Talk:Gordon Lownds

Listen Up! Canada

Here is an article that may be relevant if an entry for Listen Up! Canada ever becomes worthwhile.

Article from Sun Media

UWO fetes hearing advocate

Margaret Jean DeSousa of Listen Up! Canada received an alumni award.

By HANK DANISZEWSKI -- Sun Media

2006-09-30 06:27:45

LONDON, Ont. -- Western grad Margaret Jean (M. J.) DeSousa has made the business world listen up in her quest to help people hear better.

DeSousa, one of the founders of Listen Up! Canada, received the University of Western Ontario Young Alumni award last night.

She has been the public face of the fast-growing retail chain, which tests hearing and sells hearing aids. Only two years after the first store was opened in London in 2004, the Toronto-based company has grown to 28 outlets across Ontario.

DeSousa graduated from Western in 1996 with a degree in audiology and spent seven years working at an outpatient clinic in a Toronto hospital.

"Outpatient programs tend to be a low priority and I was frustrated with the bureaucracy. I couldn't provide audiology service the way it should be provided," she said.

DeSousa struck up a partnership with Gordon Lownds, founder of the Sleep Country Canada chain, and Kurt Lynn, who had a background in technology.

"I knew from working in audiology that there was a lot of stigmas attached to hearing loss. We agreed there had to be a better way."

Their better way was to give a retail face to the business by putting outlets in shopping malls and launching a promotional television campaign.

With his background in retailing, Lownds was convinced DeSousa's professional background would lend credibility to television spots and convinced her to be the spokesperson for the company.

"It was something that I really believed in, so I thought I could do a better job of conveying the message," DeSousa said.

The company is expecting more growth as aging baby boomers start developing hearing problems.

Hearing problems are also cropping up in younger people, with the prevalence of MP3 players and similar devices, she said.

Hearing aids once had the image of being clunky, unreliable devices worn by the elderly, but DeSousa said modern hearing aids are more sophisticated and can be so tiny, they fit inside the ear canal.

The company decided to set up its first stores in London because it was a good test market, she said.

The company is the largest employer of clinical audiologists in Ontario, employing about 40.

Married with two young daughters, DeSousa says the biggest challenge has been juggling family time while taking care of the rapidly expanding business.

One of DeSousa's former professors wrote to support her award nomination.

"Many private practices throughout North America put profit ahead of comprehensive health care. Profit will never interfere with appropriate health care while Margaret Jean is at the helm of Listen Up! Canada," wrote James Stouffer, who is the founding director of Western's School of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Birth Year

An article from 04/28/2005, gave his age as 57. Therefore he could be born in either 1948 or 1947, depending on if he had celebrated his birthday yet in 2005.

Stripper mansion

http://tbo.com/news/politics/stripper-mansion-didnt-sell-on-tv-or-with-neighbors-20150410/