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AWARDS
AR-AER Awards
Congratulations to the following
2008
AR-AER award recipients:
J Max Woolly Award:
Luanne Blaylock
Joyce Ogburn Award:
Marsha Clark
Tom Phifer Award:
Jeff Weiss
Bill Tomlin
Scholarship:
Angela Morris
Arkansas
Distinguished Advocate (Business):
None Awarded
Arkansas
Distinguished Advocate (Individual):
Charlotte Marvel
AR Wall of Legends:
Jim Hudson
Congratulations to the following
2007 AR-AER award recipients:
J Max Woolly Award:
Sharon Niemczyk
Joyce Ogburn Award:
Judy Jewell
Tom Phifer Award:
Kara Aaron
Bill Tomlin
Scholarship:
Joanna McCauley
Arkansas
Distinguished Advocate (Business):
Conway County Center for Exceptional Children
Arkansas
Distinguished Advocate (Individual):
Dave and Patty Bushland (AR-NAPVI)
AR Wall of Legends:
Bill Tomlin
AR-AER Awards
Judy Jewell
The Arkansas
AER Awards Committee presents awards on an annual basis to recognize outstanding
professionals and advocates within the field of blindness and visual impairment.
Nominations for each of the following awards and scholarships are considered:
APH Hall of Fame Legends, J. Max Woolly Award, Joyce Ogburn Award, Tom
Phifer Award, Arkansas Distinguished Advocate Awards and the Bill Tomlin
Scholarship. The criterion for each award is listed below. Please note that the
APH Hall of Fame Legends is a recently established honor, which must be voted on
by the entire AR-AER Board. Nominations are currently being accepted for the
2009 awards, which will be presented at our annual state conference on Tuesday
May 12, 2009. Nominations and support letters will be accepted through April 22,
2009. Nominations for Hall of Fame must be received by March 1, 2009. All
correspondence should be sent to:
Judy Jewell
AR-AER Awards Committee Chair
Arkansas School f/t Blind
2600 West Markham Street
Little Rock, AR 72203
J.
Max Woolly Award
This
award is presented in recognition of outstanding contributions in the field of
work for people with visual impairments. The award may be given to an AER member
for the following reasons:
- Efforts far in excess
of those of similar professional rank.
- Professional excellence
or accomplishment and outstanding achievements in one’s own profession.
- Personal intervention,
which has directly helped a visually impaired client who was classified as
difficult with the assistance changing the client to a successful
orientation.
- Research or literature
accomplishments.
- Development of a new
technical adaptation or strategy that will benefit the consumer.
- Accomplishments in the
area of organization of and for the blind.
This
award is not necessarily given each year, but only when the awards committee
feels it has been earned. Nominations should refer to the specific criteria met
by the nominee and should be accompanied by letters of support. Letters of
nomination must be from current AER members.
Joyce Ogburn
Memorial Award
The
Joyce Ogburn Memorial Award is dedicated to the memory of Joyce Ogburn, a
teacher at the Arkansas School for the Blind from 1971 to 1985. The dedication
she showed to her students, school and colleagues was an inspiration to all who
knew and worked with her. This award is meant to inspire others to walk in her
footsteps and will honor only those who aspire to her ideals. The award will be
made when deemed appropriate by the AER Awards Committee on the basis of the
following:
1.
Nominations may be made by AR-AER members only.
2.
Recipients must be AR-AER members.
3.
The recipient must be an instructor/teacher of visually impaired persons.
4.
The award will be presented to a person who had rendered outstanding
service in the field of education or rehabilitation of the visually impaired as
demonstrated by:
a.
a. Willingness to work beyond usual job requirements;
b.
Concern for individual needs of students or clients
c.
Involvement in professional organizations;
d.
Dedication to the highest
professional ideals.
Tom Phifer
Award
This
award is in recognition of Tom Phifer, an Arkansas rehabilitation counselor who
worked tirelessly to improve and enhance employment opportunities for persons
who are blind and visually impaired. The award is to be given to an individual
working in the field of blindness who has made significant contributions toward
the independence of blind and visually impaired persons living in the state of
Arkansas. Contributions may be made in the following areas:
- Professional excellence
or accomplishment in the area of rehabilitation teaching or vocational
rehabilitation.
- Utilization of new
strategies, techniques, or equipment to achieve the independence goals of
individuals with visual impairments.
- Promotion of a positive
image for potential employment of individuals who are blind and visually
impaired.
- Promoting the
transition of persons who are blind or visually impaired into an independent
lifestyle.
Recipients
of this award must be members of AR-AER and the award will only be given when an
individual with significant merit is nominated. Nominations must refer to
specific criteria and should be accompanied by letters of support. Letters of
nomination must be from current AER members.
Arkansas
Distinguished
Advocate Awards
(For Groups and
Individuals)
(“ADAA Boy
Awards”)
These
two awards are designed to honor individuals and organizations, groups, or
businesses outside our “traditional” professional field. Contrary to other
established awards, these will be announced prior to the state conference. The
criteria for the awards are as follows:
1.
Nominations for either award can come from any source.
2.
Awards recipients are NOT limited to citizens of Arkansas or AER members.
3.
The nominated person or group must demonstrate outstanding contributions
to the dignity, independence and/or advancement of persons who are visually
impaired in Arkansas.
4.
The person or group efforts should benefit Arkansans who are blind or
visually impaired.
APH
Hall of Fame Legends
Guidelines for the AER Board to place individuals on
the Hall of Fame Legends Wall at American Printing House for the Blind:
1.
The AR-AER Board will vote on who should be honored for the Wall of
Legends Plaque.
2.
The Honor will not be a yearly award, but will be made at the discretion
of the Board.
3.
The dollar amount to be paid for the plaque will be determined by the AR-AER
Board
4.
Any AER member in good standing may submit a nominee to a current AR-AER
Board member.
5.
Board members may also nominate individuals for this award.
Criteria: In
order to be considered for this nomination the chairperson of the Awards
Committee should verify the following:
·
The nominee must have been retired from his or her primary work in the
field of vision for at least five years.
·
The nominee’s career should have been for at least twenty-five years in
duration in the education or rehabilitation fields.
·
A nominee should have been a twenty-year active member of AEVH, AAWB, or
AER (combinations of these organizations is acceptable).
·
An active member is an individual
who has attended or presented at state and international conferences on a
regular basis, has served on committees, held an office, or served on the Board
of AEVH, AAWB, or AER.
Bill
Tomlin Scholarship Award
This award was established by
the Arkansas Chapter of the Association for Rehabilitation and Education of the
Blind and Visually Impaired (AR-AER) to honor the memory of long time AR-AER
member and past-president Bill Tomlin. A monetary award will be made each year
to a student who is blind or visually impaired and who will be enrolled in a
post-secondary educational or vocational training program for the 2009-20010
school year. Funds will be awarded for the purchase of textbooks, specialized
materials or adaptive equipment. The award this year will be in the amount of
$1,000.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Applicant must be legally blind and enrolled or
planning to enroll in a post-secondary or educational program.
- Applicant must currently be a legal resident of the
state of Arkansas.
- Applicant must submit a signed application
with required supporting documents to the AR-AER Awards Committee
Chairperson by April 22, 2009.
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