E-BEACON
May, 2018
LEADERSHIP MESSAGE
Greetings Everyone!

Well, May has finally brought us some much needed sunshine and warmer temperatures! As such, our program participants have enjoyed several barbecues, picnics and other outdoor activities such as baseball games, park visits and more!

On Friday, June 1 st , ACHIEVE was delighted to host over 400 guests at The McKinley in celebration of our 64 th Annual Dinner Dance and Awards Banquet. What a magical evening! Thank you to Senator Akshar, Assemblyman Crouch and Assemblywoman Lupardo for assisting with the awards presentation that evening. Congratulations to all of our awards winners!

I would also like to congratulate our Agency Board Members who were elected and re-elected at the Agency’s Membership meeting Friday night. They include:

Ellen Feldman, President
Dave Sebastianelli, 1st Vice President
Kim Parker, 2nd Vice President
Nicki French, Secretary
Barbara Schindler, Treasurer
Robert Salankiewicz, Assistant Treasurer
Margaret Collins
Lisa Dolphin
Kelly Eurillo
Michelle Karedes
Dennis Mirabito
Dorollo Nixon
Gail Rattinger
James Savage
Jeremy Sedelmeyer
Gary Shay
Kathy Sheehan
John Stevens
William Whitaker
All of us at ACHIEVE look forward to the summer months, especially our next signature event, Savor the Summer which will take place on August 23 rd at our Cutler Pond Road site! I hope to see you there!


Warm Regards,

Amy Howard
Acting Chief Executive Officer
64TH ANNUAL DINNER DANCE
 Submitted by: Victoria Studer
On Friday, June 1 st , ACHIEVE held its 64 th Annual Dinner Dance and Awards Banquet, with special guest Mark van Voorst, Executive Director of The Arc New York, in attendance. The evening provides an opportunity for ACHIEVE to recognize the many accomplishments of our program participants and staff as well as express our sincere appreciation for the friendship of our community partners.

After a delightful social hour, Board of Director President Ellen Feldman called to order the re-election of slate officers and recognition of current Board of Directors. The McKinley hosted a delicious meal which then led into a heartfelt Award Presentation led by Acting CEO, Amy Howard.
ACHIEVE would like to recognize the following award winners of this year’s 64 th Annual Dinner Dance:

Day Habilitation Program Participant of the Year
Joe Gould
ACHIEVE Star Performer
Elliot Campbell
Vocational Program Participant of the Year
Kristen Lombardi
ACHIEVE Star Performer
Guy Newman
Employee Team of the Year: Nursing
Roberta Vendetti, NR, Nurse Manager; Emily Goodwin, RN; Shari Gaynor, LPN; Michelle Carmody, RN; Tammie Kwiatkowski, LPN; Alison Reap, LPN; Nicole Lown, LPN; Katrina MacFadden, RN; Beatrice Barrett, RN; Amber Davis, RN; Michelle Jorgensen, RN
ACHIEVE Star Performer
Shirley Shea
Residential Services Program Participant of the Year
Ed Tripp
Family Support Services Program Participant of the Year
Logan Cunningham
Medicaid Service Coordination Program Participant of the Year
Doreen Price
CWS Program Participant of the Year
Courtney Ryan
Supported Work Employer of the Year
United Methodist Homes at Elizabeth Church Manor
Supported Employment Program Participant of the Year
Claudia Brown
Community Service Award
Bob Salankiewicz

Finally, DJ John Adams kicked off the Dinner Dance finale with a night of music and dancing. Overall, the 64 th Annual Dinner Dance was another success, and we look forward for many years to come!

A special thanks to Senator Fred Akshar, Assemblyman Clifford Crouch and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo for assisting with the awards presentation that evening!
HANGING BASKETS AT CUTLER POND
Submitted by: Bob Brazill
The Cutler Pond Day Habilitation team sold beautiful petunia hanging baskets during the month of May. Division Manager Matt Blazey, and his team of gardeners, sold out the plants in less than a week- just in time for Mother’s Day. This program was started in 2017 from the Binghamton Noon Rotary and all proceeds go directly to continuing this project each year. Great job Cutler Pond Day Hab!
REC RESPITE DESIGNS CENTER PIECES FOR ANNUAL DINNER DANCE
Submitted by: Melissa Blakeslee

The Recreation Respite Program is always looking for ways to help out. This month they made center pieces for the ACHIEVE Dinner Dance for the second year in a row. Fifty five empty wine bottles were donated by 205 Dry, a Speakeasy located in Downtown Binghamton. The bottles were then decorated by program participants using sponge paint and splatter paint techniques. 
CHENANGO GREENHOUSE
Submitted by: Laura Thompson
The Chenango Day Habilitation greenhouse is in full bloom! The individuals have been busy planting tomatoes, peppers, radishes and herbs inside the greenhouse and squash and cucumbers outside. We are hoping to have enough produce to sell at the Norwich farmers market along with baked goods and crafts this year.  
CUTLER POND CORE ROOM 9 PICNIC
Submitted by: Guy Newman

Core Room 9 from ACHIEVE's Cutler pond Day Hab celebrated spring with a picnic at Port Dickinson Park on Wednesday May 2!
MEMORIAL DAY FUN
Submitted by: Laura Thompson
The Chenango County Day Habilitation celebrated Memorial Day on May 25 th with a fun game of kick ball followed by a picnic. All of the food was prepared in the Day Habilitation kitchen from scratch with help from staff and individuals attending the program. We were joined by some individuals from our Cutler Pond Day Hab who had fun participating in the activities for the day. The program continues to enjoy the summer with a variety of outdoor recreational activities as well as volunteer opportunities. When the weather is not as nice as we would like, we figure out how to have fun inside like a game of indoor baseball played in our recreation area.  
CLIFFHANGER HOT SAUCE
Submitted by: John Adans
Cliff Conger made his own hot sauce using a LOT of hot peppers. He entitled it; Cliffhanger Hot Sauce. Cliff has some sensory issues and requires food to have a “zing.” Cliff offered samples of his Cliffhanger sauce to others; and after tasting, taking a deep breath, and drinking some milk, they informed Cliff that the sauce definitely has some "zing".
TIOGA TADPOLES
Submitted by: Caitlin Ropp
ACHIEVE Tioga is happy to announce that they have a new addition - tadpoles! Stop by anytime to see them and learn more about the life cycle!
BUTTERFLY RELEASE
Submitted by: Nicole Wolck
Core Room 2 will be holding a Butterfly Release Memorial for Susan Axtell and Krystle Williams, both amazing ladies that we recently lost. Their celebration of life has been made for Thursday, June 14 th @ 1:00pm. We will start with a few people honoring these ladies with some kind words, followed by the butterfly release outside Core Room 2. An ice cream social will conclude the occasion, offering ice-cream cups, sugar-free ice-cream, or Jell-O.

We do ask that there be at least one staff from each room accompanying their individuals to help them out if need be. Thank you everyone and we hope to see you on the 14 th !
PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW
Submitted by: Patrick DiFlorio

Friday May 25th was my last day as Day Habilitation Specialist for CR12. I am going to Roberts Wesleyan Grad school near Rochester for the Master’s in Social Work program. I have truly enjoyed working here, mostly because of all of the people I have met and grown to know. You all are wonderful people who do some amazing work. Being here has really made me appreciate my life even more, and appreciate what I have. There are so many things to be thankful for, and point of view can make even a bad day not so bad. There are definitely some stressful and rough days, but they give me further enjoyment of the good days in comparison. Thank you for everything and for being so kind to me while working here. I will look back fondly on all my memories and wish you all the best of luck with your future endeavors!
ACHIEVE HUMAN RESOURCES
Submitted by:Jamie Striley

ACHIEVE is proud to announce the following promotions for the month of April

  • Jennifer Johnson - Family Support Services Coordinator
  • Courtney Sarpriacone - Residence Managr



to view, and apply for, any of our open positions at ACHIEVE.
2018 ACHIEVE MEMBERSHIP
Submitted by: Christa Reese
We are fortunate to have so many opportunities in our community through the programs we offer and the partnerships we have created. But there is always more we can do. We ask you to encourage local businesses to hire a person with a disability, invite people with disabilities to participate in your civic organization or community activity, or to give time or money to an organization supporting people with disabilities. Our membership campaign is an important part of our year and support helps us to continue our mission to advocate for an enhanced quality of life through skill advancement, inclusion, integration, and independence of persons with intellectual, developmental and other disabilities through services provided in Broome, Chenango and Tioga Counties.

What is ACHIEVE’S Annual Membership Campaign?
·          Each year ACHIEVE runs a membership campaign in which we ask our staff, families, people we support and the community to become a member of the agency.
·          It is only $5.00, per person, to become a member!
·          Membership lasts one full calendar year.
 
Why is ACHIEVE’S Annual Membership Campaign So Important?
·          Your support and inclusion in the agency helps people with disabilities become more independent, productive and integrated in our local community. Without your help there is less opportunity for personal growth and achievement.
·          Membership provides our agency the ability to advocate legislatively at the state and national levels. As we move forward, our agency continues to face enormous challenges given the current economic climate of our state and nation. It would be helpful for our advocacy with legislative and government officials to have the largest membership ever.

We hope you'll join ACHIEVE. Together, we will keep the vision alive of creating opportunities for individual successes.
2018 Sponsorships
8th Annual Savor the Summer
Submitted by: Bob Brazill

Here at ACHIEVE we are busy planning the 9th Annual Savor the Summer and the 2018 Binghamton Devils Charity Golf Classic. As you may know, ACHIEVE provides programs and services to 2,200 individuals with disabilities in Broome, Chenango and Tioga Counties. Our organization is growing physically and programmatically and we are asking for sponsorships to help support our organization and the individuals that we serve. Sponsorship opportunities come in in many sizes and provide you with recognition as a business that supports individuals with disabilities in our community.