The Arc of Bartholomew County recently presented the following awards at its annual meeting:
- David Stambaugh Volunteer of the Year: Danie’l Mize. Mize is the president of the local Self-Advocates of Tomorrow group and is very active in the community and leading others to advocate for themselves.
- Educator of the Year: Beth Finke. Finke is a local speech therapist who also works closely with occupational therapists, physical therapists, and autism coordinators, as well as other facilitators to make the school setting a better place for all students, not just those with disabilities, according to The Arc.
- Professional of the Year: Wendy Kirts. Kirts is dedicating her career towards assisting individuals with disabilities. She helps more than 60 individuals in the Columbus community receive Direct Support services through the Indiana Medicaid waivers.
- Friend of The Arc: Toyota Material Handling. Toyota has “provided endless hours of volunteer support from assembling appeal letters to specific skills based talents, such as finance and legal services,” according to The Arc. “They have gone out of their way to host service providers for tours of the facility and are actively exploring avenues to employment for people with disabilities.”
- Self-Advocate Award: Josh Holley. Holley is a very driven self-advocate, a Special Olympic athlete with enormous potential, and serves as an example and a coach for others. He is a long-distance runner and ran in the Boston Marathon in 2022. Holley earned 3 associate degrees from Ivy Tech Community College and a business degree from Purdue University. Holley now works locally for Cummins, Inc. and continues to advocate for himself as he learns to work in the corporate world.
- Youth Recognition Award: Allison Craig. Craig is a 2023 graduate of Columbus East High School. For her senior project, she conducted an inclusive soccer club that allowed students with intellectual disabilities be a part of a team, learn soccer skills, and participate in a sport.
- President’s Award: Tom Milvert. Milvert is a leader of The Columbus Area Down Syndrome Support Group. With the help of the support group’s members, he has developed programs and activities that not only has supported families, but has also led persons with Down Syndrome to find their own advocacy voice.
- Ben Baker Memorial Scholarship Recipients: Riley Schumm and Leah Bachmann. The Ben Baker Scholarship celebrates the strides that have been made to include and advocate for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in our community, as well as create opportunities to further the improvement of their lives. Recipients must have plans to serve individuals with disabilities in their future endeavors. Schumm is a 2023 graduate of Columbus North High School. She dedicated her senior project to unifying students at Columbus North in Life Skills program and students in general education classes, building new friendships and positive interactions. Bachmann is a 2023 graduate of Columbus East High School. She dedicated her senior project to serving children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
- Columbus Autism Network Scholarship Recipient: Stephen Hines. The Columbus Autism Network provides scholarship funds to an individual on the autism spectrum seeking post secondary options.
