The Larry Kolasa Founding President’s Award is presented to an individual whose leadership and service have contributed in so many ways and shaped the direction and future of our organization.
At the 2025 Dysphonia International Board Meeting, President Charlie Reavis presented the Larry Kolasa Founding President’s Award virtually to Charlie Womble in recognition of his exceptional leadership and longstanding dedication to the organization. This special honor celebrates individuals who embody the vision, integrity, and commitment that defined Larry Kolasa’s legacy—and Charlie Womble’s tireless advocacy, steady guidance, and deep impact on our mission made him a most deserving recipient.
ABOUT CHARLIE WOMBLE
For the fourth time in our history, we are proud to present the Larry Kolasa Founding President’s Award. We do so to honor the leadership and service of an individual who has contributed in so many ways and shaped the direction and future of our organization.
This year, we salute Charlie Womble with the Larry Kolasa Founding President’s Award. In 2000, Charlie shared his spasmodic dysphonia story with our organization. He commented: “My greatest hope is to eliminate spasmodic dysphonia. Until that time occurs, it is to make information about SD available. All of us remember the difficult and sometimes dark days of struggle with our voices.”
Charlie has lived with abductor SD since 1989. He stopped taking Botox injections in 1995. He attended his first national symposium in 1992 and has been involved in Dysphonia International ever since. He joined the Board in 1993 and served as Treasurer from 1997-1999. He served as our fifth President from 1999 until 2002. In 2004, he was part of a transition team which planned the structure for our independent organization, and we remain focused to this day.
Charlie is a retired bank President, Regional President, and administrator and has served on the Board of several organizations. He is Chairman of our Audit and Investment Committees. In addition, he has served on the Nominating, Finance and Ethics Committees and is a member of our Executive Committee.
Charlie participates in our annual Walk for Talk campaigns and sends pictures of his family and himself wearing our swag. He has moderated breakout sessions on abductor SD during our symposiums. He gave the welcome remarks at our Regional Symposium in Nashville in 2009. He was the recipient of the Dot Sowerby Pioneer Award in 2018. He stated that he wanted to serve as President of our organization because: “I saw so many passionate and dedicated people on the Board of Directors and Support Groups which inspired me to do the same.” According to President Charlie Reavis: “Charlie Womble has always shown commitment, leadership and vision for our organization.” Dysphonia International is grateful for his extraordinary service on our behalf.
This is the fourth time in the organization’s history that this award has been presented. Previous recipients include Stephie Mendel (2015), Dot Sowerby (2019), and Charlie Reavis (2023).