September with the DD Council

Orlando Resort

September will be a busy month as far as the business of the DD Council  goes.  The general council meeting was held on Thursday, September 2.  All things considered, it went fairly well.  The most difficult task was the discussion on the areas of emphasis for the five year plan.  But the council managed to work out what they wanted and now it goes back to the planning committee. Because of the changes made to those areas, we will have a special DD council meeting before our next regular meeting.  This will satisfy the 45 day notice of public meeting law while maintaining the timeline for submitting the proposed areas to the feds.

Then, on September 23, there will be a training session for Board and Commission members, Executive Directors, and Administrators, at the Attorney General’s office.  The problem with that meeting is the afternoon time of 1-4:30 p.m.  I will try to make that one but it will mean making arrangements for the 12 year old after school.  My Executive Director tells me it isn’t crucial so if the arrangements work out then fine.  If they don’t then fine as well.

But the big trip this month is the National DD Council Convention in Orlando, Florida. I will fly out on September 26 and return on September 29.  I hope to make as many contacts as I did in Washington, D.C., during the NACDD’s annual meeting in June.  It was there that I was fortunate enough to meet with the head of the U.S. commandery of the Order of St. Joachim, Lt.Col. Tim Zack.  I was able to begin my work with the order by developing an awareness campaign on acquired developmental disabilities to benefit our youngest injured warriors.  My focus being on the state of Nevada, I still wanted to be able to take the information nationwide.  All of this resulted in the re-organization of the Military Memos website which now has information on where to locate developmental disabilities benefits within each state.

And while I will still have a sense of urgency about spreading the word for the benefit of our men and women in arms, I think that having a few days in the Orlando resort won’t do me any harm either.