About Norm and JoAnn Frink

Norm and JoAnn Frink are native Oregonians, born and raised in the small hamlet of Perrydale, to the west of Salem.  They were a classic high school love story, Norman graduating a few years before JoAnn and entering the navy, but returning a year later to ask for her hand in marriage.  They moved to San Francisco in the early 1960s, where Norm was stationed.  It was there that they welcomed their first son, David, in 1963.  Once Norman mustered out of the Navy, they returned to Oregon, where he enrolled at the Oregon College of Education (now Western Oregon University), with the intention of becoming a dentist.  It was there that he learned of the fledgling field of audiology, and decided to switch majors.  It was at this time that they were joined by their second child, Lesli.

After graduating from OCE in 1970, they moved to Edmonton, Canada, where Norm officially started his career in audiology at Glenrose Children's Hospital.  After a few year in Canada, where their third child, Scot, was born, they returned to Oregon.  Norm then began a long position as an audiologist for the state school system.  JoAnn, who always remained actively involved in their children's school activities, took a few part-time jobs at local banks and performed as an accountant for a grocery store.

In the late 1970s, Norm began to recognize a coming change in the state audiology program, as well as some changes to the audiology profession at a national level.  This eventually helped him decide to realize a dream of starting his own practice, with JoAnn as his business manager and partner.  They officially opened Salem Audiology Clinic in 1982, and over the past four decades it has grown to be the pre-eminent audiology practice in the state of Oregon.  Norm was the co-founder of the Oregon Academy of Audiology in 1995, while JoAnn served as a resource for many other audiology practices throughout the state when it came to insurance billing and practice management.  They also saw opportunity for their children, encouraging them to participate in the practice, which culminated with Lesli and Scot ultimately purchasing the practice in the early 2000s, allowing them to retire.