Volunteer Leadership and CHADD Affiliate Awards
Each year three exemplary volunteers are chosen to receive this
award.
The 2007 volunteer leadership award recipients are:
Melanie Hatch
Melanie is a certified
Parent to Parent: Family Training on AD/HD teacher, and has
organized and taught the classes in the Utah Valley area every fall,
winter, and spring for the past three years. Three of her five children
have a diagnosis of AD/HD, as does Melanie. This has fueled her passion
for helping others. She wants to help people understand what AD/HD is
and how to work effectively with their families or students so that
successful outcomes for those with the disorder might be possible.
Melanie and her husband Dan drive more than an hour each way to attend
and preside over CHADD-Utah board meetings. She spends much more time
helping and doing for others than most ordinary people. She always does
it with a smile, and is always thinking of ways to get more help to more
people who are dealing with AD/HD.
Susan Coppel facilitates the
group by leadership without dominating the process. She inspires others
to get involved and take ownership in the process, which strengthens the
group for everyone. She is very professional, and her knowledge base is
deep and wide, but she doesn't intimidate participants. She is able
to guide a discussion from a tangent or fringe topic back to the group's
mainstream concerns.
Joan Helbing has served the community in a variety of capacities:
running the local chapter of CHADD, bringing speakers to the community
(most recently Chris Zeigler Dendy, M.S.), and providing referrals and
resources to parents and teachers. Joan is always open to helping
individuals who approach her and offers solid direction. She brings both
her personal and her professional experience to her deep empirical
knowledge of the subject. Joan is an invaluable contributor to our local
and national community.
The 2007 CHADD affiliate of year award recipients are:
Since 1997 CHADD of Caguas, Puerto Rico, has offered a place
for parents to find answers, to obtain reliable information on
which to make decisions, to learn to manage the condition, and to accept
their children. Teachers and different professionals have the
opportunity to get up-to-date information in their respective
fields in order to serve better this community. One of the assets of
Caguas CHADD is its consistency in offering support and educational
meetings on a regular basis. The Caguas chapter has a true commitment to
serve people looking for answers and hope to deal with and manage AD/HD.
In the professional community, Caguas CHADD has gained credibility
through this commitment. With the ability to make
attendees feel at home, chapter meetings are known as a
gathering place where people will not feel judged. The chapter
has organized four special conferences with special speakers from the
United States, Puerto Rico, and Argentina.
CHADD of Suffolk
County's programs are extremely strong. This CHADD chapter began
two years after CHADD was formed, and has held monthly meetings and
support groups since 1989. Today, average attendance at the chapter's
monthly meetings is approximately 75. On top of its regular schedule,
the group holds a Parent to Parent class twice per year. The group also
has a public phone line with the name of the chapter. It has
approximately 12 professional advisory board members. They
collaborate with both North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System and
Stony Brook University. Monthly programs and meetings are
advertised with the local universities and schools, as well as Long
Island autism groups and Parent Training Information Centers
(PTIs). Teachers and students attend and receive a
notice of attendance for credit. The monthly schedule includes meetings
and support groups, addressing topics for both adults with AD/HD and
parents of children with AD/HD. Two speakers are hosted five times
a year with topics specific to adult and parent needs. CHADD of
Suffolk County has very dedicated volunteers and a wonderful
coordinator, Lisa LaVardera-Guidice - a very good networker who keeps on top of state
legislation and keeps the chapter informed.
Previous CHADD Volunteer Leadership Award Winners
1993
Shari Bohnet
CHADD of Wayne & Oakland Counties, Michigan
Becky Booth
CHADD of NW Suburban Chicago
Shirley Colby
CHADD of Northern Massachusetts & Southern New
Hampshire
Maureen Gill
CHADD of Northern Virginia
1994
Lynn Harris
CHADD of St. John‘s County, Florida
Kathy Meredith
CHADD of Southeast Wisconsin
Mary Robertson
CHADD of the Bluegrass, Kentucky
1995
Guy & Susan Dunham
CHADD of York County, Pennsylvania
Beth Mollenkamp
CHADD of Greater St. Louis, Missouri
Marie Maran & Barbara DuPont
CHADD of Westchester County, New York
1996
Jeanne Hughes
CHADD of Contra Costa County, California
Sharron Rossi
CHADD of Nassau County, New York
Ellen Kosh
CHADD of Upper Bux-Mont, Pennsylvania
1997
Rae Hemphill
CHADD of Northern Virginia
Beth Kaplanek
CHADD of Suffolk County, New York
Linda Smith
CHADD of Northern Utah
1998
Roseann Egan
East Aurora/Southtowns CHADD, New York
Kay M. Gilmore
Conejo Valley CHADD, California
Belynda L. Gauthier
Louisiana Capital Area CHADD, Louisiana
1999
Betty Barfield
Mid-Missouri CHADD
Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D.
Montgomery County CHADD, Maryland
Julia Rivera
Dorado, PR CHADD, Puerto Rico
2000
Linda Brauer
Grand Rapids CHADD
Barbara O’Donnell
West Virginia Chapter of CHADD
Michael Straughan
Central Arkansas Chapter of CHADD
2001
Catherine Salva
Caguas, Puerto Rico CHADD
Carol Watkins, MD
Greater Baltimore CHADD
2002
Lew Mills, Ph.D., MFT
CHADD of Northern California
Barbara Hawkins
Greater Baltimore CHADD
Belynda Gauthier
Louisiana Capital Area CHADD
2003
Catherine Adams
Northern Virginia CHADD
Lea Burnside
West Virginia Chapter of CHADD
2004
Pam Glidden
South King County Chapter of CHADD
Barbara Hawkins and Linda Spencer
Co-Coordinators
Baltimore Area Chapter of CHADD
2005
Cindy Chapman
Kern County California
Alexis Norin
Fort Smith Arkansas
Vicki Rogers
Nassau County, NY
2006
Judy Marshall
Treasurer, Membership Chair, Secretary, Parent To Parent Training
Chair
Northern California Chapter
Beverlee Kell
Coordinator
Marin County CHADD, California
Gina Pera
Coordinator
Silicon Valley CHADD, California
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Susan Coppel
Joan Helbing
Caguas, Puerto Rico Chapter
Suffolk County CHADD Chapter, New York