What a Night!
Whew! I just returned from the Autism Society of America's 2008 Evening of Champions Gala. What an exciting and inspiring night. After a cocktail reception in the Gaylord Palms' replica old Spanish fort, we moved to the Convention Center ballroom for dinner, drinks, dancing and an evening to honor some exceptional people and organizations in the autism community.
Lois Blackwell received the ASA Founder's Award for her work as founder of the Judevine Center for Autism in St. Louis, MO. The center, founded in 1970, is based on the philosophy of providing support and service across the lifespan for individuals with autism because each can achieve personal freedom and fulfillment.
Then the organization honored four organizations: Microsoft, for setting a trend in providing coverage for services for individuals with autism through its employee benefits; "Ticket to Ride," a community event sponspored by Adamec Harley Davidson, the Lex and Terry radio show and Venus clothing, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for autism over the past 5 years; and the Dan Marino Foundation, founded by Dan and Claire Marino after their son Michael was diagnosed with autism.
What really struck me was the work that Walgreens has done. They recently redesigned their distribution technology, and in the process made it possible for individuals with disabilities, especially autism, to work at their distribution centers. The effort was pioneered by senior vice president Randy Lewis, whose 20-year-old son has autism. The company opened a distribution plant in Anderson, SC, in June 2007, with roughly 1/3 of the workforce having disabilities both physical and cognitive.
The plant is now 20 percent more efficient than any of the company's other distribution centers, and Walgreens has plans to open another plant in Windsor, CT, this fall. Deb Russell, manager of outreach and employee services at Walgreens, accepted the award on his behalf, and brought a video the company has created to promote this effort. I'm going to see if we can track it down and make it available to view via our website, because it's really amazing and will really move you if you've ever worked with or known a person with a disability who has longed to be a productive member of society but has had difficulty finding employment. I'm also going to follow up and get an article about this amazing effort into the magazine. It's really such a remarkable and committed effort to improving the lives of people with disabilities that I want to tell as many people as I can!
Tomorrow, sadly, is the last day of the ASA conference. Keep an eye out for more blog posts -- tomorrow morning, Temple Grandin, PhD, gives the closing keynote address. I'm can't wait to hear her talk about her experience as being a very accomplished expert and advocate in the autism community while living with the condition herself.