We are pleased to give out Direct Support Professional Appreciation Awards! The "Calm in the Eye of the Storm" award for 2021 goes to Julie Wetzell!

Her nominator said, "Julie navigated the complicated and unknown COVID-19 world and she never stopped showing up for the individuals, despite the hardships the illness and restrictions brought. Julie has a motherly and calm demeanor that many individuals find comforting. She is a wonderful team player and her dedication and hard work is appreciated more than she knows!"

“Adleigh is funny, there’s never a dull moment! And Rhett, he’s such a special little guy. He’s taught us so much in just three short years!”

For the month of May, we are celebrating and honoring mothers that are in at least one of our programs. We admire how much love and dedication you have for your family. Thank you for all that you do!

“My favorite part about being her mom is watching her learn. Watching her learn, watching her grow. One day she might not know how to do something then the next she just knows how to do it all of a sudden!”

For the month of May, we are celebrating and honoring mothers that are in at least one of our programs. We admire how much love and dedication you have for your family. Thank you for all that you do!

“My favorite part about being a mom is when something finally catches- we worked for six months for him to crawl if not longer. And then it was like all of a sudden he just did it! That sense of accomplishment, like, I wasn’t doing it wrong this whole time!”

March was Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and that gave the Knox County community a great opportunity to create awareness, to learn more about inclusion and to share in the stories of individuals who live, work and thrive in our county. While the County Board of DD and its various provider agency partners are active year round in providing service and supports for those with developmental disabilities, March was a particularly fun time for us to highlight the important roles that individuals with developmental disabilities have within the fabric of our great community.

The Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities would like to thank the elementary school students of Knox County for helping us celebrate. There were one thousand and eighteen children who participated in our annual coloring (K-2nd grades) and essay (3rd-5th grades) contest with one hundred and one classrooms participating county-wide, representing twelve different elementary schools in Knox County.

We are proud to announce the winners of this year’s coloring contest (K-2nd grades): Kehley Short, Grayden McDonald, Lydia Harrod, Norah Fehrman, Garrett Donaldson, Sophia Baker, Luke Russell, Kiarra Pettigrew, Arianna Keen, Abby Fisher and Brynn Green. The winners of this year’s essay contest (3rd-5th grades) were: Reese Canterbury, Ellie Schonauer, Kyleigh Woods, Kristian McGinnis, McKenzie Sparks, Ethan Taylor, Hailey Elliott, Chase McKay, Parker Bundy, Dakota Mickley, Charlie Ross and Sulley Zimmerman. Also congratulations to Mrs. Betsy Sabo from Wiggin Street Elementary for winning the classroom prize this year.

Below are all of the winning essays and coloring pages! Some schools and families have submitted photos of the students, which are also included. If your child would like to have their picture included, please email it to bcoon@knoxdd.com and we’ll add it to our blog!

Each March, the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities celebrates Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. We do our best to highlight the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities.

We typically host an annual DD Month Luncheon and give out awards, but due to COVID-19 we have had to postpone all in person events. We are pleased to give the 2020 Individual Spotlight Award to Will Smith and the 2021 Individual Spotlight Award to Devine Ferrell and Jason Rhinebolt.

Each March, the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities celebrates Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. We do our best to highlight the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities.

We typically host an annual DD Month Luncheon and give out awards, but due to COVID-19 we have had to postpone all in person events. We are pleased to give the 2020 Local Hero Award to Chris Kirkhope with Transition U and the 2021 Local Hero Award to Knox Public Health.

Each March, the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities celebrates Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. We do our best to highlight the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities.

We typically host an annual DD Month Luncheon and give out awards, but due to COVID-19 we have had to postpone all in person events. We are pleased to give the 2020 Dedication Award to Kayla Burns with Concepts in Community Living and Colleen Thiel with Creative Foundations and the 2021 Dedication Award to Maude Proper, an independent provider and Sherrie Simmons KCBDD Provider Relations Manager.

Each March, the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities celebrates Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. We do our best to highlight the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities.

We typically host an annual DD Month Luncheon and give out awards, but due to COVID-19 we have had to postpone all in person events. We are pleased to give the 2020 Employer Award to Rob Stiltner with Pioneer College Caterers and the 2021 Employer Award to McDonald’s.

Each March, the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities celebrates Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. We do our best to highlight the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities.

We typically host an annual DD Month Luncheon and give out awards, but due to COVID-19 we have had to postpone all in person events. We are pleased to give the 2020 Community Partner Award to Paul McNeal with Mount Vernon Nazarene University Athletics and the 2021 Community Partner Award to Habitat for Humanity of Knox County.