2017 MVP Community Awards Finalists Announced & Celebration Speaker Confirmed
We are pleased to announce the finalists for this year’s Most Valuable Partner (MVP) Community Awards. Designed to recognize and honor those that have worked to create a more inclusive community for persons with disabilities, the MVP Community Awards finalists represent a wide range of organizations, businesses, programs, and advocates from the CSRA.
The MVP Community Awards finalists are:
Inclusive Community Award: Barney’s Pharmacy, Dyas Human Resource Development, Chick-fil-A (North Augusta), and North Augusta High School’s Varsity Football Program;
Outstanding Service Organization Award: Marty Turcios Therapeutic Golf, Signature Speech Services, Dreamcatchers Support Group, and The Master’s Transportation Ministry;
Outstanding Individual Advocate Award: Gerald Powell, Bryan Hensley, Mallory Lanier, and Lisa Tindal.
“This year’s nominations presented us with a unique set of candidates,” said Tiffany Clifford, Executive Director at Walton Options for Independent Living. “Many of the nominees’ activities and actions crossed our category lines with their inclusive programs and practices. Our selection committees felt many of the nominees fit into multiple categories and as a response, we created the Inclusive Community Award which combines the ideals of the Inclusive Employment, Community Government and Public Accommodation Awards into a more suited, rounded category.”
Walton Options is also pleased to announce the MVP Community Awards finalists & winners will be honored on Wednesday, October 25 at the Legends Club on Washington Road during a Celebration Luncheon hosted by WJBF’s Barclay Bishop. In addition, to speak more on the power of inclusion and innovation, Walton Options welcomes Jeff Eiseman, the president of the Augusta GreenJackets (Agon Sports & Entertainment), as the guest speaker for the Celebration.
Members of the community are invited to attend the Celebration Luncheon, meet the finalists, and network with those working to use innovation to drive inclusion in the CSRA. Event registration is a $25 contribution per attendee and can be booked online at Eventbrite. For more information about the Finalists and the Luncheon, visit www.waltonoptions.org/2017mvplunch/ or call 706-724-6262.
About the MVP Community Awards
The MVP Community Awards were created by Walton Options following the success of the Americans with Disabilities Act 25th Anniversary celebration in May 2015. Local businesses and persons who have embodied the spirit of the titles of the ADA were honored during the course of a week-long celebration. Walton Options wanted to keep these honors alive and expand them through an annual awards that is open to the entire CSRA community.
About Barclay Bishop – Host
We are very excited to welcome back Barclay Bishop as the MVP Community Awards Host & Presenter. Barclay has worked with Walton Options on multiple occasions including hosting a fantastic event last year and co-hosting our Pigskins & Bowties Fundraising Gala in 2015. Barclay is a co-anchor for Good Morning Augusta at Channel 6. She has been recognized by the readers of Augusta Magazine as one of the best morning anchors/reporters in its popular “Best of Augusta” issue. While Barclay takes great pride in her work at the TV station, she dedicates her personal time to helping those in the CSRA through her service organization “Barclay’s Believers”. In 2015 she won the Community Involvement Award for her efforts as a candidate during the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Man/Woman of the Year campaign. During the campaign, she raised more than $60,000 for the LLS Augusta Chapter. Barclay is a proud member of the Augusta Rotary Club.
About Jeff Eiseman – Guest Speaker
There are a lot of positive changes happening in and around the CSRA providing opportunities for the entire community. Our guest speaker this year is one of the leaders working to bring about these changes. We are excited to welcome Jeff Eiseman to our Awards Luncheon as Guest Speaker. Mr. Eiseman is the President and Partner for Agon Sports and Entertainment, which includes the Augusta GreenJackets.
Mr. Eiseman has been in the baseball sports industry for over 20 years and has worked with some of the top names in the industry including Ripken Baseball. Through his strategic direction, Mr. Eiseman has been instrumental in securing and developing the new home for the Augusta GreenJackets, SRP Park, and looking beyond sports to the impact of this development for the entire community, including persons with disabilities.
About Walton Options for Independent Living
Walton Options works with persons with disabilities through their core services of Advocacy, Information & Referral, Life Skills Training, Peer Support and Transition Services. WOIL offers services throughout the CSRA including 16 counties in Georgia and 10 counties in South Carolina including the Low Country.