The Arc of Midland Annual Meeting 2007
The Arc Annual Meeting was held on Thursday, October 25th at Blessed Sacrament Church. We had a wonderful turnout. Members and friends came to enjoy a delicious dinner. Members elected our new board members and officers. The new slate of board members for 2007 - 2008 is as follows:
President: Jim Heffel
President Elect: Deb Craig
Vice President: Jeff Dyer
Treasurer: Robert Messmer
Board Members: Frederic Bergstein, Tad Eastman, Mike Sullivan, Dean Glomski, Rose Rickard and Kristy Clark.
We’d like to thank our outgoing President Kathy Dolan for her hard work and continued dedication to The Arc. We’d also like to thank our other outgoing board members, Rick Bergstein, David Rosenstock, Sue Arent, and Sharon Hoover.
Jan Lampman explained a pilot program that has recently been brought to Midland, Girls on the Run. During the formation of this program, Dawn DePesa, former employee of The Arc, was instrumental in ensuring that the program would be inclusive all people of all abilities. After her death, The Arc and her family decided to use money donated in her memory towards the Dawn DePesa Memorial Scholarship, to be granted to an individual with a disability to allow her to participate in the Girls on the Run program. The first recipient of this scholarship was Abbie Finch.
Melina Bucci was also recognized for her recent position as an Ambassador for the United States through the People to People Organization. Melina traveled throughout Europe this summer in this capacity. She is the first child with a developmental disability to have been accepted to participate in this program.
The awards ceremony began as Trisha Kayden was awarded the Community Builder Award. Trisha is the mother of an individual with a disability and has spent years fighting not only for full inclusion for her daughter, but also helping other parents facilitate full inclusion for their children with disabilities. Trisha’s dedication and research has been instrumental in bringing the program “Project Life Saver” to Midland.
The Educator of the Year award was given to Anne House for her work in the “Everybody Counts”, now known as “Count Me In” program. This is a vital program that teaches school aged children the value of inclusion. Every year, this program reaches over 5000 children in Midland County.
Carol Brown, Susan Drumright, and Allison Alvistefer were honored with the Community Builder Award for their dedication and work in developing the Midland Area Bike Camp. Carol and Susan took their sons to a Bike Camp in Grand Rapids and upon their return to Midland, they decided that there are other parents and children that would benefit from this program. Allison Alvistefer is an occupational therapist. Her work with the bike camp was instrumental in the children’s success.
The Direct Support Professional Award was given to Tim Burt. Tim supports several people with disabilities and really works to help facilitate their excellence.
Carole Wallace was presented with the Innovative Professional Award. For years Carole has dedicated her professional career to enable individuals with developmental disabilities to increase their presence, participation, and inclusion in the community.
The Volunteer Award was presented to Doug Dean and Charlotte Williams. Both of these individuals have spent hours volunteering for The Arc’s office, as well as several other organizations within the community of Midland.
The last awarded presented was the President’s Award. Every year, the outgoing president has the opportunity to choose someone that has impacted their life and honor them with this award. Kathy Dolan shared the story of the hero in her life. A young lady who sailed through what should have been insurmountable odds. A young lady who has made Kathy who she is. Kathy honored her hero, her daughter, Colleen Dolan with the President’s Award.
The meeting concluded with Kathy Dolan, outgoing president of the Board of Directors introducing the new president, Jim Heffel. Jim closed the night with words of encouragement to the members of The Arc and shared his hopes for his upcoming term.
The ladies of The Arc would like to thank everyone who made this night a wonderful success.