Welcome to December! This year, we have worked hard to support people with disabilities and their families to achieve what is important to them. But we couldn’t have done it without your support.

Oh, did we have a busy Summer and Fall!

Welcome to the July edition of the Dreams Newsletter! This spring was full of encouraging growth and new beginnings. We’re excited to share some of the highlights with you!

Welcome to our Spring Dreams Newsletter! As always, we wasted no time kicking off the new year.

Welcome to December! This past year has been filled with progress and growth for the Warren County Board of Developmental Disabilities. 

As summer draws to a close and we transition into the fall, we reflect on the amazing gifts brought by the season.

As we head into the second half of 2024, we are looking forward to the summer. I hope you are all able to enjoy some nice weather and relaxation. It has been a busy first half of 2024! 

It has been a busy first quarter of 2024!  We started off the year with the appointment of a new board member and the reappointment of two current members.  We welcomed David Sparby to our board for his first four-year term.  David is the first board member for the Warren County Board of Developmental Disabilities who is eligible for services.  David brings his personal perspective as a recipient of services to the board, and that will be very beneficial to board discussions and decisions.  We also had board members Lynn Bissell and Joel King sworn in for their second four-year terms in January.  I look forward to working with all board members throughout this year and appreciate the volunteer time they put in for our organization and the people we serve.

As 2023 comes to an end, we reflect on everything that has happened this year, as well as everything we hope to accomplish in 2024.  

Fall has arrived, and as you will see when you continue to read through our newsletter, we have had a busy summer!  I’m sorry to see the summer go, but I’m also looking forward to the cooler weather and the upcoming holidays.  

I remember when I was growing up, my dad used to say that the older he got, the faster time seemed to go.  As a kid, I couldn’t understand how that could possibly be true.  As an adult, I sure do understand it now.  It is hard to believe that 2023 is just about half over already!

Once again, we started off the new year at the Warren County Board of Developmental Disabilities (WCBDD) in full swing! I was glad to see the calendar turn over to 2023, and we got right down to business.

Although I don’t usually make my opening article in our quarterly newsletter personal, I hope you’ll indulge me a little as I write this one. It is personal, yet still related. You see, on February 12, 2022, I lost the most amazing man I’ve  ever known – my father, Jerry Manuel. That is very personal. However, it is related because my dad spent almost 50 years working in the developmental disabilities field. He was my role model and my mentor, in more ways than one.

It is hard to believe that 2022 is almost over, but I am looking forward to 2023!  As we reflect on the past year, we are happy that we were able to hold all of our in-person agency events again.  The Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month Open House and Provider Fair, Egg Hunt, Things That Go!, and Family Fun Day were all held in 2022.

I hope you have had a good start to your 2022! After the most recent surge in COVID cases, the numbers now thankfully seem to be decreasing again. At the Warren County Board of Developmental Disabilities, we have continued to provide services to individuals with disabilities and their families. We have taken precautions and have off ered to meet with individuals and families virtually rather than in person for home visits, assessments, monitoring, team meetings, etc., if that is what they would prefer. We wanted to continue to offer services, but wanted to do it in whatever way families and individuals were most comfortable. We are hopeful that cases will continue to drop and that we are able to get back to more typical service delivery and events soon.