Recently, the Governor’s Council on Disability (GCD) announced that it is accepting nominations for its 2018 annual awards, including the Inclusion Award, the Youth Leadership Award and the Website/IT Award. This state agency strives to promote participation and inclusion of the nearly 1 million disabled Missourians in all aspects of community life. By educating citizens, businesses, schools, universities and others of the rights and responsibilities provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act, the agency aims to assist and enable all Missourians living with disabilities.
This is the 27th year for the Inclusion Award. Presented annually, this award recognizes and honors a Missouri resident, organization, business or state/local government division that illustrates excellence in leadership for the “best of the best inclusion practices.” Innovative universal design and assistive technology concepts that incorporate people with disabilities may also be submitted. The nomination form and criteria are available here.
For the sixth year in a row, the Youth Leadership Award will recognize an outstanding young Missourian (age 16-26) with a disability who has demonstrated exemplary leadership by making a difference in their community. Youth with disabilities can be nominated here.
The Website/IT Award recognizes and honors a Missouri non-profit organization, business or local government for providing an outstanding and accessible website. For more information regarding this award, please visit the GCD’s website.
Nominations may be submitted online, by fax (573-526-4109), by email (gcd@oa.mo.gov) or by mail (Governor’s Council on Disability, PO Box 1668, Jefferson City, MO 65102). Winners of the awards will be announced during the Power Up conference held in April of 2019 in Columbia.
For more information or questions regarding the awards, please contact the GCD at (573) 751-2600. The deadline for submitting nominations is Jan. 31, 2019.
REAL ID Update
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has officially granted Missouri an extension through Aug. 1, 2019, to satisfy requirements and regulations of the REAL ID Act. During this extension, federal agencies will accept Missouri-issued driver licenses and identification cards for official purposes, including domestic air travel.
Thank you for reading this weekly column. Please contact my office at (573) 751-3678 if you have any questions.