Mayor's Committee holds annual luncheon
By Kirsten Ballard
Published in News on October 20, 2014 1:46 PM
kballard@newsargus.com
On Thursday, the Mayor's Committee for Persons with Disabilities hosted the annual awards luncheon at the Herman Park Center.
"These awards are indicative of our community as a whole," said Andrew Bernard, Vice Commander of the 4th Fighter Wing.
Nova Behavioral Health care won the employer of the year, Candra Hill accepted the award. Charlito Broswell won the employee of the year. Dee's diner won the Most Accessible Business, Michelle Dreyfus accepted the award. Sarah McCollouch won the Committee Member of the Year, she's been on the committee for about a year now. The Mayor's trophy was given to St. Paul's United Methodist church and was received by Reverend Phyllis Vail, Francis Gourley and James Hamilton.
This year, the committee decided to have a competition for a new logo for the Mayor's Committee for Persons with Disabilities. High school senior Andrew Murray won the design competition. His logo will be making an appearance around town later this year. In second place, Cadee Moore, and in third place, Morgan Magnarella. The committee is continuing to try to gain visibility in the community and raise awareness.
Guest speaker and assistant city planner Angel Wright-Lanier said that 20 percent of the population has disabilities. Approximately 54 million Americans are living with handicaps, which translates into the entire population of Florida and California combined.
Wright-Lanier grew up with a compassion for people with disabilities. She credits her mother, who worked as a psychiatric nurse. She believes that awareness of disabilities has come a long way. In the 1970s, the only option for many was mental hospitals. "It was out of sight, and in many cases, out of mind," she said. Wright-Lanier spoke of President Franklin Roosevelt, using his contraction of polio at age 39, as a "great example of empowering someone with a disability." As the community moves forward, Wright-Lanier challenged the audience to continue to do more in the future.
"We can't leave the poor, blacks, Hispanics, women or the disabled behind, all of our future depends on it," she said.