INKJuly-September 2013Volume 7, No. 3

“The Right Services...To the Right People...At the Right Time!”

AWARE

By Jim Tracy

A t a recent session at Fairmont Hot Springs, Bob Paladino and managers of AWARE’s residential services sat at tables in a meeting

room, their eyes fixed on a projector screen in front of them. Displayed on the screen was a spreadsheet, or “scorecard,” one of the tools corporate management guru Paladino uses to help companies improve the way they do business.

The author of three best-selling books on corpo-

rate management and a much sought-after speaker at industry roundtables, Paladino has been working with AWARE since spring 2013 on corporate performance management, or CPM.

His client list includes companies that make every-thing from airplanes to Ziploc bags. Paladino & As-sociates has consulted with government agencies (City of Charlotte, N.C., Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Tennessee Valley Authority, U.S. Army); manufac-turers (John Deere, Johnson & Johnson, Proctor &

Corporate management expert helps AWARE keep score

September 4 was the first day of school at AWARE’s Center for Excellence Phase I school on the east edge of Anaconda.

The project is the first development in the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County East Yards subdivision. AWARE and the county are cooperating in sharing the infra-structure costs of the new Polk Street with sidewalks and street

First DayCenter for Excellencewelcomes students

See Center forExcellence on page 15

CARF teamaccredits AWARE — Page 11

Billings to hostThe Arc Conference— Page 4

Note to staffand friends — Page 2

Corporate Congressdates set— Page 10

KANA radioinstalls new transmitter— Page 16Inside...

See Corporate Performance on page 6

KXLF TV reporter Jamie Leary interviews Celina Cole at the Center for Excellence on the first day of school, Sept. 4. A reporter from ABC-Fox TV in Butte also did a story on the Center’s opening day. Photo by Jim Tracy

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AWARE initiatives true to unconditional care

AWARE Ink is published bimonthly by AWARE, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization at 205 E. Park Ave., Anaconda, MT 59711. Copy-right ©2013, AWARE Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this newsletter may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the publisher.

Please send correspondence to: jtracy@aware-inc.org

Lawrence P. Noonan, CEOGeri L. Wyant, CFOJeffrey Folsom, COOMike Schulte, CHO Board of Directors John Haffey, President Al Smith Cheryl ZobenicaEd AmbergMarlene HolayterRussell CarstensStephen AddingtonBarbara AndreozziJesse Laslovich

Editor: Jim TracyStaff writers: Tim Pray Jacquie Peterson

Dear staff and friends,

For some time, we’ve been working to identify the myriad initiatives and projects that we’ve got going on at any given moment; there are a great many moving parts. Part of the impetus to doing so was our desire to make sure that all of the work we’re doing is receiving equal levels of care, buy-in and

adherence to our Principles of Unconditional Care. Are we providing the same level of attention to a service designed for only one person as we are to a service that will provide it to 100? Through the process of looking at these efforts, we’ve found that, thanks to a super flexible and informed staff, we are indeed.

As you’ll read in this issue of Ink, we’re making a major shift in the way we communicate with one another. Colleague to colleague, manager to employee, we’re increasing attention to the right details and developing a more relevant and real-time way to ensure that we’re all aware of our organization’s goals and priorities. Further, we’re working to hold ourselves further accountable when we come up short with a family. It’s up to us to answer the question of why someone didn’t get the most from their services, and we need the right information to answer that question in an educated and pragmatic way.

For the last few years, I’ve tried to offer you an update on the progress of our Center for Excellence in Anaconda somewhere in this letter. So it is with the most genuine and immense pride that I offer you this update: As you’re reading this, we have a school

full of children in some of the most technologically advanced classrooms in the state of Montana. We built this. Through tense meetings, understandable impatience and small victories, we didn’t lose sight of the fact that we’re here to help people, their families and their communities, and that’s what this building can represent.

It’s appropriate that the energy surrounding Corporate Congress begins to grow this time of year; the Center for Excellence has been deeply influenced by the suggestions of delegates, stakeholders and families who are on the ground providing services, receiving services and supporting both. We’ve worked to refine our process every year in hopes that we can better gather the information we need to affect change in a consistently positive way.

I want to finish by encouraging people to get

The work you do works best when it is informed, purposeful and affects positive changes.

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Larry Noonan

Smelterman ‘sketch’

Sculptor Fred Boyer (left) and AWARE CEO Larry Noonan show off a “sketch” of a statue of a smelterman and his children that will adorn AWARE’s new school and Center for Excellence on the east side of Anaconda. The bronze will depict a father as he greets his son and daughter after a long day of work; they eagerly await to open his lunch pail to see the surprises he has left them. In ad-dition to the original bronze for the front of the Center for Excel-lence, Boyer and AWARE will be casting limited edition ¼-scale bronze sculptures for sale to the general public. The sculptures will retail for approximately $4,500. Full story on Page 22. Photo by Jim Tracy

involved with Corporate Congress. Whether you’re running for a delegate position or not, the process is designed to function in a full and dynamic way because of the involvement of a great cross section of the people of Montana—with or without disabilities. For those who are represented, it’s important to know that you don’t need to be a delegate to make your voice heard, and your experiences with the people and families we serve and your informed opinion brought to the table. Get a hold of your representative and tell him or her that you have something you think is important for them to consider at Congress.

Again, the work you do works best when it is informed, purposeful, and affects positive changes in our state community. We’re good at that, and once again, it was something reviewers noticed during the course of the CARF accreditation review we underwent this summer; they were struck by the level of buy-in and participation at every level of service, from direct care to administration.

Well done.

With warmest and best regards,

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By Mary CaferroThe Arc Coordinator

Self-advocates, legal ex-perts and entrepreneurs will be among the speak-

ers at The Arc Montana Conference Oct. 17 and 18 in Billings. The event will also feature the state’s first-ever Sproutflix Film Festival.

We hope the conference will be-come an annual event, bringing together people with intellectual and develop-mental disabili-ties, their fami-lies and those who teach and support them.

The goals for the conference are to provide good information for people who have intellectual disabilities and their family members. Equally important is that the conference is led by people with disabilities and their family members so they have an opportunity to hear from one another on what they believe they need in order to be successful in life.

Montanans won’t want to miss the line up of engaging speakers, informative sessions and special events.

Check out sessions on such hot topics such as:n special education and transitionn personal successn entrepreneurshipn prevention of abuse and violencen employment

Attendees will also have an opportunity to advocate for their own issues. Conference speakers include:n self-advocate and presenter

Isaac Baldry of Miles City;n self-advocate and national

Arc board member Kurt Rutzen of Minneapolis; n Dee Dee Eberle, director of

chapter organizing and advocacy for The Arc in Washington, D.C.; n Theresa Fears, director of The

Partnership 4 Safety at The Arc of Spokane; n independent living specialist

Shyla Patera of Black Eagle; n self-advocate Sabrina Wisher

of Kalispell; andn Dr. Tessie Rose Bailey, assis-

tant professor of special education at Montana State University – Bill-ings.

“It is important to me to make sure my daughter Mikayla, who has a disability, has quality of life,” said conference panelist Sabrina Wisher. “I believe The Arc can help us achieve that.”

In February 2012, AWARE Inc. became a state chapter of The Arc, marking the first time in over a decade that the national organiza-tion had a statewide presence in Montana.

“We are very excited to have such a strong partner in Montana

and look forward to working with AWARE Inc.,” Peter V. Berns, CEO of The Arc, said at the time. “The Arc’s presence will help provide individuals with intellec-tual and developmental disabilities throughout Montana a powerful voice. Working together, we will be able to serve underrepresented areas throughout the state.”

In becoming a state chapter, AWARE Inc. has been able to tap into the many resources The Arc’s National Office can provide. The Arc serves as an important resource with a number of publications, newsletters and alerts about disabil-ity policy and important updates straight from Washington, D.C. Additionally, chapters have access to The Arc’s experienced federal public policy team.

As a state chapter of The Arc, we believe in promoting and protect-ing the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and supporting their full inclusion and participation in the community.

We share The Arc’s core values of people first, equity, community, self-determination and diversity.”

For more information about the conference or The Arc Montana, please contact Mary Caferro at 406.449.3120 x24 or mcaferro@aware-inc.org.

About The ArcThe Arc advocates for and

serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), including Down syn-drome, autism, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, cerebral palsy and other diagnoses. The Arc has a network of over 700

Billings to host The Arc Montana Conference

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Mary Caferro

chapters across the country promot-ing and protecting the human rights of people with I/DD and actively supporting their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes and with-out regard to diagnosis.

Who Is The Arc? If you ever have a child, family

member or other loved one diag-nosed with any type of I/DD, you will quickly come to realize just how invaluable The Arc is, and come to appreciate in a new way all that The Arc does.

The Arc is the largest national organization of and for people with intellectual and related de-velopmental disabilities and their families, promoting and protecting their human rights and actively supporting their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.

We foster respect and access, giving people with I/DD the power to achieve a full and satisfying life through a strong grassroots net-work of 140,000 members affiliat-ed through more than 700 state and local chapters across the nation. At the national level, a 22-member national board of directors and a delegate body of representatives from each chapter guide The Arc’s work. National headquarters staff located in Washington, D.C. carry out their decisions and directives.

When was The Arc founded? The Arc was founded in 1950 by

a small group of parents and other concerned individuals. At that time, little was known about the condi-tion of intellectual disabilities (then referred to as mental retardation) or its causes; there were virtually no programs and activities in commu-nities to assist in the development

and care of children and adults with intellectual disabilities or to help support families. In the early days the organization worked to change the public’s perception of children with intellectual disabilities and to educate parents and others regard-ing the potential of people with intellectual disabilities.

The Arc also worked to obtain services for children and adults who were denied day care, pre-school, education and work pro-grams. In 2010, The Arc celebrated its 60th anniversary.

Why is The Arc needed? The Arc works to ensure that the

estimated 4.6 million Americans with intellectual and related de-velopmental disabilities have the services and supports they need to grow, develop and live in com-munities across the nation. These services include, but are not neces-sarily limited to, early intervention, health care, a free and appropriate public education, and supports for their families.

For adults, services and sup-ports may include preparation for employment, help in finding a job, independent living skill training, leisure and recreation activities and any other supports needed across the lifespan.

How does The Arc carry out its vision?

The Arc is recognized as the foremost partner for families and people with intellectual disabilities to support and enhance the quality of their lives.

The Arc does this through advocacy on behalf of individuals and families at all levels of The Arc and in the legislative, systems and individual advocacy arsenals. Providing information and techni-

cal support to individuals, families and organizations assists them in fulfilling their dreams. Advocacy takes place at the personal, local, state and national levels. Locally, individual advocacy is available through every local chapter of The Arc. At the state level, advocacy occurs with the executive and legislative branches of government, administrative agencies, school districts and other providers.

At the national level, advocacy opportunities exist with regard to influencing federal agencies, policies and funding for disability programs and services.

The Arc also educates policy-makers, people with intellectual disabilities, service providers, families and the greater community on best practices and issues that impact people with intellectual dis-abilities and their families.

The Arc’s is a national force that creates the environment and the op-portunities for people with intellec-tual disabilities and their families to have choices as they live their lives in the community.

How do I join The Arc? Please contact Mary Caferro at

406.449.3120 x24 or mcaferro@aware-inc.org.

“The idea that everyone is unhappy is untrue. Studies show that people and families do bet-ter in community settings. They become happy and satisfied with services in the community.”

— Mark J. Murphy, a lawyer with the Disabilities Law Proj-ect, responding to suggestions that former Western Center residents are doing poorly in Pennsylvania group homes.

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Gamble, Kodak, Gilette, Lockheed, Martin, Caterpillar); fast food chains (Whataburger); insurers (Blue Cross Blue Shield, Mutual of Omaha); non-profit corporations (Boy Scouts of America, Francis Tuttle Institute, Methodist Church); financial institutions (GE Capital, Bank of America) utilities (Ameri-can Electric Power, Southern Com-pany, BC Hydro); and publishers (Simon & Schuster, RR Donnelly Publishing).

And that’s just a partial list of industries he has studied and com-panies he has advised.

According to Paladino, every industry goes through turbulence. In the 1990s, for example, deregu-lation caused an upheaval in the utility industry.

“The health care sector is going

through the same kind of meta-morphic transformation as utilities did,” he said. “It’s their turn to go through this turbulence.”

As a health-care provider, Paladino said, AWARE needs to remain flexible and to leverage its strengths to benefit from changes in the industry.

Hands-on adviceThe advice he offers is hands-on,

requiring AWARE teams — like the residential services managers — to understand corporate strategy and help translate it into operation-al terms. So far he’s impressed with how they’ve responded.

“The managers and staff at AWARE embody many of the same principles other successful organi-zations have demonstrated,” Pala-dino said. “They are entrepreneur-ial. They are team-oriented. They also share a common set of values

around helping their clients.”“They grasp concepts quickly

and apply them,” he added. “They take a concept like a scorecard and immediately know how it applies to care delivery. They are firmly grounded in common sense. They’re well-educated and smart and want to adapt the scorecard as a managerial tool to improve performance.”

That’s especially important for an organization with the breadth and size of AWARE, Paladino said.

“There are complexities of coor-dinating 20 service lines,” he said. “They’ve been very good at tak-ing a complex delivery model and making it work.”

The 54-year-old Paladino, who has an MBA in finance and management from the Wharton Graduate School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in accounting, cum laude, from

AWARE residential services staff work on a “scorecard” recently at a corporate strategy session at Fairmont Hot Springs with a corporate perfor-mance expert Bob Paladino (second from right). Photo by Jim Tracy

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Corporate performanceContinued from page 1

the University of Massachusetts, be-lieves AWARE is poised for expan-sion.

“The AWARE Montana model could have broad-er applications to assist clients, customers in con-tiguous states and nationwide,” he said.

In the mean-time, he’s help-ing improve the AWARE Montana “model” using analytics, strategy maps and scorecards.

Survival modeMany companies have spent the

last few years in survival mode, but Paladino said that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be focused on new opportunities to grow. Many lead-ing organizations have actually expanded, he said.

“With revenue pressures in both public and private sectors, who has time to take on a new project such as analytics?” he asked. “On the other hand, perhaps we should be asking: Why do the organizations that implement analytics earn qual-ity awards and consistently outper-form their peers? Could there be a correlation?”

To be effective, performance management can’t reside in a binder on a shelf, he said. It has to be explained and internalized by employees.

“A company can’t focus on performance without all employees knowing how they’re performing against strategy at all times,” Pala-dino said.

His research shows that 95 per-cent of employees in most com-panies don’t understand the com-pany strategy, and that creates an obstacle to implementing strategy. Companies have to learn to lever-age the power of employees by linking and aligning their roles and responsibilities with a “balanced scorecard,” he said.

“You must clarify your strategic objectives to focus your organiza-tion on its key strategic competen-cies to accelerate people, process/ operations, customer and financial results. Avoid funding unproduc-tive strategic objectives and initia-tives. Establish clear accountabili-ties to improve implementation of your strategies.”

His firm has developed hundreds of strategy maps and balanced scorecards like the ones he and AWARE staff are putting together.

Strategy maps are intended to capture a company’s plan on one page broken down into these cat-egories: customer/patient, financial, process and employee. Strategy maps show causal linkages.

Paladino en-courages compa-nies to be linked and aligned at all levels, with related business units and support functions operat-ing in a coordi-nated manner.

“Clearly link objectives, mea-sures, targets and initiatives to drive value creation for sharehold-ers, constituents, customers and employees,” he said.

And ask key questions. Here are a few he asks every

organization he works with: How do you know what your custom-ers value from you? Do you know which customers are the most prof-itable? What company resources do they consume in dealing with your employees? What is the true cost of your shared services?

Hidden value“Many companies are shocked

to learn some key customers are unprofitable, and some depart-ments have hidden value and could actually be new service offerings to outside customers,” he said.

Paladino describes the move to a performance-management-based organization as a two- or three-year process.

“You may start with only one person and one scorecard, then build the family of related score-cards,” he said.

“None of these principles is novel in itself,” he added. “How-ever, once integrated, they form a

An example of a strategy map in the making.

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Continued on Page 22

8

By Jim Tracy

When Flight 93 slammed into a field in Pennsyl-

vania on Sept. 11, 2001, killing the 40 passengers and crew on board, Bob Paladino was prepar-ing a client report to send out in what started out as a normal day.

“The crash happened not too far my house,” recalled Paladino, a former corporate executive and longtime leader in corporate performance man-agement. “I heard of the brav-ery of the passengers and crew who resisted the terrorists and was touched by their sacrifice. We have to remember them for selflessly recognizing that this plane was destined for the White House and the Capitol. They gave themselves for a greater cause. It is something we can’t forget. We have to remember it for their kids and our kids.”

Contributing to a cause greater than oneself is a big part of Pala-dino’s message to business leaders who have hired him to improve how they manage their companies.

‘What we give’The message is reflected in a

quote on his corporate website: “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” (Sir Winston Churchill)

A section of the site is devoted to “Principled Living” — giving back to the community. Paladino’s com-pany tithes donations to numerous non-profit organizations dedicated to educating, honoring, defending, healing and helping fellow Ameri-cans.

Among those are the Flight 93 Memorial and Salute America’s Heroes.

So strongly does Paladino be-lieve in Flight 93 Memorial and Salute America’s Heroes that he donates royalties form his best-selling books to those causes.

“You have to be balanced,” he said in a recent interview. “You can’t just be focused on your own personal outcomes.”

Paladino, who earned letters in four sports at his high school in Needham, Mass., believes one of the ways you achieve balance is through education — being curi-ous about the world around you, a notion instilled in him by his father and mother, Albert and Dorothy.

His father, Dr. Albert Paladino, earned a Ph. D. from MIT and is credited with many patents and

starting numerous companies. His mother, a registered nurse, enrolled in college when she was 16 and was the household CEO managing four siblings.

“Both of my parents were well educated,” Paladino said. “They valued learning. They told me I should always have a curious mind. They also val-ued hard work. They believed in learning and applying it in practice.”

At 54, Paladino is still on a mission to learn about the world around him.

His firm advises boards of directors and executives around the world. He con-tributes to research projects at several institutes and has established dozens of corpo-rate performance management

offices for leading companies. He is a highly sought-after presenter at industry and trade events and executive roundtables and has spoken about corporate manage-ment in more than 60 cities across the globe.

Continuing educationHe’s also an insatiable reader,

preferring magazines and trade journals because they’re more cur-rent.

“I’m constantly looking for trends,” he said. “It’s a balancing act between journals that are short and punctual and books that take longer to come to print,” he said.

Among the periodicals on his desk are the Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance, Strategic Finance, Business Performance Magazine, and his favorite, Har-vard Business Review. He also reads journals from various indus-

Bob Paladino

Giving back should be part of corporate strategy

9

tries: finance, health care, transpor-tation, energy, manufacturing — whatever catches his imagination and is relevant to his clients.

While he may not have the time to read all the books he’d like, he has written three books himself: Five Key Principles of Corporate Performance Management; Innova-tive Corporate Performance Man-agement — Five Key Principles to Accelerate Results; and Corporate Performance Management — A Case Study Approach to Accelerat-ing CPM Results.

Paladino believes it’s important to study history and the men and women who made history.

“Leaders through time have provided inspiration and interesting insights,” he said. “I think it would be a great idea if the education system would encourage students to study leaders.”

Among the leaders he has studied are two close to his home in Pittsburgh: 19th century cap-tains of industry Thomas Mellon, a banker and financier, and steel magnate and philanthropist An-drew Carnegie.

Inspired by FranklinMellon himself, at age 14, read

the The Autobiography of Benja-min Franklin and became inspired by Franklin’s rags-to-riches tale.

“You need to develop an ap-preciation of history and how we got here,” Paladino said. “History repeats itself.”

For example, he compares 19th century oil companies that made transporting goods cheaper and easier with and 20th and 21st cen-tury companies like Microsoft and Apple that have made it cheap and easy to transfer information.

Paladino has been meeting peri-odically with AWARE management and staff for nearly a year.

He holds an MBA in finance and management from the Whar-ton Graduate School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA degree in accounting, cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts. He and his wife El-len (the Amazon.com bio calls her “wife 1.0”) have a son and daughter, both in college, and two dogs. The same Amazon bio says he enjoys running, cycling, skiing “and hopes to get better at golf.”

Autumn is always a contempla-tive time for Paladino. As he does every September, he revisited the Flight 93 memorial site.

“I go there on September 12 ev-ery year,” he said. “It’s quieter then. You can be more reflective. The marching bands have left.”

Soft sellTroy Miller, who works at AWARE’s HOPE Collectibles & Antiques, chats with a couple of women about Apos-trophe magazine at the Montana Folk Festival in Butte in July. Miller gave away dozens of magazines to people who passed by Apostrophe’s booth at the festival. Photo by Jim Tracy

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By Tim Pray

As a result of 2012’s Corporate Congress Elections Act, an interim

committee of delegates from last year’s congress was formed to refine some of the ways the work of delegates leading up to the event itself is conducted.

The interim committee met each month beginning in January, and their first priority was to extend the length of the term of a Corporate Congress delegate. The second pri-ority was to significantly increase the amount of time in between their election and the Corporate Congress event itself. The commit-tee then presented their finalized suggestions to the Development Team, where they were approved. Here was the rationale behind each of their suggestions:

For increasing the term lengths for Corporate Congress delegates:

1. Term lengths are currently two years.

2. Interim Committee members recommend changing the term length to three years. This will allow delegates to develop more familiarity with the process of Cor-porate Congress, resulting in:

a. Greater involvement in lead-ership positions. For example, a delegate could observe and famil-

iarize themselves with the process their first year, serve as a commit-tee chair the second year and step up as a caucus leader in their third year.

b. More opportunities to mentor new delegates. With the increase in term lengths (and an attendant change in the election schedule), members of the Interim Commit-tee will mentor first-year delegates through video-conferencing and a welcome packet describing the CC process and bill writing/develop-ment, enabling new delegates to hit the ground running.

c. Better quality control in the writing and development of bills. As delegates experience bills mov-ing through committees and cau-cuses they will observe the char-acteristics of a well-developed bill and also learn to avoid redundant topics or issues that are best ad-dressed in arenas other than Corpo-rate Congress.

d. Increased engagement and a smoother running session. As del-egates become more familiar with the process, more opportunities for delegate engagement and participa-tion are created and a greater op-portunity for a well-run session.

Incumbent delegates (those entering their second and third years) must continue to issue a ballot, even if theirs is the only name on it, as a way to inform their

constituency that they indeed have representation. Contact information for the incumbent delegates will be posted on the ballot.

For altering the Corporate Con-gress timeline:

The Interim Committee has developed a timeline in order to provide adequate time for delegates to produce quality bills that will directly affect the consumers of AWARE services in a positive way. It gives each community time to produce candidates as well as to campaign for the best quality repre-sentative before the election day on October 1.

After the election, the Interim Committee has proposed a series of video conferences, which will allow for new and returning dele-gates to engage in discussion about bills and about the process of Cor-porate Congress. This will help to eliminate repeat bills and will also help to direct focus on how Cor-porate Congress bills can directly affect the services we provide to consumers.

Any employee wishing to run for a spot as a delegate at Corporate Congress is encouraged to ap-proach their supervisor and inform them of their intent.

AWARE’s Corporate Congress will convene at Fairmont Hot Springs on Dec 4-6, 2013.

CARF International has accredited AWARE for a period of three years for its mental health and developmental disabilities programs.

The latest accreditation represents accreditations going back to 1996 that the international accrediting body, CARF, has awarded to AWARE.

This accreditation deci-sion represents the high-est level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows the organization’s substantial conformance to the CARF standards.

An organization receiving a three-year accreditation has put it-self through a rigorous peer review process. It has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit its commitment to offer-ing programs and services that are measurable, accountable and of the highest quality.

CARF is an independent, non-profit accrediting body whose mis-sion is to promote the quality, value and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accredita-tion process and continuous im-provement services that center on enhancing the lives of the persons served.

Founded in 1966 as the Com-mission on Accreditation of Re-habilitation Facilities, and now known as CARF International, the accrediting body establishes consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services. For more information

about the accreditation process, visit the CARF website at carf.org.

In its summary of results, CARF lauded AWARE for hav-ing “strengths in many areas.” The commendations in the survey report go on for three pages.

The surveyors noted, for ex-ample, that AWARE provides a wide array of services for persons with mental health and intellectual disabilities throughout Montana “in attractive, well-maintained facili-ties that are accessible to persons needing services.”

They praised the organization’s “strong leadership that embraces the values and mission of the orga-nization.”

“The board of directors and the CEO represent many years of service to the organization,” the surveyors said. “Together, they pro-vide vision, leadership, direction, and structure to the organization. Their leadership is respected and visible in day-to-day operations to persons served and personnel

throughout the organiza-tion.”

They also praised the organization for its un-conditional care values, calling them “the driving force behind all decision-making.”

“AWARE is a thriving and growing organiza-tion,” the surveyors said. “The administration has made a name for itself throughout the state of Montana for being creative and developing quality community-based services for persons with challeng-ing mental, emotional, and intellectual needs. Wrap-

around services are designed to ensure that persons served achieve maximum independence, produc-tivity, and integration into the com-munity.”

The surveyors commended AWARE for “ its person-centered, holistic approach to services that emphasizes empowerment and ensures that persons served and families have the necessary ser-vices and supports to be successful in all phases of their lives.”

The organization also got high marks for initiating innovative pro-grams and services, including Farm in the Dell in Great Falls, Growth Thru Art in Billings, the KANA radio station in Anaconda, HOPE Collectible store and Anaconda Recycling.

The surveyors singled out the Center for Excellence for being a “state-of-the-art building has been designed to maximize technology, space, recreational areas, and voca-

AWARE awarded three-year CARF Accreditation

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Continued on next page

tional readiness training opportuni-ties.”

AWARE’s affiliation with The Arc also drew praise.

AWARE “is a strong advocate for persons with serious mental illness and intellectual disabilities,” the surveyors said. “The admin-istration recognized the need for stronger and more visible advocacy for employment and social equal-ity issues throughout the state of Montana.

“To address this need, AWARE recently aligned itself with The Arc, the world’s largest advo-cacy and support organization for persons with disabilities. The organization will serve as the state chapter for The Arc’s national orga-nization to advocate for individuals with disabilities and their family members.”

Other survey findings: � The administration is also

collaborating with Bob Paladino & Associates, LLC in developing a corporate performance manage-ment system that uses the balanced scorecard approach. These ac-tivities include strategic planning, organizational participation, and developing clear accountabilities to all areas of the organization. The organization is also looking to in-clude an incentive and recognition plan for employees who achieve performance goals.

� The organization has com-prehensive, well-written policies and procedures that provide direc-tion to personnel in the provision of services.

� The human resource depart-ment provides an employee hand-book for all personnel. The booklet is well designed and provides each employee with information on the policies, philosophies, practices,

and benefits of AWARE. � The organization has an

excellent training program for its employees. Training modules cover a wide range of topics and equip each employee with the skills nec-essary to support persons served in a respectful manner.

� AWARE has established an unparalleled network of mental health professionals throughout the state of Montana who are supervised by a competent medi-cal director who is also a licensed psychiatrist. The organization is committed to access and strives to provide psychiatry to even the most rural areas of the state through tele-psychiatry and video conferencing. This organized system of therapeu-tic medical and psychiatric treat-ment has assisted persons served in maintaining optimal physical and mental health. Of particular note is the annual Big Sky Psychiatry Conference that is hosted by the organization for all of the psychia-trists throughout the state of Mon-tana.

� AWARE is commended for its media and public affairs divi-sion that publishes AWARE Ink, a bimonthly publication that reports success stories and information about the organization’s services to persons served, family members, and other interested stakehold-ers. The division also publishes Apostrophe, a national magazine that focuses on abilities rather than disabilities. Apostrophe is a profes-sionally designed magazine that highlights best practices in the field and is distributed throughout many outlets across the country.

� The organization is recog-nized for developing AWARE’s En-terprise Learning Center, a compre-hensive program to enrich aspects of the lives of youth with autism.

This program has been developed with the sole intention of provid-ing an environment of therapeutic programs, education, and an under-standing of the detailed needs of youth with autism spectrum disor-der (ASD).

� AWARE has partnered with the local public schools to provide on-site mental health services to children and youth to address pro-social skill development without removing these individuals from the school setting. Parents and fam-ilies are encouraged to participate in services to improve outcomes and enhance the well-being of the persons served.

� The commitment and skills of staff members are trademarks of the organization. Dedication to their jobs is remarkable. The staff members serve as positive role models for persons served and as a resource for the community at large.

� The organization is dedicated to serving individuals experiencing complex challenges. The tenacity shown by staff while supporting these individuals has resulted in successful recovery.

� Families expressed satisfac-tion with the services provided. Stories of lives “falling apart” have been replaced with hope and enthu-siasm about future plans.

� AWARE is recognized for its dedication to the persons served and its commitment to affording persons served a typical life. One example of this is its collaboration with NeighborWorks, a program that provides opportunities for home ownership through its part-nership with local businesses to establish a home ownership fund.

� Persons served state that AWARE is staffed by well-trained and dedicated staff members who

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go far beyond the usual to make the services extraordinary. Staff is always willing to help persons served with things to make their lives rich and happy. They assist with finding resources so persons served can go to the prom, have Thanksgiving dinner, and also have holiday presents. One person stated that they have kind hearts, are very patient, and go far beyond what they had hoped for.

� Funders and referral sources state that AWARE takes the really hard cases others will not accept, is a real “team player,” always fol-lows up on everything it promises, and is willing to accept challenges to be the best program possible.

� AWARE has a Corporate Congress, which is a unique pro-gram for receiving input from staff from all locations and programs. Delegates are elected and present bills at the annual meeting, which, if passed, become part of the orga-nization’s policy and practice.

� The organization has done a thorough and diligent job of hir-ing staff, and, as a result, has put together a staff that is committed to the mission and goals of the organi-zation and to making life better for the persons it serves.

� The organization makes good use of training and materials in support of its commitment to the provision of services consistent with evidence-based practices.

� Programs are operated by a group of caring, competent, professional staff members who take obvious pride in the delivery of quality supports and who dem-onstrate satisfaction in the effec-tiveness of the programs and the benefits of recovery as reflected in the progress of persons served.

� The medical director of the organization has developed

a strong peer review process to constantly review and monitor the medications being used by the organization’s doctors to ensure that persons served are receiving state-of-the-art medications and that the results of these medications are helping these individuals move their lives in a positive direction.

� The community housing sites are located in residential neighbor-hoods and are well maintained, and the individual rooms are indi-vidually decorated by the persons served to reflect their character and living style.

� An innovative plan of 30-minute phone calls between group homes ensures that overnight staff is alert and doing well.

� The board-certified behav-ioral analyst staff members who develop and supervise program implementation for persons served in the autism spectrum disorder group homes are industrious. They provide excellent supervision and program modeling in addition to program change as needed based on empirically reliable data collec-tion methods.

� AWARE staff members working in the autism programs are assisted in keeping up to date on information and successful trends through a well-developed relation-ship with the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore.

� Community cooperation was seen in Anaconda that included a hot lunch program for preschool children in the eight-week summer program, backpacks of food for hungry families, contributions of fruit for the children and access to a variety of community businesses and services.

� The director of the behavior-al health program in the Anaconda area was appointed by the governor to the state educational advisory council.

� Throughout the organiza-tion, there is a beneficial and strong partnership with Head Start that increases access to ongoing thera-peutic programming for preschool children. One Head Start direc-tor interviewed stated she could choose from four organizations with which to associate and she chose AWARE.

� Families report satisfaction with services from AWARE staff. They report that staff listens to their concerns; adjusts services; and when necessary, encourages feedback.

� Staff members in the resi-dential programs for individuals with autism are consistently apply-ing programs designed to increase independence in a variety of skill levels. The persons served receive state-of-the-art behavioral attention and interventions that focus on use-

ful skills for functioning in both the home and the community.

� Direct service staff in the autism residential program is well trained and well educated. The requirements for employment in these positions serve to increase the likelihood of programmatic understanding and ability.

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AWARE’s administration recognized the need for stronger and more visible advocacy for employment and social equality issues throughout the state of Montana. — CARF surveyors

“

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By Chad BushmanAWARE Training Coordinator

Training opportunities continue to expand for AWARE employees. In

the last quarter, three improvements have been initiated. Specifically, the changes include: 1.) Creating the Measuring Vital Signs course; 2.) Revamping Basic Intervention Skills instruction; and 3.) Improv-

ing and expanding the content of Administra-tion Training.

These changes highlight the continued commitment to AWARE employee education.

AWARE employees now have the oppor-tunity for extra instruction during the CPR/First Aid core course. Specifically, training is now being given on the proper procedures for measuring client vital signs.

Appropriate methodsFor many, these procedures are

commonplace; however, there are a few who are unfamiliar with the appropriate methods. This new training addition is designed for AWARE employees to receive the necessary skills to establish the basic foundation for measuring and recording vital signs.

Additionally, employees will be instructed on recording the mea-surements on the newly standard-ized CLIENT VITALS FORM.

The new form can be found on the AWARE Intranet. It will be the sole form for recording vital signs.

The second modification is revamping the Basic Intervention Skills course. The most obvious sign is the name change. No longer will the course be known as BIS, but rather it is now titled AWARE Behavior Competencies (ABC). However, the essence of the modi-fication is deeper than a mere name change. The purpose for the trans-formation is two-fold. The first is capturing the essence or the core competencies for the care and treat-ment of persons served—the course offers instruction on the basics, hence the alignment with utilizing ABC.

The second is the commitment to provide two ABC instructors per community. Upon success-ful completion of the classroom portion of training, employees will be required to complete a self-assessment on their comprehension of the training material. Having two instructors in each community ensures availability to answer ques-tions or handle any concerns after completion of academics.

The third change involves ad-ministrative training. Over the past year this course has expanded the amount and quality of information offered to attendees.

Training has evolved from a class for supervisors aimed at a brief introduction to various admin-istrative requirements to an oppor-tunity to discuss leadership issues, highlight supervisor hurdles and interact with corporate personnel.

The primary purpose, to help supervisors get off to the right start, has expanded to providing the tools

to assist them and those under their charge succeed, as well as ensuring those they serve are able to excel.

In keeping with the spirit of improvement, the Oct. 28 class has been expanded to a two-day course. Information added to the training itinerary includes Practical Tech-niques for Applicant Interviews and How to Properly Write an Incident Report.

The course has evolved from a mere recap of administrative duties to include an orientation of infor-mation to help supervisors thrive. Therefore, to capture the essence of the course, the name has also been changed; it is now titled Supervisor Orientation.

Training requestsAWARE employees have re-

quested additional training and educational opportunities. To answer their call, the Measuring Vital Signs course, AWARE Behav-ior Competencies and an improved Supervisor Orientation are now available.

Offering the right services to the right people at the right time starts with employees taking advantage of training opportunities and apply-ing the lessons learned. Any ques-tions about AWARE educational opportunities should be directed to any of the training coordinators.

Employee training expanded, improved

Chad Bushman

“I was, on the whole, considerably

discouraged by my school days. It

was not pleasant to feel oneself so

completely outclassed and left be-

hind at the beginning of the race.”

— Sir Winston Churchill

Hands-on training

Sharati Pia, an associate in accounts payable, demonstrates the proper use of a fire extin-guisher as part of AWARE’s ongoing training. Use “PASS” to remember the technique: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the lever slowly and Sweep from side to side. Photo by Chad Bushman

Dean Rollins performs rescue breathing on a practice manikin. He along with nine other AWARE work services employees participated in a continuing education class in Anaconda at the corporate office Aug. 19, 2013. Each participant learned basic first aid, adult and child CPR, and AED. The participants received a certificate of completion through AWARE. Tim Hahn, instructor, said the class is part of a Corporate Congress bill introduced by the Anaconda work services consumers to learn basic life saving skills and first aid. The class for the work services employees features the same American Heart Association CPR/AED and first aid curriculum that is taught to every AWARE employee, but it included more hands-on training. Photo by Jacquie Peterson

lighting to help create a welcoming new community gateway to Ana-conda.

This specialized school is part of AWARE’s services that have histori-cally been provided at the old Galen campus and moved to Anaconda in 2012. These intensive community-based services support Montana chil-dren and youth with complex needs related to disabilities to be success-ful living in the community. These AWARE specialized services help respond to the individual needs of each child and provide an opportunity to stay at home in Montana near their home communities and families.

The quality environment will com-plement to AWARE’s best-practices, research-based support services.

The Center for Excellence school is designed to provide a boost to stu-dents’ educational and career training goals. The new school is an espe-cially welcoming environment full of natural light and soothing, calming colors creating an attractive school setting.

Students, teachers and staff have access to innovative technology to bolster their educational and other needs, including Smart Boards, iPads and laptops with access to state-of-the-art learning software.

Students will have their own lockers, cafeteria, indoor basketball court and play area and other regular school features. The school is fur-nished with tastefully designed, attractive and sturdy desks and other furniture.

The building exterior provides a new dramatic landmark for Anacon-da’s entry way with rich architectural stonework and tasteful color finishes. The school tower and kite-like roof lines are intended to help keep stu-dents, staff and the Anaconda com-munity aspiration’s reaching for the

Center for ExcellenceContinued from page 1

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Continued on Page 17

Transition to digital boosts signal strength, improves efficiency

Big changes and improvements are on the horizon for Anaconda’s only community radio station.

The Mighty KANA 580 AM, a community radio station offering Copperhead Sports programming, a classic hits genre of music and po-litical talk show host Sean Hannity, has just taken another huge step toward a bigger, better and broader product for its listeners.

Last week, KANA engineer Ron Huckeby removed the original transmitter installed in the 1960s by Western Broadcasting and

integrated a newer, more efficient model that is optimized specifically for AM radio broadcasting.

The biggest difference between both transistors is efficiency. While the old model was a bulky and stationary model measuring 3’x 3’x 6’, weighing nearly 700 pounds and requiring the use of nine vacuum tubes to generate the power needed for broadcasting the 1000-watt signal, the new Nautel J1000 model is as green as you can get.

At just about two feet tall and weighing less than 100 pounds, the J1000 employs a computer control system and uses high-efficiency field effect transistors to produce the same transmitter power as the

one it replaces. “With no vacuum tubes and

modern circuitry, the Nautel trans-mitter will use 30-50 percent less electricity than the existing trans-mitter, and (it) does not require semiannual replacement of ex-pensive vacuum tubes to maintain optimum performance,” Huckeby said.

Huckeby added that the new transmitter will dramatically increase the quality of the signal broadcast throughout the listening area.

“It will provide audio with less distortion than the tube transmit-ter,” he said. “Additionally, the station is installing a new audio processor, which should improve

A delegation from the Anaconda Chamber of Commerce helps AWARE CEO Larry Noonan cut the ribbon on the refurbished KANA Radio office at 105 Main St. Left to right are Edith Franzen, Shirley Cortwright, Pat Noonan (KANA general manager), Larry Noonan, Mike Schulte (AWARE chief habilitation officer), Dottie Zimmerman, Jacquie Peterson (AWARE media specialist), Blake Hempstead (KANA station manager), Melissa Hempstead, Stacy Leipheimer and Teri Krakowka.

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KANA radio installs new transmitter

KANA Radio engineer Ron Huckeby installs a new, more efficient transmitter recently, replacing a model that was installed in the 1960s . The new transmitter is optimized for AM radio broadcast-ing. Photo by Blake Hempstead

the on-air sound substantially.”When operating at its peak,

KANA has been heard loud and clear from Whitehall to Philipsburg and Helena to the Big Hole Valley. Expect that to become an even bet-ter listening experience from now on.

“Fringe listening areas that have

marginal signals should notice an improvement in their listening experience,” Huckeby said.

KANA 580 AM is owned and operated by AWARE Business Net-work, and is located at 105 Main St. in Anaconda. For more informa-tion on the station, contact Blake or Pat at 406.563.7119.

sky.The project will include beautifully

landscaped grounds with a picnic shelter, gardens and a variety of areas to help kids be physically active and healthy.

The activity areas include a bas-ketball court and other sports court, swing sets and tether ball play area, and a full-size sports and activity field. In the future, the project site will connect to other developments and walkways so that the AWARE project amenities can be enjoyed by the whole community and help foster the growth of the overall East Yards master plan.

AWARE has received community support for its efforts, particularly its development partnership with Anaconda-Deer Lodge County. The project financing through the USDA Rural Development community facil-ities program and Glacier Bank, and the generous foundation support from the Treacy Foundation of Helena, and the corporate support of Arco/BP have all contributed to making the new school facility truly a Center for Excellence.

As expected, AWARE’s develop-ment is now leading to other develop-ment interest in the East Yards subdi-vision to the benefit to the Anaconda community. Shopko has proposed a retail development across from the new AWARE school. The initial phas-es of a new Shopko and other retail development could be completed by the fall of 2014.

The AWARE Center for Phase I is part of a multi-stage development for the East Yards property that includes plans for an outpatient services, and vocational and career training center to the north. AWARE envisions fos-tering interest in building a new com-munity gymnasium and recreational center on the south end of the prop-erty as well as part of the AWARE master development plan.

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Continued from Page 15

Shrine Game paradeAWARE’s transit bus rolls up Park Street in Butte, bringing up the rear of the East-West Shrine Game July 21. AWARE was a major sponsor of the game. Photo by Bryon Higgins

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The grievance procedure card is an educational tool created for the people served by AWARE. In July, each AWARE office and house was asked to place this business card-sized tool in an area where the people we serve and staff can easily access it.

This new tool describes the four-step process the people we serve can follow if they have questions or complaints about the care they receive. It also includes contact information to organizations that support self-advocates, including The Arc Montana, Disability Rights Montana and PLUK.

The grievance procedure card is a great tool for staff to educate clients during intake and quarterly care plan reviews. It is also an excellent resource that the people we serve and staff can refer to during a time of crisis. It’s recommended that staff explain the purpose of the cards to each individual, so they learn how to advocate for themselves.

The grievance procedure care is an effort to tie AWARE’s Unconditional Care Principles and its belief in advocacy together.

Grievance procedure tool promotes self-advocacy in homes/offices

DK Arts — Dylan Kuehl and his mother, Terri Rose, sold jewelry and photos at the DK Arts booth. Photos by Jim Tracy

EntrepreneurAlley at TheArc ConferenceNearly 600 people with intellec-tual and developmental disabili-ties, their families, chapters and members of The Arc from across the country enjoyed three days of informative sessions and special events at the national conference Aug. 2-5 in Bellevue, Wash. The Marketplace, where Apostrophe magazine staffed a booth, drew more than two dozen businesses from across the country. Here are a few snapshots of entrepreneurs, who sold everything from jewelry to photographs to greeting cards.

AE Designs by Lupita — Gina Bravo De Rueda (Lupita’s niece), Venus Bravo De Rueda (Lu-pita’s sister) and Lupita Cano sold abstract paintings, prints, cards and gifts at their table.

Nature City Photography — Tim Carter and his mother, Cindy, greeted a steady stream of folks who stopped to enjoy Tim’s photos.

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Family of boy with autismreceives shockinly offensive letter MEREDITH BENNETT-SMITH [Huffington Post]

A disturbing letter targeting a teen with autism has shaken the boy’s family and rallied the local commu-nity to their defense. The anonymous note was sent to 13-year-old Max’s grandmother’s house in Newcastle, Ontario, according to Meredith Bennett-Smith of The Huffington Post.

A photo shows the signed letter from, “One pissed off mother,” referring to Max as a neighborhood “nui-sance,” “retarded” and a “dreadful” noise polluter.

The photo of the letter was tweeted by YouTube stars Lennon and Maisy, who identify themselves as family friends, reports The Huffington Post.

“Personally, they should take whatever non retarded [sic] body parts he possesses and donate it to science. What the hell else good is he to anyone!!!” the letter reads.

“Do the right thing and move or euthanize him!! Either way we are ALL better off!!!”

To read the letter or to watch a video about this story, look for it online at huffingtonpost.com.

Ohio bakery employs adults with developmental disabilitiesKACY STANDOHAR [WFMJ.com]

A bakery in Poland, Ohio, celebrated its grand opening with a special group of workers, according to an August 25 article found at WFMJ.com.

Crumbles Bakery on Youngstown Poland Road is operated by people who attend disability services at Turning Point Residential and No Limits Alterna-tives. According to the WFMJ.com website, they’re all adults with developmental disabilities. But that doesn’t stop them from creating and packaging some sweet treats.

WFMJ.com reports that bakery assistant Elizabeth Sweed says the adults are learning more than just recipes.

“We are trying to instill in them the goals to achieve the running of a business. From cleaning to creating, we work with them everyday to go over recipes, to learn to measure, to learn to package and do all the

NEWS BRIEFS Compiled by Jacquie Peterson

things that they each are capable of doing,” Sweed says.

Sweed says she hopes they each feel important while seeking out their individual strengths.

Read more about the bakery at WFMJ.com.

A classroom sprouts up in Columbia FallsDILLON TABISH [Flathead Beacon]

Sherry Lewis-Peterson of Columbia Falls, Mont., dirtied up to her elbows and powdered in dust, dug her hands into the sundried soil.

One by one, she cupped out handfuls until there was a small hole, a new home for a trellis and future grape vine.

Lewis-Peterson spent the morning planting under the summer sun, surrounded by plots of budding farm-land and her son, Hunter, and daughter, Olivia, who both helped nearby.

According to the Flathead Beacon, the Columbia Falls mother is trying to grow a new school for chil-dren with autism and special needs.

Her vision — the nonprofit Farming for the Future Academy — is centered on agriculture and special education programs based around individual abilities and needs.

Inspired by her son who has autism, Lewis-Peterson came up with the Farming for the Future Academy, an outdoor learning center where people with autism could focus on a core curriculum as well as pursue individual goals and interests.

To learn more about Farming for the Future Acad-emy, log on to farmingforthefutureacademyinc.org. Also, find the complete story about the farm at flat-headbeacon.com.

Children with special needs forced to sit on train floor so they didn’t disturb first classKELLY ROSE BRADFORD [PARENTDISH.CO.UK]

Children with special needs were told by a train manager to sit on the floor of the train, so they didn’t ‘spoil’ the journey of passengers in first class, reports Kelly Rose Bradford of ParentDish.co.uk.

According to the report, the children – from the

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Stage Right Theatre Group – were traveling back to Motherwell, Scotland, from a visit to the Edinburgh Fringe festival when they boarded the packed Cross-Country train.

The people who care for the children were forced to make them sit on the floor outside the toilets. Upon seeing a near-empty carriage, the caretakers asked the train manager if they could instead be seated there. They were then told that the first-class passengers ‘do not need the likes of your children spoiling their journey.’

The Metro reports that even though other families with standard tickets were being allowed into first class, the female manager would not be swayed. She is further reported to have threatened to throw the entire group off the train if they didn’t stop ‘talking’ to her.

The complete story can be found at parentdish.co.uk.

Sign language conference brings awareness[ABC FOX MONTANA]

The Montana Council on Developmental Disabili-ties held a sign language course for anyone and every-one to learn more about disabilities Aug. 8, 2013 in Missoula, reports ABC Fox Montana.

Twenty-three years after The Americans with Dis-abilities Act brought civil rights to millions of Ameri-cans, advocates for disabled individuals say the coun-try still needs a lesson on how to better interact.

Missoulians had that chance with comprehensive training on The American Disabilities Act of 1990 and interacting with people who have disabilities.

The training was given by Cindy Powell, who touched on ADA laws, how to effectively commu-nicate with people who are disabled, business tax incentives and disability etiquette. All topics to better educate the general public.

“You need to concentrate on the person and the dis-ability secondary. That is just a small part of who the person is, so we want to talk about what is the appro-priate language to use when referring to people with disabilities,” Cindy Powell said.

To read the complete story and watch a video, go to abcfoxmontana.com.

Michigan mother addresses city council over therapy chickensANTHONY SABELLA [WILX 10]

Laura Anderson told the Perry City Council in Road Lansing, Mich., her argument is simple, reports Anthony Sabella of WILX 10.

“They are not pets. They are therapy animals,” she said.

For the past several months, Anderson’s five-year-old daughter Katelyn, who suffers from cerebral palsy, has used chickens that live on a small urban farm across the street as a means of therapy. They’ve helped her walk and progress much farther than doctors thought possible, but the farm is moving, and An-derson wants to keep eight chickens to continue that progress.

“I hope she doesn’t end up regressing like I know she has in the past,” said Anderson about Katelyn.

Last month, Anderson’s first attempt to resolve the issue ended with Zoning Administrator Leland Scott advising her to request a variance on the city’s pet ordinance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The ordinance allows chickens, but not the full-sized ones that Anderson wants to keep. But Anderson says therapy chickens aren’t pets and that’s what she told the council.

Find the complete story and video at WILX.com.

Woman with Down syndrome undergoes painful surgery on her feet to continue dancing[CBS LOS ANGELES]

A Van Nuys, Calif., woman with Down syndrome is going through a painful surgical process on her feet in order to continue pursuing her passion of dancing, according to CBS Los Angeles article and video at losangeles.cbslocal.com.

Susie Schallert, 46, lights up on the dance floor. “I’m a dancing fool. I am a lucky dancer. It is my

dream to be in a show,” she said. As a teen, Susie’s feet stopped growing and bunions

started reshaping her toes. “They’re bad, they’re bad. She has toes on top of

toes and bunions that look like golf balls on the sides, and the joints are gone. Can you imagine?” her sister Patty said.

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Rough ‘sketch’ of smelterman and his kids.

Noted sculptor working with AWAREFinished statue would grace Center for Excellence holistic and more dynamic way to

manage.” Paladino believes what success-

ful organizations have in common is strategic self-knowledge: they set goals, understand their own perfor-mance against them and can act on this insight.

“The best ideas come from the field, from the people doing the work,” he said. “To get their insight on what to measure, you must engage and involve them. This be-comes cyclical and symbiotic: their insight informs measurement and their involvement helps them see their role in strategy.”

Agreeing on measuresOnce measures are agreed on,

people need to own them, in whole or in part, he said.

“Your HR department will recognize that there will be learn-ing and transition,” he said. “Some people will be happy to take on the responsibility. Some less so. And some will like CPM so much, they’ll want to grow into a leader-ship role. So you’re building future leaders.”

He has also found that taking on too many projects hurts employee satisfaction, service levels, opera-tions and revenue.

“Use analytics on project and fi-nancial data to trim down and focus projects, focusing limited resources on those with the highest impacts,” he said.

He compares the process he uses to building a house. The founda-tion, is starting with good people and values, the structure consists of key processes and the roof consists of customer and financial outcomes. AWARE, he said, has a strong foundation to build on.

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By Richard SaravalliDevelopment Director

AWARE is pleased and excited to announce our col-laboration with Montana’s renowned artist Fred Boyer.

Fred has graciously agreed to design and create a full-size and ¼-size bronze sculpture that will adorn the entrance of AWARE’s new school and Center for Excellence on the east side of Anaconda, AWARE’s corporate headquarters. The bronze will depict a father, as he greets his son and daughter after a long day of work; they eagerly await to open his lunch pail to see the surprises he has left them.

In addition to the original bronze for the front of the Center for Excellence, Boyer and AWARE will be casting limited edition ¼-scale bronze sculptures for sale to the general public. The sculptures will retail for approxi-mately $4,500.

Boyer has traveled the world but he has always remained close to his roots in Anaconda, where he grew up, went to high school and then on to major in art education at Mon-tana State University. After gradu-ating from Montana State Univer-sity, Fred moved to Sitka, Alaska, where he taught art in the public schools and worked as a hunting guide in the summers.

While Boyer loves and still guides in Alaska, Montana kept calling him home and he returned to the Big Sky State and taught art in public schools for 14 years.

While still teaching and working as a smoke jumper for the Forest Service, Boyer worked tirelessly to honing and improving his art and in 1983 became a “full-time artist.”

Since then, he has established himself and won widespread rec-ognition in the art world. He has been the featured artist at many art shows since his works were first admitted to the prestigious C.M.Russell Western Art Auction in Great Falls, Montana. Fred’s works can be seen at many galler-ies shows around the world.

For more information regarding the bronze sculptures or to make a general donation to AWARE contact Richard Saravalli at 406.449.3120 or email at rsaraval-li@aware-inc.org.

Corporate performanceContinued from page 7

The library is in the media room on the second floor of administration building in Anaconda. See the list of available titles, new titles are bold:A Guide to Collaboration for IEP Teams – Nicholas R.M. MartinAmerican Samurai – William LareauAsk and Tell: Self-Advocacy and Disclosure for People on the Autism Spectrum – VariousAutism Spectrum Disorders – Richard L. Simpson Bake a Difference – Family Favorites CookbookBaseball Bouillabaisse and the Best of Class: How to Increase Your Personal Power, Energize Your Team and Astonish Your Cus-tomers – Darby CheckettsBoards That Make a Difference – John CarverBooks of Adam – The Blunder Years (2) – Adam EllisBuddy’s Shadow – Shirley BeckerCertain Proof, A question of worth – A Feature Documentary bu Footpath Pictures, Inc.Changing the Course of Autism – Bryan Jepson, M.D. with Jane JohnsonCompetitive Advantage – Michael E. PorterCompetitive Strategy – Michael E. PorterConfessions of a Professional Hospital Patient – Michael A. WeissCookie – Linda KneelandCount Us In – Jason Kingsley & Mitchell LevitzCreating a Habitat for Humanity – Jonathan T.M. ReckfordCultural Reciprocity in Special Education – Maya Kalyanpur and Beth HarryDemystifying Transition Assessment – Colleen A Thoma Ronald TamuraDictionary of Developmental Disabilities Terminology – Pasquale J. Accardo & Barbara Y. Whitman et al.Disabling Professions – Ivan Illich et al.Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits – Ilona BrayEnergize Your Team and Astonish Your Customers – Darby CheckettsEssential Manager’s Manual – Robert Heller & Tim HindleEverything is Normal Until Proven Otherwise: A Book About Wraparound Services – Karl W. Dennis & Ira S. LourieFast Forward – James Champy & Nitin NohriaFear of Falling – Barbara EhrenreichFeed All My Sheep: A guide and curriculum for adults with developmental disabilities – Doris C. ClarkFirst, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently – Marcus Buckingham & Curt CoffmanGesundheit! – Patch AdamsGetting the Most Out of IEPs – Colleen A. Thoma & Paul WehmanGroup Homes for People with Intellectual Disabilities – Tim Clement & Christine BigbyHealth Matters for People with Developmental Disabilities – Beth Marks, Jasmina Sisirak & Tamar HellerHealth Matters: The Exercise and Nutrition Health Education Curriculum – Beth Marks, Jasmina Sisirak & Tamar HellerHigh School Transition that Works! – Maryellen Daston, J. Erin Riehle, Susie RutkowskiHouse Calls – Patch AdamsHow Can I Help? A Friend’s and Relative’s Guide to Supporting the Family with Autism – Ann PalmerHow About a Hug – Nan HolcombImponderables: The Solution to the Mysteries of Everyday Life – David FeldmanInk in the Wheels: Stores to Make Love Roll – S Barton and Megan M CutterIQ of 63 So What – Ben D. AndersonIt’s Time – Judith MammayJob Success for Persons with Developmental Disabilities – David B. WieganJust Like Other Daughters – Colleen FaulknerKaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success – Masaaki ImaiLaunching into Adulthood – Donald LollarLeadership Secrets of Attila the Hun – Wess RobertsLife Beyond the Classroom, Transition Strategies for Young People with Disaiblities – Paul WehmanLife is a Gift – Jenny MillerMaking Self-Employment Work for People with Disabilities – Cary Griffin & David HammisManaging at the Speed of Change – Daryl R. ConnerManaging Quality – Jacqueline M. Katz & Eleanor GreenManaging the Nonprofit Organization – Peter F. DruckerMe, Hailey! – Sheri Plucker

Borrow A Book: New titles added to corporate library

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NONPROFIT ORGUS POSTAGE

PAIDANACONDA, MTPERMIT NO. 14

AWARE, Incorporated205 East Park AvenueAnaconda, Montana 59711

1-800-432-6145www.aware-inc.org

Printed on recycled paper /