The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities Hosts Inaugural Spirit of Kim Unsung Hero Award at Fall Council Meeting
Written by Tianna Faulkner on .
November 1, 2024 (Atlanta, GA) - The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) recognized Sheryl Arno, Executive Director for the Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta, with the first inaugural Spirit of Kim Unsung Hero Award, Thursday, October 24, 2024, at its fall Council Meeting, that took place at the Embassy Suites at Centennial Park in Atlanta, Georgia.
Kim Hudson Person, GCDD’s former Office Manager and Membership Coordinator, served at the agency for 19 years before her untimely passing in July of 2023. The GCDD staff and Council members of GCDD will forever be grateful to Person and her years of service to the organization and to the state of Georgia.
On the first day of the two-day Council meeting, GCDD staff and Council Members had the opportunity to learn more about Person during the award presentation.
“I am so honored to be the first recipient of this prestigious award. Kim Hudson Person was a beautiful person with a beautiful spirit,” said Honoree Sheryl Arno. “Her work embodied the hard work and spirit behind the work that I have done for the disability community over the past 30 years. I am grateful to the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities that I was nominated and am being recognized today for my work and service over the years. Thank you.”
“Kim was the light of the world, and we were beyond lucky to have her as part of our team at GCDD,” said D’Arcy Robb, Executive Director for GCDD. “The Spirit of Kim award helps us honor our beautiful friend and co-worker and lift up those who are doing good work the way she did it - in a spirit of selflessness, joy, and love.”
The Spirit of Kim Unsung Hero Award recognizes an individual who demonstrates selfless service to Georgia's intellectual/developmental disability (I/DD) community. The award is sponsored by the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities. The recipient of this award will embody the generous and dedicated spirit of GCDD's late Office Manager Kim Person.
Eligible nominees are employees, volunteers, self-advocates, family advocates, or anyone who demonstrates selfless service to Georgia's I/DD community and who have made an impact, preferably behind-the-scenes, to advance GCDD’s mission to bring about social and policy changes that promote opportunities for the wide spectrum of diverse people/persons with developmental disabilities and their families to live, learn, work, play and worship in their communities. Self-nominations are also welcome.
Person is lived on through her husband Curt, son Donovan, and countless other friends and family. For more information on how or where to submit a nomination for the Spirit of Kim Unsung Hero Award, visit GCDD.org.
About the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities: The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is the State's leader in advancing public policy on behalf of persons with developmental disabilities. Its mission is to bring about social and policy changes that promote opportunities for the wide spectrum of diverse people/persons with developmental disabilities and their families to live, learn, work, play, and worship in their communities. www.gcdd.org
###