Tony Hayes of Jackson nearly missed the April ceremony where he was named 2017 Tech of the Year by the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Technologists.

Spring storms stretched a two-hour flight to Washington, D.C. into a 12-hour slog through three out-of-the-way airports.

But Hayes was determined not to miss the recognition. Kudos can be hard to come by in his profession. He literally gets on people’s nerves for a living.

Dr. Keith Tansey has a thing for hats.

A bowler, a top hat, a cowboy hat and even an Indian headdress are part of a collection that gets bigger every time he visits a new city for a medical conference.

Tansey travels to Albuquerque in late April to assume the presidency of the American Spinal Injury Association—the premier North American organization in the field of SCI care, education and research.

Most people do it all day without thinking.

They open their mouths to talk, to eat, to yawn, to laugh, to sneeze and more. It’s all made possible by a pair of ball and socket joints that move the mouth open and shut on demand.

But what if those essential joints eroded, locking the mouth shut?

It’s the scenario Taylor Brown of Brandon has lived with for most of her seven years.

Jacob Long of Clinton, a physical therapist at Methodist Rehabilitation Center, recently received his Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) certification from the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA).

The ATP certification recognizes demonstrated competence in analyzing the needs of consumers with disabilities, assisting in the selection of appropriate assistive technology for the consumers’ needs, and providing training in the use of the selected devices.