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News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2004

HHS Press Office
(202) 690-6343

HHS To Give Awards During Celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson on Wednesday, Oct. 27, will present the Secretary's Highest Recognition Award to six people during October's National Disability Awareness Month, reaffirming the administration's commitment to full inclusion in the workforce for people with disabilities.

"Americans with disabilities deserve productive lives, with the dignity and independence they gain through work,'' Secretary Thompson said. "HHS and the Bush administration celebrate their achievements, and are committed to helping people with disabilities use their skills and talents to advance in their careers and their contributions to their communities."

Secretary Thompson will highlight the contributions of leaders in business, the media, advocacy and the arts in advancing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and President Bush's New Freedom Initiative. The New Freedom Initiative is a comprehensive program to tear down barriers, helping Americans with disabilities develop skills, engage in productive work, make decisions affecting their daily living, and participate fully in their communities.

To carry out goals of the New Freedom Initiative, Secretary Thompson in 2002 created the HHS Office on Disability to focus the department's many policies and activities that benefit people with disabilities.

"This celebration raises the awareness of the abilities of persons, not disabilities, for today, tomorrow and the future," said Margaret Giannini, M.D., Director of the HHS Office on Disability. "We salute the honorees, who make the difference in improving the lives of persons with disabilities."

The Honorees for National Disability Awareness Month are:

Larry King, CNN television personality, heart attack survivor and founder of The Larry King Cardiac Foundation. For more than 15 years, the nonprofit foundation has provided funding for lifesaving cardiac procedures for people who would not be able to receive them otherwise. The foundation is funded by annual events and the proceeds of Mr. King's books and public speaking engagements.

Art Collins, Chairman and CEO, Medtronic, Inc. Mr. Collins, and the company, is cited for their commitment to employment of people with disabilities. Medtronic is a medical technology company that provides lifelong diagnostic and monitoring systems and health care equipment for people with chronic disease.

Rachel Simon, author of the inspiring memoir, Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey, which also has been filmed for broadcast as a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. Simon's sister, Beth, who is developmentally disabled, has ridden the fixed route buses of her Pennsylvania city every day, all day, for years. Rachel Simon, a lecturer in creative writing at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, spent a year riding those buses with her sister. The book and the movie tell of the inherent worth of every individual, and of how their year together on the buses changed both sisters' lives.

Don Dreyer, Director, Nassau County (N.Y.) Office for the Physically Challenged. Dreyer, a visionary and pioneer in addressing the ADA, including public and private policy and program attention to the employment, housing and health needs of persons with disabilities.

Renee Pietrangelo, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR). ANCOR, of Alexandria, Va., is a nonprofit trade association representing private providers of support and services for people with disabilities. Dr. Pietrangelo and ANCOR are cited for their commitment and attention to helping people with disabilities.

Dr. M. "Muggy Do" Dickinson, President, The Art and Drama Therapy Institute (ADTI). Dr. Dickinson and ADTI are cited for their innovative approach to the care and treatment of adults with mental retardation, using art, music, movement and drama therapies. The ADTI Inspirational Choir and band, the Moroccan Ensemble, professionally recorded the Grammy-nominated single, "Let Us Fly."

For more information on the Office on Disability, HHS' disability efforts and the New Freedom Initiative, go to http://www.hhs.gov/od.

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Last Revised: October 27, 2004

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