Chapter Profile - Dover, NH

bv Bonnie L. Weiss

The village of Dover is located in the southeast corner of New Hampshire near both the Atlantic Ocean and the state of Maine. It is a region of beautiful scenery and small quaint New England towns.

Sally Stram, a speech-language pathologist, and Richard Lines were cofounders of the Dover chapter in 1988. Their first meeting was held in December of that year, with 15 people attending and Fred Murray, Ph.D., nationally known speech-language pathologist and person who stutters as an honored guest.

The Dover chapter gets together on the second and fourth Thursday of each month in the Senior Citizens Meeting Hall. They have 14 people on their membership list at the present time, and generally draw between six and eight people to their meetings.

Dover has many loyal members, including an 82-year old gentleman who drives approximately 50 miles to attend chapter meetings. He is one of the most faithful attendees. In addition, there are three civil engineers in the group, two speech-language pathologists (one of them also a person who stutters), and Four retirees. At least two of their members drive down from Maine.

In May of 1992, the Dover chapter hosted a workshop facilitated by John Ahlbach which was a highlight for that Spring. They also hosted a John Harrison workshop in May of 1994, and have had special speakers at their regular meetings, including Fred Murray and Susan Dietrich.

The chapter has had some very interesting programs. Some of the most stimulating occurred when they worked through John Harrison's book, How To Conquer Your Fears Of Speaking Before People about four years ago. Recently the members voted to do the exercises again. According to Rich Lines, people learned a lot about one another during these sessions four years ago, and are looking forward to having some fun working on the assignments again. The group has also worked through a stuttering self help workbook.

Dover hosts an annual anniversary party each December. They meet at a host member's house for a social time together, and sometimes view videotapes. These parties are always well attended.

The Dover Chapter is proof that an NSP chapter does not need to be near a big city to survive! Special recognition goes to Rich Lines who has been the chapter leader since 1988. He truly loves what he is doing for others who stutter, and helps to keep things going in the "granite state."

Bonnie Weiss is the NSP's National Chapter coordinator and president of the Buffalo, NY chapter.