Breaking Barriers Spotlight Awards Ceremony Returns Post Pandemic

The in-person ceremony will celebrate those who assist to make the equable for people with disabilities

(Louisville, KY) The Metro Disability Coalition cordially invites you to attend their 21st Annual Breaking Barriers Spotlight Awards on Friday, March 31st from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. at the Rudd Heart & Lung Center located at 201 Abraham Flexner Way.

There will be a reception prior to the ceremony for special guests, honorees and those participating in the program. We will also honor our 2020 recipients. Due to the pandemic, we were unable to celebrate them previously. 

This year’s guest speaker is April Bridgeman Morrow.  Currently, she is a substitute teacher for Jefferson County Public Schools as she completes her doctorate degree in K-12 leadership.  The former ‘Outstanding Teacher of the Year’ by the East Chicago, Indiana Public School District. Morrow is a graduate of Valparaiso University. Her career spans over 30 years in education. She even founded a private Christian school with grades K though 6th in Merrillville, Indiana that quickly grew to 12th grade.  As a music teacher, Morrow’s students have performed all over the U.S. from contests in the Midwest to Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida.  

The awards ceremony is for the community’s unsung heroes and community leaders in their various fields from service workers, educators to youth who go above and beyond the call of duty to assist those in need. We are excited to announce this year’s honorees several of which are from Jefferson County Public Schools, (JCPS).    

Here is a list of this year’s Breaking Barriers Spotlight Award honorees:

 Leslie Jones

Lifetime Achievement Award

Theo Hamilton

Merit Award

Mary Payton

George McEwing

Teri Kiper

Cathy Spalding

Joann Orr

Certificate of Merit

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity

Community Honoree

Breaking Barriers Spotlight Student & Teacher Awards recipients: 

Students

Jayden Hernandez Mendoza

Hazelwood Elementary

De’Von Jones

Kammerer Middle School

Michael Washington-Cox

Waggener High School

Teachers

Deedra Njuguna

Special Education Teacher

Binet School (Elementary)

Julie Fox

MSD Teacher

Lassiter Middle School

Tara Conner

MSD Teacher

Doss High School

Please post announce and/or post our event on your media platforms. If you would like to setup an interview, please contact VIPP Communications at booking@vippcommunications.com.

Metro Disability Coalition will hold a news conference about their treatment with TARC 3

The Metro Disability Coalition (MDC) is calling a press conference for Tuesday, September 8, 2020, at 3:00 pm to call attention to the horrible situation facing disabled bus riders, and drivers, on Transit Authority of River City (TARC 3) paratransit.   It will be held in front of TARC headquarters,  1000 West Broadway.

Passengers are not adequately distanced, in a time of coronavirus, as suggested by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), our state and city governments.  Not all drivers wear masks, as required.

 “Reasonable accommodation” means safe public ridership for disabled riders, drivers, and other personnel.

 We have made countless attempts to get TARC to correct this, to no avail.  This press conference will include representatives of the disabled, organized labor and civil rights groups.

 These issues are of grave concern to the disabled community—they are life and death matters.

 TARC 3 needs to provide the disabled community assurances that drivers will be masked and that there will be social distancing—particularly important for the visually and cognitively disabled.

For more information, call Marcellus Mayes, president of MDC:  778-8922 or Antonio Wickliffe:  ajwickliffe@aol.com .