AIS celebrated our 18th annual gala on September 16, 2024. A fashionable group of celebrities, clients and donors came together to support the AIS mission: providing universally affordable, state-of-the-art speech therapy to people who stutter, and improving professional and public understanding of stuttering.

Emily Blunt, an AIS board member as well as an award-winning actor and producer, emceed the program. She welcomed guests by introducing the theme for the evening: the importance of showcasing and celebrating stories of people whose lives have been impacted by stuttering.

The first speaker, 16-year-old AIS client Jimmy, described the challenges of growing up with stuttering and the transformative work that he has done with AIS to grow his comfort and confidence. He shared renewed excitement and optimism for his future, stuttering and all. In closing, Jimmy encouraged the audience to be more patient and accepting of any communication differences, which could "lead to the opening and connection of many, many hearts".

Dr. Heather Grossman, AIS Director, spoke about the remarkable professional and personal excellence that people who stutter routinely achieve—even if the excellence sometimes comes from an effort to “overcompensate for what they see as a personal flaw.” She acknowledged the high-performing artists, scientists, musicians, and athletes in our community. But, Dr. Grossman noted, by learning that stuttering is not a person’s fault—that it’s not a fault—those achievements become a success that exists alongside a person’s newly liberated voice. “They get to have both,” she said. “Their freed voice and the talent that they worked at so hard.”

Professional football player Joshua Ezeudu, of the New York Giants, said he “never thought I could become something, because I stutter.” He noted the fear, worry, and efforts to hide that he had lived with for most of his life, starting “I never in 25 years thought I’d be giving a speech.” Closing with an inspiring message about comforting big obstacles head-on, Joshua told those who stutter in the room, “There is no telling what you can do in your life.”

MMA fighter Curtis Blaydes won the audience over with his explanation of why he has always been so outspoken and unashamed about his stutter in interviews: “Especially with my job, I get asked all the time, if my speech is because I got hit in the head too much. I’m actually really good at avoiding getting hit.” Curtis talked about a childhood of not raising his hand in class, of being afraid of doing many things he wanted to do, because of his speech—and how sports gave him the confidence to be proud to speak about his accomplishments.

This year, our Freeing Voices Changing Lives award went to Will Blodgett, a lifelong entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Tredway, an affordable and mixed-income real estate developer focused on building and preserving high-quality and high-opportunity housing across America. Blodgett moved the audience with stories of growing up in Chicago, fighting with bullies and eating his lunch alone. He spoke about making his way through entrepreneurship, with the help of a very special mentor, Jack Welsh, CEO of General Electric and a fellow person who stutters. “Instead of constantly fighting my stutter,” said Will, “I learned to own my stutter.”

The evening closed with the beautiful music of Amanda Mammana, who rose to fame by singing—and stuttering—on America’s Got Talent. She left us all with renewed excitement to continue our fight for a better world for all people who stutter, and gratitude to the donors and supporters who make that mission possible.