Bloomington Council for Community Accessibility Presents Annual Awards 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oct. 27, 2015

For more information, please contact:

Michael Shermis, Special Projects Coordinator, Community and Family Resources Department, cca@bloomington.in.gov, 812.349.3471

Katie Herron, Chair, Council for Community Accessibility, kgherron08@gmail.com

Bloomington Council for Community Accessibility Presents Annual Awards

Bloomington, Ind. - The City of Bloomington Council for Community Accessibility (CCA) recognized organizations and individuals committed to making Bloomington more accessible to people with disabilities at the CCA Annual Awards Ceremony, held Monday, Oct. 26, at St. Mark's United Methodist Church.

Mayor Mark Kruzan congratulated all the nominees and award recipients and thanked them for their contributions. Kruzan presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. David Mank, the Director of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community (IIDC) and a Professor, School of Education at Indiana University. "Dr. Mank has dedicated his life to supporting people of all abilities," Kruzan said. "His career's work has made ours and countless others more inclusive communities."

The following award recipients were recognized for outstanding service:

• Community Service Award: St. Mark's United Methodist Church, for consistently opening its doors to over 50 nonprofit organizations in the community to use its accessible facilities.

• Professional Service Award: Dr. Lisa Connolly, for her work as the chair of the Human Services program at Ivy Tech Community College and instilling a volunteer spirit in her students through service learning experiences, such as the AccessAbility Decal Project that recognizes local businesses that take necessary steps to make themselves accessible to persons with disabilities.

• Self-Advocacy Award: Michael Ely, for his honorable work through Self Advocates of Monroe County and his dedication to advocacy not just for himself, but for others as well.

• Business Service Award: Mike Nason, AMC general manager of both Bloomington AMC Movie Theaters for his dedication to making AMC Theaters a wonderful employer of people with disabilities.

• Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. David Mank, for his dedication to the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community (IIDC), which has been a CCA partner on many fronts for several years.

In addition to the awards, six local businesses were also presented with AccessAbility Decals. In order to obtain an AccessAbility decal, a business must pass an accessibility screening, conducted by CCA volunteers, that checks parking; path of travel; entrance; elevators, stairs and railings; common areas; restrooms; and customer service. Representatives from Upland Brewery, Olive Garden, Kroger East Side, Lucky's Market, and Malibu Grill were each presented with a decal to display on their storefront. These decal recipients join the twelve other businesses that have received a decal in 2015. Those include Bloomington Housing Authority, Hopscotch Coffee, Cheddars, C3 Bar, Scotty's Brewhouse, Crumble Coffee and Bakery, Hyatt Place, MedExpress, Black's Mercantile, B-town Diner, Bub's Burgers & Ice Cream and No Coast Reserve.

The ceremony included an educational keynote presentation by Dr. Mank, who spoke on "Employment for People with Disabilities: New Possibilities Are Emerging." As a writer and researcher, Dr. Mank has an extensive background in the education and employment for persons with disabilities. He has authored and coauthored numerous articles and book chapters. Mank has served on the Board of Directors of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, is Past President of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities and was a founding board member of APSE, The Network on Employment. He is currently Chair of the U. S. Department of Labor Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities.

The Awards Ceremony was presented by the City of Bloomington Council on Community Accessibility. The CCA would like to thank the following sponsors: City of Bloomington Community & Family Resources Department, City of Bloomington Human Rights Commission, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, IU Credit Union, Ivy Tech Community College, Kiwanis of Bloomington, LifeDesigns, Inc., Oliver Winery and Stone Belt.

For information about the CCA, contact Michael Shermis, by email at cca@bloomington.in.gov or by phone at 812.349.3433.

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