide through print and electronic media at the Foundation’s Web site, www.StutteringHelp.org.

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Bill Withers

While Bill Withers has long been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter, many people probably didn’t realize he stuttered. He passed away on March 30, 2020.

Born in 1938 in Slab Fork, W.V., Withers was the youngest of six children. When his father died when Withers was small, he was raised by his mother and grandmother, both of whom worked as domestics.

Mel Tillis

Mel Tillis, born Lonnie Melvin Tillis, was an influential figure in country music, both as a songwriter and a performer. His journey to fame was marked by overcoming personal challenges, including a stutter that he turned into a defining part of his public persona.

Jack Paar

While Jack Paar is among the most prominent of the entertainers on the Stuttering Foundation’s list of Famous People Who Stutter, he deserves special recognition as he was among the first to openly address his stuttering in public. As host of The Tonight Show from 1957-1962, he spoke of his difficulties as a stuttering child and teenager, giving hope to young people.

Dave Taylor

Dave Taylor has been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter for many years, but probably few people know all of the unique accomplishments of this former hockey great who was born on December 4, 1955, in Levack, Ontario.

Winston Churchill

Seeking to "remove Winston Churchill's stutter by second guessing the diagnosis" indicates neither a truthful retelling of history nor an informed opinion about a complex speech disorder, say experts in the field of speech-language pathology.

Recent news reports that quote Dr. John Mather, a Washington physician, as saying that Churchill's stutter "is a lie" brought adamant critical response from specialists in the field of stuttering and fluency disorders.