Carousel Children's Services Staff Receives Blesher Award

On August 14th Blesher Lil' Heart paid a visit to Carousel Children’s Services (CCS) to bestow a Blesher Award on the staff who were responsible for the continuation of excellent services to children in the program during a staff shortage.

Beverly “Honeybee” Tuthill, Program Manager shared that staff accomplished this by working together, supporting each other, and by being innovative in coming up with new ways to work with the children. “They used communication effectively to keep each other informed, and took on extra duties with a smile” she said.

Congratulations Carousel Children’s Services!

Pictured in photo L to R: Front row: Andrea Misa, Kristin MacRabie, Blesher, Sibel Finn.
Back row left to right - Lillian Moore, Kristina Anderson and Emily Tackabury

 

Community Living Skills-Arkville Recognizes Travis Rausch With a Blesher Award

When Travis Rausch arrived at CLS- Arkville on Thursday, July 14^th, he was surprised to be greeted by Blesher. But he was even more surprised when it was announced that he was the one to receive a Blesher Award that day! The CLS- Arkville staff had nominated Travis because of his willingness to step in and help, always with a smile on his face. He is currently covering CLS-Arkville’s transport needs and he quickly built a strong rapport with staff and those we support. Staff noted, “Travis has a very fun attitude and is a pleasure to be around! He has a “can do” attitude!”  It was noted that he consistently displays “SEAN” (Smart, Eager to Learn, Ambitious and Nice) qualities.

Congratulations Travis!

A Night of Celebrations!

Myles Magnan recipient of Carousel Children's Services Outstanding Achievement Award

An evening filled with stars occurred on July 8th when The Arc of Delaware County held its Annual Membership meeting and Awards Ceremony at SUNY Delhi’s campus. This event which was sponsored by Relph Benefit Advisors serves as a keystone celebration recognizing the outstanding achievements of individuals in each of The Arc’s programs, as well as honoring community members and volunteers who have enhanced opportunities for people with disabilities, provided dedicated service, and embodied the spirit of being kind and neighborly.

This year’s award winners received "Shining Star" trophies from The Arc of Delaware County and Certificates of Recognition from Senator John Bonacic, Senator James Seward, Assemblyman Clifford Crouch, and Congressman Chris Gibson. Dignitaries attending the event included Joe Angelino who presented Certificates of Merit from Assemblyman Clifford Crouch, and Wayne Marshfield, Town of Hamden Supervisor.

George Suess Outstanding Achievement Awards were presented to individuals who have been an inspiration to others through their personal perseverance, and individual growth. Award winners included Myles Magnan (Carousel Children’s Services), Dolores Hirschel (Community Living Skills-Arkville, Fred Hammond (Residential Services), David Barnhart (Resources for Industry), Edson Jones (THRIVE) and Donald Sedor (Community Living Skills-Walton).

Community recognition awards were presented to three individuals: Kalii Tas, Fred Doyle, and Dave DeForest.

Receiving the Father Eugene Willis Good Neighbor Award was Fred Doyle. This award is given to those who actively support involvement of individuals with disabilities in their community. The tremendous personal growth of an individual was directly attributed to the kind and caring relationship that Fred nurtured as they worked together volunteering at The First Presbyterian Church of Stamford.

The Partner of the Year Award was presented to Dave DeForest, Assistant Professor of Applied Sciences at SUNY Delhi. Steve Finkel from The Arc shared, "Dave has championed a diverse list of learning opportunities for people with disabilities including, kayaking, gardening, survival training, snowshoeing, skiing and many more activities. Both SUNY students and Arc participants have learned a lot about each other in the process".

The Luella Rogers Exemplary Volunteer Award was presented to Kalii Tass of Fishes Eddy, NY. Kalii has been volunteering for over 10 years at Community Living Skills-Walton (CLS-W). Hilary Miller, Program Director at CLS-W shared that Kalii "is an essential piece to the success of people at program. It is clear that she has long standing relationships with people shown through her interactions of compassion and friendship…She unhesitatingly steps in wherever and whenever needed."

During the Membership meeting Officers and Directors were sworn into office by Wayne Marshfield, Hamden Town Supervisor, and Jennifer Guigliotti. Serving for the 2016-2017 term are President, Robin Evanitsky, Vice President, Ira McIntosh, Secretary, Sandra Bullis, and Treasurer, Nat Thomas. The Directors for the 2016 – 2018 term include: Sandra Bullis, Lori Cetta, Robin Evanitsky, Kathleen Green, Ira McIntosh, Johna Peachin, and Greda van Leeuwen. Serving on the Nominating Committee for the 2016-2017 term are: Lori Cetta, Robert Rothenberg, Nat Thomas, and Gerda van Leeuwen.

Kalii Tass recipient of the Luella Rogers Exemplary Volunteer Award

It was fitting and that the community fireworks which had been delayed due to weather the previous week lit up the sky as The Annual Dinner was ending. What a night to remember!
To view photos of this event visit our Flickr site: https://www.flickr.com/photos/delarc/albums/72157671105937435

Eating Smart

 L to R: Denise Darling, Andrea Day (Instructor), Amanda Green, and Lanora Nash-Steinbacher.

The Delaware County Cornell Cooperative Extension service provides Eat Smart Programs at several convenient locations throughout Delaware County. When the “Discover My Plate” Eat Smart program was recently offered at Cornell’s Hamden location, people jumped at the opportunity to learn more about healthy eating.

These ladies (pictured) along with Alethea Stanton, Perry Ragusa and James Spath (not pictured) enjoyed learning about adding more color to meals by increasing fruit and vegetables, the importance of whole grains and fiber in the diet, rethinking what they drink and reducing sugary beverages, and eating healthy portions. They enjoyed an in-class “pop up” store learning about selecting and purchasing produce. Then the “piece de resistance” was the preparation and enjoyment of a lunch prepared during each class. The final day of class was celebrated with a healthy taco lunch. Ole’!

A Tale of Three Blesher's

Shown L to R: Val Stafford, Terri Beers, Blesher, and Justine Kelly

Val Stafford received a Blesher Award For exemplifying the Unifying Principles for leading by example by being willing to “step up and step in”, providing assistance whenever and wherever needed, being a positive, supportive mentor to both staff and those we support.

 The CLS- Walton team nominated her and wrote: “Val always has not only an open door but an open heart and mind. She’s always willing to step up and step in.” Some examples were given such as when they were short staffed she jumped right into a classroom to teach for the day, she is always quick to find the right answers to their questions, she makes staff and those we support feel valuable, she always has an upbeat and positive attitude, she knows her audience and gives praise and constructive criticism in a way that is well received, and last but not least, she is really great at coming up with new ways to help individuals work on coping skills and ways to communicate their wants and needs.

Justine Kelly and Terri Beers received a Blesher Award for exemplifying the Unifying Principles through exceptional teamwork that resulted in an individual achieving personal fulfillment with a highly successful college presentation. They helped Bruce Besdansky as he prepared a model of a brain, helping him study it and prepare for a presentation in front of a class.  “Bruce was smiling ear to ear with his final project. He was very proud”





Justine Kelly and Bruce Besdansky with Bruce's Brain Project.

            Congratulations to Val, Terri and Justine!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Molly Little, Our CEO

 

Molly Little has been enjoying her position as CEO of The Arc of Delaware County since the retirement of former CEO George Suess in  January 2016. She shared that inclusive experiences and positive supports for people with disabilities was instilled in her from early childhood.  Molly’s journey of growing up with children with disabilities began at age 4 when she was enrolled in an integrated preschool program and continued throughout her school years. “My framework for life has been we all have abilities and disabilities. Some of my friends from preschool had speech therapy, leg braces and I just thought, this is life.”

Throughout high school and college Molly worked in residential departments, day camps, and day programs for people with disabilities. Once she completed her undergraduate degree a family member encouraged her to apply for a position at The Arc of Delaware County because they thought that its positive, no restraint policy would be a great philosophical fit.

In February 1995 Molly accepted a position as Social Worker Assistant at The Arc of Delaware County.  She thought that this position would be rewarding but temporary.   However, she never left because “I fell in love with the agency”.  She accepted increasingly responsible positions including Program Coordinator, Assistant Director, and Director of Day Services. Her experiences provided a broad perspective and knowledge of the functioning of the agency from many levels. And she shared that she always loved every position that she was in.

She made the decision to throw her hat in the ring for the CEO position mainly because of the timing. She wanted to have the opportunity to learn from key long term employees whose retirement is on the horizon.

She is fully aware that she became CEO at a very challenging time in the field. Allowable services, funding, and regulations are all changing. “There are a lot of unknowns but we will figure it all out together.” She feels she can be a good influence at a crucial time. “This is an awesome team, this has been a smooth transition and the former CEO George Suess and the board have been very supportive. And because people are so talented at this agency I don’t lie awake worrying about things.” She shared that believing in what she does, making a difference in people’s lives and working in a positive, proactive atmosphere with talented and dedicated people makes it all easy.

If she had a dream “bucket list” Molly would love to see smaller group homes and people being able to have their own bedrooms.  And as workshops change she would like to make sure that the people we support continue to have the highest quality of supports and services that are very person centered. “We can help the others in this field understand that people with disabilities can and do learn and grow.”  She also would like to explore a variety of mental health services for people with disabilities.

During the first months of her tenure she spent time in all of the departments, gaining a different level of understanding of the agency and more importantly getting to know all of the people in the departments.” I knew I was going to see a lot of talent. It is really fun to see everything going on.” 

Molly has come to love and appreciate all of the benefits of living in Delaware County.  “I am grateful that this agency is located in Delaware County, small town America at its best. One of the things that I love about Delaware County is that people embrace everyone; we don’t have to fight a lot of discrimination or segregation. People with disabilities are not tucked away somewhere. I know that can be a big issue elsewhere.”

More Signs of Spring!

Despite the chill and drizzle in the air, a reunion of sorts transpired at Launt Pond on Friday. For a number of years members of The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and The Arc of Delaware County have enjoyed meeting together in the Spring and releasing fish into local rivers and waterways. Pictured here on May 13th are folks from both DEC and The Arc preparing to receive and release the trout into Launt Pond near Walton, NY.

And turning up some dirt to prepare the way for butterflies… Community Partner, Dave DeForest , Assistant Professor at SUNY Delhi and Harry Dorsey , a 2nd year Adventure Recreation student, partnered with The Arc of Delaware County to “spring clean” EDU’s Butterfly Garden. It wasn’t all work and no play. Everyone enjoyed a cookout and picnic after the work was done. Afterwards, Heidi Friedman sent Dave a message: “I would just like to say THANK YOU for the great day yesterday. Both Garett and I appreciated all the time and effort you put into the planning-- Garett smiled all the way back.” See more photos on our Flickr site: https://www.flickr.com/phot…/delarc/albums/72157665894796034
View a video of the (EDU) Outdoor Education Center here: https://youtu.be/JVGqHfjid54