DONOR SPOTLIGHT - MARTY ANDREAS

May - June 2011
Board of Directors
President - Loren Schmitz
Vice President - Dan Martinek
Treasurer - Bob Mowry
Secretary - Leigh Enneking
Tom Auterman
Kelly Baier
Craig Clark
Anne Cunningham
Denis Duppong
Bart Gibney
Mark Gronemeyer
Andy Hasley
Tom King
William Knapp
Father Neil Manternach
Terry Moran
John Negro
Scott Olson
Ralph Savoy
Larry Sharp
Mike Stallman
Lynne Strabala
Frank Varvaris
Karen Volz
Inside this issue:
She’s Got Spirit!
2
Ten Tips for Projecting a Positive Image
2
A Job Well Done
3
Legislative Update
4
Birdies for Charity
5
Important Dates
5
2011-2012 Travel
and Adventure Film
Series
6
DONOR SPOTLIGHT - MARTY ANDREAS
You may have noticed several colorful framed
photos of beautiful flowers displayed at the
Discovery Living administrative offices.
Many people have commented on these pieces,
which are displayed throughout the building.
As a nonprofit organization, we have very
limited resources to devote to artwork or
decorations - and that is where Marty Andreas
comes in. Marty is the retired Senior Vice
President of Archer Daniels Midland Company
(ADM). He served ADM in various capacities
for 35 years and is currently on the boards of
Mt. Mercy College, Trees Forever and the Illinois Leadership
Foundation. When he can find the time, one of Marty’s hobbies is
flower photography. Marty not only donated several of his beautiful
photos to Discovery Living; he also paid all costs associated with having
the pieces professionally framed. Because of his generosity, Discovery
Living is able to proudly display professional artwork that we expect to
enjoy for years to come.
We also want to acknowledge Mary Suess, owner of the Corner House
Gallery in Cedar Rapids. Not only did Mary introduce Marty to
Discovery Living; she also donated many hours of her time framing,
assessing and hanging artwork.
Thanks to generous people like Marty and Mary, office visitors are able
to enjoy eye-catching art that otherwise would have been out of our
reach.
Discovery’s mission is to provide supported community living
services so adults with developmental disabilities can live
successful, satisfying lives in the mainstream of society.
Page 2
SHE’S GOT SPIRIT! ~by Lauri Becker
Nikkole Werner is a very active and enthusiastic individual who
moved into our Northbrook 1 home on February 5, 2011. In addition to winning the gold medal with her cheerleading squad at
Special Olympics on March 19, 2011; Nikkole recently competed
in the Ms. Wheelchair Iowa Pageant. The event took place on
March 26th in Iowa City. The competition included a short interview with panel judges, a platform speech and an impromptu
question and answer session. When asked how Nikkole thought
she did on her speech on self-advocacy, she replied, “I think it
went pretty well.” Nikkole had practiced her speech with the
staff at Northbrook 1 prior to the event and also worked on the
speech with her mother, Theresa Werner. Although Nikkole did
not win the title of Ms Wheelchair Iowa, she was very happy that she participated and did win the “Spirit Award.”
Everyone is very proud of Nikkole. We always knew she had spirit - and now she has the title to prove it.
TEN TIPS FOR PROJECTING A POSITIVE IMAGE
When someone confides in you, keep it between you and that person. Confidentiality
builds trust.
Assume that anything negative you say about someone in the organization will get back to
them quickly and probably in a much worse way than you intended. Keep your comments
positive.
Dress professionally to create a professional impression. You have to look like a successful
leader before they will treat you like a successful leader.
The more in love you are with your job, the more successful you’ll be. If you don’t like your
job, get out of that spot...someone else wants it.
Make sure you know what you don’t know...and figure out a way to increase your knowledge in that area.
Encourage your co-workers to think for themselves. The number one quality that will help
you be successful is helping your co-workers grow. Get in the habit of asking, “What do
you think?” If you let your teammates shine, their brilliance will reflect on you.
The more you show your co-workers you care for them and connect with them as human
beings, the more successful they will make you.
The faster you forgive yourself for making a mistake and learn from it, the less damage it
will do. No one is perfect. Take ownership for your mistakes and avoid being defensive.
The “powers that be” truly know who is performing. The less credit you try to grab, the
more you may get.
Your boss doesn’t promote you. Everyone you come in contact with is responsible for your
future. Display a cooperative attitude to everyone you meet.
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you
want to be happy, practice compassion.” ~Daili Lama
Page 3
A Job Well Done ~by Tammy Vangen
Friday, April 29th, was a special day for a number of the people served by Discovery Living.
More than a dozen of our friends were honored
at the Options of Linn County 2011 Awards
Banquet. The award recipients were:
5 Years of Service
Patty Loth, Samantha Rhodes & John Raaz
10 Years of Service
Jenny VanBerkum & Mike Vogeler
15 Years of Service
Amy Headington & Toni Muters
20 Years of Service
David Wittenburg
25 Years of Service
Deb Hansen, Paul Dougherty & Jeff Lewis
30 Years of Service
Rennie Hahn, Deb Hildebrand & Karen Scanlon
40 Years of Service
Gene Sherman & Mark Kadlec
Mark Sorenson was honored with the STEPS
Consumer of the Year Award.
Congratulations to each of you on a job well
done! In addition to the award winners listed,
Options made a point to remember our friend,
and long time Options employee, Bob Melsha
Jr., who passed away in February.
Page 4
BIG CHANGES ON THE HORIZON - by Bob Hebl
The Iowa Legislature is working on
a major overhaul of the mental
health & disability service system.
House File 45 started this process
and has generated several companion Senate Bills and House Files.
House File 45 initially provided
waiting list funding and starts the
process for the state to take over
the disability services system from
the counties. The state would also
take over payment of the local,
non-federal match for Medicaid
eligible persons receiving services.
This significant savings to the
counties would go toward property
tax relief. The Senate proposal calls
for a July 2013 effective date for
implementation of a regionalized
service delivery system, while the
House File requires that services
for people with disabilities be coordinated at a state level after January
1, 2013.
The MH/DD system was run by
the state until 1996, when it was
changed to a county-run system.
This was the result of Senate File
69, which was passed by the Iowa
Legislature in 1995. The bill intended for the state to eventually
pick up half the cost of the nonfederal share for disability services
from counties. The state also
agreed to pick up the cost of
growth in the system, which never
happened. The impact of a staterun system will depend on the details of how the system is structured.
with is that the services a person
does or does not receive should not
depend on the county you live in,
and there should be more consistency statewide
as to how services are provided. Few of
us want service
consistency to
entail forcing
counties to
provide only
barebones
“core services” - as is the case in
some areas. There are likely to be
efficiencies that could be generated
by regionalizing some service delivery components, but it is important
that redesign does not require people with disabilities to travel great
distances to receive needed services
- or shift advocacy and decision
making from local Case Managers
to regional or state officials, who
may well have never met the person impacted by their decisions.
As a result of the changes that took
effect in 1996, counties that have
had significant population growth
are not able to increase their levy
for MH/DD services. The “hard
dollar caps” on counties have not
been adjusted for population
growth or inflation since 1996.
Mental Health is the only line item
in county budgets that has a hard
dollar cap.
Prior to 1996, the state-run system
was flawed because the state did
The current bills include few denot adequately fund the system.
tails, but do provide a starting point Providers went eight consecutive
to redesign the mental health &
years from 1989-96 without even a
disability delivery system in Iowa.
cost of living adjustment in reimOne thing almost everyone agrees
bursement rates. In 2001 the Legis-
lature removed $11.3M from the
Allowed Growth funding that is
provided to counties for funding
disability services. This was to be a
one-year cut,
but it wasn’t
until 2008 that
the Legislature
restored a portion of the
funding. As a
result of this,
many people
are skeptical of
plans for a state-run system, because the state did not hold up its
end of the deal when the system
was previously run by the state.
To see any bills you can go to the
legislative website at
www.legis.iowa.gov. On the left
hand side there will be a location
labeled “Bills – Quick Search”
where you can enter HF 689 or SF
525 to see the most current mental health & disability redesign
files. We will continue to work
with our provider association and
local counties to ensure that people served - their families, service
providers and other stakeholders have a place at the table when the
all important details of this system
overhaul are hammered out. We
applaud the time and attention our
political leaders have spent evaluating issues that impact people
with disabilities, but the devil is in
the details. Stay tuned….
“Our greatest weakness lies in
giving up. The most certain
way to succeed is always to
try just one more time.”
~Thomas Edison
Page 5
BIRDIES FOR CHARITY
Spring is in the air and it is time to launch our Birdies for Charity
Campaign. Each dollar generated in pledges will yield a 5%
bonus contribution from John Deere. Every dollar pledged,
plus the John Deere contribution, goes to Discovery Living. Discovery Living pays no expenses to participate in this program.
How it works: Simply make a one-time flat donation or pledge
one cent or more per birdie. After the tournament, you’ll be
mailed a notice of your pledge amount due. The rules are available at
www.birdiesforcharity.com.
Everyone who pledges can guess the number of birdies that will be shot during the
Classic and have a chance to win the grand prize - a 2011 Chevy Camaro - and
other prizes as well.
For more information or to receive a pledge form you can contact the Discovery Living office at (319) 378-7470. All forms are due in our office no later than June 8th.
IMPORTANT DATES IN HISTORY
1751 - Benjamin Franklin helped create the nation’s first special section to treat mental illness
and disabilities at Pennsylvania Hospital in
Philadelphia
1773 - Virginia establishes the first
U.S. hospital/institution for people with disabilities
1817 - First U.S. school for the
deaf opens in Connecticut
1829 - Louis Braile publishes the
first raised alphabet
1921 - The American Foundation for the Blind
is founded
1935 - The Social Security Act establishes federal funds for the elderly, people who are visually impaired and children with disabilities
1950 - The Association for Retarded Children the ARC of the United States - is founded
1960 - Rome hosts the first paraplegic
games
1963- President Kennedy calls for a reduction in the number of people with disabilities residing in institutions
1965 - Medicaid and Medicare are established
1975 - The Education for all Handicapped
Children Act requires free public education for
children with disabilities in the least restrictive
setting
1990 - President Bush signs the Americans with
Disabilities Act
Helping
Discovery
Living
Monetary Donations
Any amount of
financial support
that you can give
Discovery Living
will enhance the
lives of those we
serve.
You can mail your
gift to: 1015 Old
Marion Rd NE,
Cedar Rapids, IA
52402.
Page 6
2011-2012 TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE
FILM SERIES ANNOUNCED!
The new season includes the
following shows:
September 18, 2011
Colorful Mexico
October 9, 2011
One Man’s Journey Around
the World
November 6, 2011
Pakistan and Afghanistan
On the Border - On the Edge
February 12, 2012
Burma & Cambodia - Lands
of Conflict
In-Kind Donations
Please contact
our office.
Ticket prices are as follows:
*Individual season pass - $24
*Family season pass - $48
Planned Giving
Remembering
Discovery Living in
your estate
planning is another
way you can help.
*If you purchase a pass prior to
July 1, 2011 you will only pay
$20 for an individual and $44
for a family season pass! Tickets
may be purchased at the Discovery
Living administrative offices at:
1015 Old Marion Road NE in Cedar
Rapids.
For more
information you
may contact our
office at
(319) 378-7470.
Single tickets purchased on the day
of the event are $7.00. As in years
past, all shows will be presented at
2:00 p.m. in Ballantyne Auditorium. The auditorium is located in
Iowa Hall at Kirkwood Community
College. Each show will be hosted
by the filmmaker and includes an
intermission during which refreshments are for sale.
We’re on the web!
www.discoveryliving.org
“For it is in giving
that we receive.”
receive.”
~St. Francis of Assisi
The proceeds from these shows
help support the work we do at Discovery Living. To purchase tickets
or learn more about the shows,
please call the Discovery Living office (319) 378-7470 and ask for
Susan or Lynette. You can also access detailed information at:
www.discoveryliving.org
Corporate and Individual Sponsors
are the reason we are able to sponsor these fine films. These sponsors
help Discovery Living cover some of
the costs associated with the films.
We would like to thank
the 2010-11 Travel and
Adventure Series Sponsors:
Thomas & Joan Auterman
Bankers Trust
Benefit Solutions, Inc.
Bradley & Riley, PC
Fairfax State Savings Bank
Guaranty Bank
Home Appliance Center
House of Carpets
M & W Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Murdoch Funeral Homes
Nelson Electric Co.
Scott E. Olson – Skogman
Commercial Real Estate
Dave & Mary Lou Selzer
Shepard Financial Services, Inc.
Spring House
Michael Stallman
US Bank
These fine folks are the reason our
film series is a success! Corporate
and individual sponsorships range
from $300 to $1,000 for the entire
season. Sponsor names appear on
our travel and adventure brochure
and are associated with this popular
event. If you are interested in
learning more about sponsorships,
please contact Bob Hebl at (319)
378-7470.