Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh Recognized as Elected Official of the Year; Summit County Nets Five Awareness Awards
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Download Event Photos for Use by Media at http://tinyurl.com/summitopi
(Dublin, Ohio) – On Monday, March 21, 2011, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Dublin, Ohio, Ohio Public Images, Inc., recognized Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh as the Ohio’s Elected Official of the Year in Developmental Disability (DD) Advocacy by presenting her its Award of Excellence in the category of “Elected Officials & Community Leaders”. The award was one of five awareness awards that were presented for advertising and public relations efforts in Summit County, Ohio. The award was presented Ohio Public Images president, Jane Imbody and accepted on behalf of Walsh by Laurie Cramer, Director of Communications, Office of the Summit County Prosecutor. At the podium Imbody commented on Walsh’s contributions to the DD field stating, “As a mother of a child with Autism, Walsh understood how easily a child with autism could become separated from a caregiver and acting on that she teamed with local law enforcement to implement the Take Me Home program to make sure police can help people that are non-verbal and lost.” Imbody’s comments went on to note Walsh’s work with the County of Summit DD Board and the Greater Akron Autism Society.
Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh stated that this developmental disability awareness award touched her heart because her advocacy work has been driven by her personal experiences. “I’m very fortunate that my role as the Summit County Prosecutor enables me to support Summit County citizens with disabilities through Take Me Home and the Autism Society.” Begun in 2007, the Take Me Home program has generated a database, accessible only to law Enforcement, with 1200 Summit County residents who have trouble communicating do to speech related disabilities such as Autism and elderly dementia. More information about the Take Me Home program can be found online at http://www.co.summit.oh.us/prosecutor/takemehome.htm.
Other Summit County recipients of OPI Awareness Awards included Akron Beacon Journal Photographer Karen Schiely for a photo of the Akron Rotary Camp for Children with Special needs; and The County of Summit Board of DD for its annual report, television PSAs and Facebook page.
Ohio Public Images, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation, established in 1983 to promote positive awareness of people with developmental disabilities. More information about this organization and the awards is available online at
www.publicimagesnetwork.org.
The County of Summit Developmental Disabilities Board is an agency that provides services to more than 4,000 individuals with disabilities and their families in Summit County. It is the organization’s mission to be a primary community force that enables eligible individuals to work, live, learn, play and participate as equal citizens in their communities. The agency’s administrative offices are housed in the Weaver Learning Center, 89 East Howe Road in Tallmadge, Ohio. More information regarding the agency is available online at www.summitdd.org.
###
Tags for this item: