Dear Readers,
Thank you for your steady calls, emails, texts and messages! We are never glad if you are having a hard time, but always grateful to connect with you, and we really value time spent together trying to work through challenges. The difficulties the world presents to you related to autism have definitely not stopped during the pandemic - and we know, that you know, this is a fact!
I want to thank our recent volunteer presenters for sharing great info with all of you - Neighborhood Legal Services, Solevo Wellness, Open Up PGH, Evolve Coaching, Disability Rights Network, and Attorneys Kate Lovelace and Jennifer Evashavik. You have made our pivot to virtual seminars very easy and beneficial to our audiences. And thank you for those who have attended, asked great questions, and allowed us to help out with tough situations related to seminar content.
Speaking of great people, we are now having our independent scorers review nominations for the new Joseph Vernon Smith Benevolence Award, and our traditional Temple Grandin Award. Thanks to all who submitted these to us! Awards will be presented to people and those will be shown at our virtual Awesome Night on Friday, October 30th. Check out the details on the cover of this newsletter, along with cool raffle prizes you may want to take a chance on, and we will post about all of this in the upcoming weeks!
2021 will be a year of positive changes, and it is also our 25th anniversary! We are evaluating new and exciting funding, collaboration, and organizational support concepts to keep ourselves growing and thriving for the next 25 years! There is a lot to consider, and please join me in thanking our amazing board members who are creative, connected, and who provide a steady basis of support for us in the (virtual) office, and in turn, for you! These are tremendous volunteers who are on call for us 24/7, especially valuable when we get those relatively frequent crisis calls that require all hands on deck! See their names on the next page and feel free to send a thank you note or email to us, which we will forward.
Take good care, take your vitamins, take a break (even for a one minute deep breathing exercise) and thank you for sticking with us during this (you fill in the blank here) time. And let us know how we can help you - that's why we are here!
Sincerely,
Executive Director Letter