Council for Community Accessibility Presents Annual Awards for 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2011
For more information, please contact:
Katie Herron, Chair of Council for Community Accessibility, City of Bloomington, 333.2074
Craig Brenner, Community & Family Resources Special Projects Coordinator, City of Bloomington, 349.3471
Jared Schlemmer, Communications Director, City of Bloomington, 349.3406, [mailto:schlemmj@bloomington.in.gov




Bloomington, IN - Mayor Mark Kruzan and 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 annual CCA Awards Ceremony at St. Mark's United Methodist Church on November 2, 2011.

"I congratulate all the award nominees and recipients and thank them for their significant contributions to making life a little easier for people with disabilities," said Kruzan. "Their actions and spirit enrich our entire community."

The following award winners were recognized for outstanding service:

• Self-Advocacy Award - Lennon Beasley, for being highly engaged in the community in a number of efforts, particularly his prolific work as an independent producer with Community Access Television Services;
• Professional and Community Service Award - Eric Ford, for passionate and dedicated advocacy for people with whom he works as a Lifelong Learning Program Coordinator at Stone Belt;
• Business Service Award, sponsored by Cook Group Incorporated - McAlister's Deli, consistently employing individuals with disabilities;
• Special Recognition - Mike Weston, a State Farm Insurance agent, for helping Citizen Advocacy of South Central Indiana with funding for several programs that benefit people with disabilities;
• Kristin Willison Volunteer Service Award - Ray and Pat Doyle, for the breadth and longevity of their activities, the preponderance of which benefit people with disabilities;
• Lifetime Achievement - Presented to Vicki Pappas, an active member of the Council for Community Accessibility and staunch advocate for people with disabilities in the areas of public policy and accessible communities, who recently retired from the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community;
• Mayor's Award, sponsored by Ivy Tech Community College - Down Syndrome Family Connection, for providing connections, education and programming for families and individuals living, learning and growing with Down syndrome.

The ceremony also included recognition of several fully accessible local businesses and a keynote presentation by Sally Conway with the U.S. Department of Justice, who spoke on the topic "The Americans with Disabilities Act and You: A Commitment to Civil Rights."

The Awards Ceremony was presented by the City of Bloomington's Community and Family Resources Department. Major underwriters include Ivy Tech Community College and Cook, Incorporated. Event sponsors included the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, IU Health, Options, Southern Indiana Center for Independent Living, and Stone Belt Arc., Inc. Additional contributions came from the Indiana University Credit Union and Kiwanis Club of Bloomington.

###