March was Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and that gave the Knox County community a great opportunity to create awareness, to learn more about inclusion and to share in the stories of individuals who live, work and thrive in our county. While the County Board of DD and its various provider agency partners are active year round in providing service and supports for those with developmental disabilities, March was a particularly fun time for us to highlight the important roles that individuals with developmental disabilities have within the fabric of our great community.

The Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities would like to thank the elementary school students of Knox County for helping us celebrate. There were one thousand and eighteen children who participated in our annual coloring (K-2nd grades) and essay (3rd-5th grades) contest with one hundred and one classrooms participating county-wide, representing twelve different elementary schools in Knox County.

We are proud to announce the winners of this year’s coloring contest (K-2nd grades): Kehley Short, Grayden McDonald, Lydia Harrod, Norah Fehrman, Garrett Donaldson, Sophia Baker, Luke Russell, Kiarra Pettigrew, Arianna Keen, Abby Fisher and Brynn Green. The winners of this year’s essay contest (3rd-5th grades) were: Reese Canterbury, Ellie Schonauer, Kyleigh Woods, Kristian McGinnis, McKenzie Sparks, Ethan Taylor, Hailey Elliott, Chase McKay, Parker Bundy, Dakota Mickley, Charlie Ross and Sulley Zimmerman. Also congratulations to Mrs. Betsy Sabo from Wiggin Street Elementary for winning the classroom prize this year.

Below are all of the winning essays and coloring pages! Some schools and families have submitted photos of the students, which are also included. If your child would like to have their picture included, please email it to bcoon@knoxdd.com and we’ll add it to our blog!

Each March, the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities celebrates Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. We do our best to highlight the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities.

We typically host an annual DD Month Luncheon and give out awards, but due to COVID-19 we have had to postpone all in person events. We are pleased to give the 2020 Individual Spotlight Award to Will Smith and the 2021 Individual Spotlight Award to Devine Ferrell and Jason Rhinebolt.

Each March, the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities celebrates Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. We do our best to highlight the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities.

We typically host an annual DD Month Luncheon and give out awards, but due to COVID-19 we have had to postpone all in person events. We are pleased to give the 2020 Local Hero Award to Chris Kirkhope with Transition U and the 2021 Local Hero Award to Knox Public Health.

Each March, the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities celebrates Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. We do our best to highlight the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities.

We typically host an annual DD Month Luncheon and give out awards, but due to COVID-19 we have had to postpone all in person events. We are pleased to give the 2020 Dedication Award to Kayla Burns with Concepts in Community Living and Colleen Thiel with Creative Foundations and the 2021 Dedication Award to Maude Proper, an independent provider and Sherrie Simmons KCBDD Provider Relations Manager.

Each March, the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities celebrates Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. We do our best to highlight the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities.

We typically host an annual DD Month Luncheon and give out awards, but due to COVID-19 we have had to postpone all in person events. We are pleased to give the 2020 Employer Award to Rob Stiltner with Pioneer College Caterers and the 2021 Employer Award to McDonald’s.

Each March, the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities celebrates Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. We do our best to highlight the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities.

We typically host an annual DD Month Luncheon and give out awards, but due to COVID-19 we have had to postpone all in person events. We are pleased to give the 2020 Community Partner Award to Paul McNeal with Mount Vernon Nazarene University Athletics and the 2021 Community Partner Award to Habitat for Humanity of Knox County.

“Aktion Club is the only service club for adults with disabilities, with more than 12,000 members worldwide.

Aktion Clubs draw members from various organizations that support individuals with disabilities, as well as other community programs. Aktion clubs can also be established at churches, libraries, YMCAs, lodges or similar facilities. A Kiwanis club, composed of like-minded, service-oriented people from the community, serves as the club’s sponsor.

Aktion Club is supported at the district level and by the Kiwanis International Office in Indianapolis, Indiana, which provides programs, literature and opportunities to relate to individuals with disabilities from countries worldwide.” https://aktionclub.org/discover/

When COVID-19 first struck, Aktion Club members quickly started getting together via Zoom calls to keep in touch with each other and to stay healthy and safe. The more they met, the more ideas they had of fun activities they could do via Zoom- that’s how they started Book Club! Each week a small group of folks get together to take turns reading from a book, discussing their favorite parts and thinking of other books they’d like to read next!

When COVID-19 first struck, Aktion Club members quickly started getting together via Zoom calls to keep in touch with each other and to stay healthy and safe. The more they met, the more ideas they had of fun activities they could do via Zoom- thus Painting Party was born! Each week a small group of folks get together to paint, act silly and have a wonderful time!

Happy Holidays from everyone at the Knox County Board of DD! People from all across our county submitted pictures of them creating beautiful artworks and crafts celebrating this joyous holiday season. We hope you enjoy their amazing talents!

We hope you have a wonderful and magical holiday season!