Ahead of the CurveSUMMER 2015

5121 Hollyridge DriveSuite 100Raleigh, NC 27612

Visit our websitewww.arctriangle.org

919-832-2660 Wake919-942-5119 Durham/OrangeDear Friends, Families and Supporters of The Arc of the Triangle,

It seems like just yesterday that Arc staff, board, families and other stakeholders were gearing up for our first year as “The Arc of the Triangle”. We were all hopeful that the new entity would extend to a larger number of people. Offering the supports and services that had been successful within each of the three individual chapters in Durham, Wake and Orange Counties. The Arc of the Triangle now provides both state funded and Medicaid services across all three counties. Respite services are being provided to 31 families in Durham County and Medicaid (Innovations) services to 24 families in Wake County are two examples.

Others were optimistic that an organization that merged three chapters would strengthen its financial stability, and with increased size, ensure our ability to survive and flourish within a managed care environment. While costs associated with the merger were significant, increased revenue through the provision of services to a larger participant base has allowed our organization to remain financially solvent. Concerns that a larger organization would be less able to continue to provide the same level of quality and personal service were also articulated. I am pleased to report that there have not been any decreases in service quality nor has our community involvement changed.

It’s hard to believe that a year has past, and we are entering into the second year of our merger. The past twelve months have been full of successes, challenges, progress, and a renewed commitment by staff, board, and our stakeholders. We are a better organization today than we were a year ago, and we will be even better a year from now. A debt of gratitude is owed to our board of directors and staff, especially to those that have taken on additional responsibilities during this transition period.

With the initial twelve months of the merger behind us, I am confident that during our second year as “The Arc of the Triangle” we will extend our services and supports to a greater number of people, and continue to increase quality. I also believe that we will increase our responsiveness as we refine our organizational structure.

Thanks to everyone that made this first year possible!

Robin Baker,Executive Director

BoaRD of DiRECtoRSMichael Madden, President

Prince Bull, Vice PresidentLia McNeilly, SecretaryBrett Blair, Treasurer

John CayeNicole Celeste

Shawn FiskKaren Geringer

Dana Hanson-BaldaufJames Henry

Janet McLambRusty Mumford

Dave Woody

StaffRobin Baker, Executive Director

Duffy Palmer, Senior Director

Lisa Maier, Quality Assurance Manager

Karen Warner, Human Resources Director

Jennifer Pfaltzgraff, Marketing & Communications Director

Individual Services:Mike Kirschner Michelle Merritt

Tarcha Burrell Tara MooreKerr Siegemund Stephanie Smith

Employment Services:Susan Swearingen

Barb Germiller Laura GuidrySteve Johnson Kathy Mayer

Community Programs:Michelle Foy

Volunteer Services:Susan Chandler

Administrative Team:Shauna Leng, Finance Manager

Marilyn Monroe, Data SpecialistNicole Tolliver, HR Admin

Kenneth Kelty Joyce Marie Smith

We are in need of energetic, motivated, compassionate, individuals to work behind the scenes, supporting children and adults with disabilities.

Elections will be held at our Annual Meeting September 20thwith positions starting October 1, 2015

• MustmaintainmembershiptoTheArcoftheTriangle.• Attendbi-monthlyboardmeetings.• Serveonacommittee:ProgramCommittee,FinanceCommittee,

Membership Committee, Development Committee• MakeafinancialcontributiontoTheArcoftheTriangle;Assistwith

fundraising.• RepresentTheArcoftheTriangleinyourcommunity.• BeaneffectiveadvocateinourcommunityforpersonswithI/DD.• Termsareonly2years.

strategic planning • resource development • oversight • accountability

Call919-832-2660x139oremailjpfaltzgraff@arctriangle.orgformoreinformationand to request an application form.

NOW ACCEPTINGapplications to our Board of Directors

Support Professionals of the Month Winners:

MARCHAmos BurgessMaggie Torrey

APRILSarah PiscitelliWanda Weaver

MAY Amy Tamburro

Gwen Tilley

Congratulations, and thanks for all you do for our community!

A Day at Work with My Momby Kayla Maier, 8th grade

This spring I was lucky enough to have the opportuni-ty to go to work with my mom, in honor of “National Bring Your Child to Work Day”. My mom Lisa Maier is the Qual-ity Assurance Director foraNon-Profitcom-pany called The Arc of the Triangle. This com-pany offers programs and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabili-ties for people in the triangle area.

That Thursday I woke up and got ready like a normal school day. My mom’s typical commute, depending ontheoffice,isaboutonaverage70minutes.Whenwe got to the Orange County office I was greeted by thefriendlyfacesofmymom’sco-workers.Mymomintroduced me to people and afterward I was asked to sign a confidentiality contract. Later my mom settled down and got to work. I helped out by delivering pa-perwork to other people around the office. My mom explained her typical morning and some of the paper-work involved in her job. I noticed that everyone gets along and works really well together, through com-munication and being able to help each other out. LatermymomandIattendedarecruitmentmeeting;here they discussed how they could improve their staffing issues and using their website to recruit staff that work in the field. After that I helped out by mak-ing copies and scanning paper work, a lot of it too.

Around12:00mymomandIatelunchandthentraveled to the Wake County office. Everyone there was really friendly and really happy to meet me. We attendedaWakeStaffmeeting,wheretheytalkedabout duties and procedures in the new office build-ing. After that everyone quickly and efficiently went backtowork.IwatchedmymomwriteE-mailsandcheck online to look at any staffing mistakes and thingsthatsheneedstotalktoherco-workersabout.After that we got ready to go home.

I think I had a great learning experience. I was able to compare the work and responsibilities in the work-place as to school. In an office there is more respon-sibility and more independence. I can tell that the people of The Arc work hard to excel and provide the care their clients need. Thank you for the opportunity.

Special Olympics & Our Seniorsby Michelle Foy, Assistant Director of Community Programs

It’s that time of year again when the birds are chirping, the weather is warming up and people are outside again laughing, running and playing. With these wonderful spring changes comes the annualWakeCountySpecialOlympicstrack&fieldevents!OnApril22,2015participantsintheSupportedRetirementProgramparticipatedintheSpecialOlympicgamesatRavenscroftSchoolandcompetedinthe50mwalkandsoftballthrow.Weeven had one senior volunteer as the “tape holder” at the finish line! The games began with the parade of athletes, followed by the opening ceremony and the individual field and track events.

The weather was beautiful, the participants thrived on all of the cheers received from the spectators, but most importantly fun was had by all and a true sense of pride and accomplishment was achieved on that day!

Michael & Son and The Arc of the Triangle Swing Into ActionThe Arc of the Triangle has started summer off with a BANG! Not one, but two amazing fund-raising events were held back to back, to support our programs and services. The inaugural Michael&SonCommunityClassicGolfTournamentbenefitingTheArcoftheTrianglewasJune15atDevil’sRidgeGolfCourseinHollySprings.Theeveningbefore,TheArchostedthe

CommunityClassicSilentAuctionatLuckyB’s Around the Corner.

Theseeventstogethernettedover$20,000for The Arc of the Triangle. They also brought awareness to The Arc while enter-tainingguests.Sundayeveningsupportersgathered at Lucky B’s for excellent hotdogs, food and an amazing array of donated auction items. Lucky bidders took home gift cards, tickets to sporting events, amazing vacations, and much more.

Golfersspentadayonthelinksin100ºweather.ThegolfcourseatDevil’sRidge “features rolling fairways lined with towering hardwoods” in beau-tifulHollySprings.Golfersenjoyedeighteenholes,funcontestswithgreatprizes,andafantasticlunchprovidedbyCityBarbeque.SennDunnInsur-ance’steam:BrandonMoorefield,BenBrookhart,EricGinterandJamieLowrytooksecondplaceandFirstplacewentto1-800WATERDAMAGE’steamofRedHoward,LeeParks,EddieJones,andKevinGiles.

Sohowdidallofthishappen?ThiswinterMichael&SonofRaleighcontactedTheArcoftheTrianglewithagreatidea-wouldwelikeitiftheysponsoredafundraiseronourbehalf.Apartnershipwasborn.Michael&Son’sPR/MarketingCoor-dinator,EmmyMcLeanandTheArc’sMarketingandCommunicationsDirector,JenniferPfaltzgraffbeganmeeting regularly to plan what would be The Arc of the Triangle’s first serious fundraiser since the merger last summer. Michael&SonServicesisafamily-ownedcompanythatoffersplumbing,electrical,andHVACservices.Theirsloganisoneeveryoneknows-“Ifyoucan’t,wecan.”

Wearesogratefultoallofouramazingsponsors.BeginningofcoursewithMichael&SonandformerArcofWakeCountyBoardPresident,Mr.CharlesBlanchardandhisfamily’sFoundationwhoonceagainprovedtheirgenerosityhasnoboundsasourPremierSponsor.Italsotakesmanyvolunteerstoplanandexecuteeventslikethis. Arc staff and board chipped in not only their support but talents as well. All of our auction item donors areahugepartofasuccessfulfundraiserlikethis.AndofcourseourveryownSusanSwearingenwhobakedthedeliciouscupcakesfortheauction.In-Kindsupportwasamazingtoo-

withaterrificSwagBagforourgolfersfullof goodies as well as food and locations that drew big crowds.

Michael&Son’sLouRizkallahhadthistosay:“Wecareaboutourcommunityandknow that giving back is not merely the “goodthingtodo”;it’stherightthingto do. We are excited to partner with The Arc of the Triangle and promote its mission to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities. We believe inclusiveness and appreciation of differences is essential. Let’s all work together to recognize disabilities and emphasize abilities.”

STAff SPOTlIGhTPlease meet our new Employment Specialist in Wake County Kathy Mayer. Kathy received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. She enjoys working with children with special needs and has worked directly with children with intellectual and developmental disabilities [I/DD] for six years as a Supports Assistant. Her passion for working with children with I/DD comes from being a parent of a 16 year old son with autism. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in professional counseling and is dedicated to supporting individuals obtain the services they need. Nicole Tolliver, our new Human Resources Assistant graduated from Franklin University with a Master’s Degree in Strategic Human Resources. Nicole spent 10 years in the Human Resource field with experiences in payroll, audit and compliance, diversity and inclusion within the healthcare industry. She relocated to Durham, North Carolina from Columbus, Ohio to be closer to family. Nicole is excited to be a part of The Arc.And our Individual Services department welcomed another Qualified Professional to our Chapel Hill office in the role of Individual Services Supervisor. Tarcha Burrell is originally from Virginia. She received her BA in Criminal Justice from Shaw University. She has close to 15 years of experience working in the mental health and developmental disability field. Her future plan is to gain her Doctorate in psychology to continue to assist individuals in our community.Welcome ladies, we are so fortunate to have your join our staff!

HOPE Gardens and The Arc of the TriangleHOPE Gardens, a subset of Homeless Outreach Poverty Eradication (HOPE), “creates a community garden that fos-ters relationships, educates the community, and addresses barriers to food access through shared efforts in sustain-able agriculture.” HOPE Gardens and The Arc have worked together on numerous occasions, including showing Pet-als for a Purpose at HOPE Gardens’ Art Walk and having individuals from The Arc tend to their community plots in HOPE Gardens. The Arc also has a plot of land in the community garden from which they take vegetables and fruits to use in their cooking classes. I sat down to talk to the two co-chairs of HOPE Gardens, Silvan Goodin and Jocelyn Pianowki, and a volunteer who works closely with the Nutrition and Cooking Classes, Neha Verma.

How did you hear about The Arc of the Triangle? What programs do you volunteer with?Silvan Goodin: Susan Chandler and I ended up next to each other at a Church service and we started talking about our respective organizations. I thought The Arc’s mission was so wonderful and we decided to present Petals for a Purpose at our Art Walk event. We wanted to showcase what The Arc’s individuals could produce.

What ways do you find this rewarding? Goodin: The Arc is so wonderful because it allows specific individuals to get involved with the community, when they usually would not.

Jocelyn Pianowski: I really like the community it builds. It can be easy to feel as if you are stuck in a bubble with similar people at UNC. Working with The Arc and the other organizations that work with HOPE Gardens allows me to expand my experiences and the people I interact with.

How did you begin your work with HOPE Gardens? Goodin: I got involved my freshman year. HOPE Gar-dens is so great because it combines a lot of differ-ent, and important, things that a lot of people should do, including: helping your neighbor and having access to fresh and healthy food. I want people to have more awareness about these issues. Different factions of the community come together and interact to pro-mote these beliefs.

Neha Verma: I am personally really interested in is-sues of food access. I work really closely with the cooking and nutrition class through HOPE Gardens. I

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

TheBlanchard

Fund

APPLE, KOCEJA & ASSOCIATES, PACERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

Jimmy StockleyFriend of The Arc

HOLE SPONSORS:HD Supply • Marie Hughes • Lake House Grill

Janet McLamb Law • Lia & John McNeillyNews & Observer • Pediatric Therapy Associates

Platinum Air Purifiers • The Produce BoxArt & Jackie Warner • WRAL-FM

IN-KIND:

North Raleigh Instant ImprintsThe Sheraton, Chapel Hill North Raleigh Sir Speedy

Telepathic Graphics

Great Employers:A Key Ingredient in the

Recipe for SuccessbyLauraGuidry,EmploymentSprcialist

fresh Market in Chapel hill–PaulandhisteamatFreshMarketinChapelHillhavegone above and beyond in giving Arc partici-pants opportunities to become a part of their team. After hir-ing one of our par-ticipants to become a cashier at a payrate well above minimum wage, they have become incredible natural supports and treat this participant as anequalamongtheirfront-endteam.

Ann,thefront-endmanager,hasgivenourparticipant encouragement which has helped hersucceedandflourish.ShehasreceivedanawardcardfromFreshMarket’scorporateofficefor excellence in customer service after multiple customers have expressed their appreciation of herwelcomingattitude.Paul,thestoreman-ager, has recently reached out to our office again in an effort to recruit another participant to work there, and has since offered the posi-tion to this individual, at a higher payrate than minimumwage.PaulandhisstaffatFreshMarket are truly changing the culture at their store, and setting a great example for other businesses in the local community!

California Pizza Kitchen at Streets of Southpointe, Durham,-CPKhasatruefamily atmosphere and they have welcomed into their family, two participants – one for a summer job! Mike, the general manager and his team have shown a true commitment to being natural supports and going out of their way to help both participants become part of the team. Mike has been a constant supporter of our supported employment department and has worked with each participant in find-ing a job that suited their particular skill set. WeareappreciativetoCPKaswellforhostinga fundraiser for The Arc! CPKhasshownthattheycare about inclusion and about helping each em-ployee grow!

The Arc of the Triangle’sAnnual Meetingand Arc Awards

UPCOMING EVENTS SAVE THE DATE!

The Arc of the Triangle is seeking nominations for this year’s awards. If you know an individual or group that meets the criteria in the following categories, we would like the opportunity to recognize them. Nominate a person or group for their outstanding service to the Triangle area Intellectual and Developmental Disability [I/DD]communitybyAugust15,2015.Downloadthenominationformfromourwebsite:

www.arctriangle.org/annual_meeting_and_arc_awardsThe Awards Committee will review all nominations and make its selections on the information provided by the nominators. Both the nominator and award recipient will be notified.Togetmoreinformationpleasecall832-2660x139oremailjpfaltzgraff@arctriangle.org

AWARD CATEGORIESCOMMUNITY PARTNER OF THE YEAR – a business or organization that has directly contributed to the suc-cess of The Arc of the Triangle and the improvement of its services, programs, growth, etc.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD — an individual or organization that has contributed, in a distinguished manner, to the promotion, development, and support of The Arc of the Triangle, Inc. and its participants and their families.

EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR — a Triangle area employer with an exceptional record of providing inclusive competitiveemploymentopportunitiesforpeoplewithI/DD.

PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR—anindividualemployedintheTriangleareaworkingintheI/DDcom-munity who has demonstrated sensitivity and the ability to provide outstanding support which results in increasedindependenceforpeoplewithI/DD.

SELF-ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR–aself-advocatewholivesintheTriangleareawhohasshowndetermina-tionandself-advocacyskillsinhis/hercommunity,workplace,school,etc.

SIBLING OF THE YEAR–thesiblingofapersonwithI/DDwhoseactionsandeffortsathomeandinthecommunity have made a positive impact on their sibling and family.

STUDENT OF THE YEAR–astudentwithI/DDinprivateorpublicschoolwhoexemplifieswhatitmeanstobe a hard worker, with determination and leadership qualities in their school and community.

SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR — an award for extraordinary commitment by an individual employed in the Triangle area to provide directsupport,service,orcaretoaperson/peoplewithI/DDwhilefosteringgrowth,independence,communityinclusionanddignity.(Examples:sup-portstaff,busdrivers,teacher’saides,one-on-onesupportinschool)

TEACHER OF THE YEAR — A teacher (special or general education) who has demonstratedexcellenceinteachingandsupportingstudentswithI/DD.

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR—avolunteerwhohasgivengenerouslyofhis/hertimeandtalenttobenefitpeoplewithI/DDandTheArcoftheTriangle.

Sunday, September 201:30-4:30 pm

Resurrection Lutheran Church, Cary

• Annual Review/Slideshow• Board of Director Elections• Arc Awards• Light Refreshments

Hello to a New Community Partner, and Thank You to OthersInMay2015,TheArcoftheTrianglebegananewpartnershipwithHillyer Memorial Christian Church inRaleigh.TheM’n’MSingersareholdingtheirrehearsalsatHillyerandourWakeTriangleSelf-AdvocacyNetworkgroupisalsomeetingtherebi-monthlyonapermanentbasis.WearesoexcitedtobeapartofthisgreatcommunityandthankPastorDavid Mallory and his staff for supporting our community programs. We hope this will be a long and successful relationship for years to come. Hayes Barton United Methodist Church in Raleigh, which has part-neredwithTheArcofWakeCounty/TheTriangleforyearsandhostedboththeM’n’MSingersandourself-advocacygroup,isbeginningamassivechurchrenovation.WethankPastorsRickClayton,LuAnnCharlton,andJesseBakerfortheirlong-timesupportofTheArcanditsmission.TheArcreliesonstrongcommunitypartnershipsthroughouttheTriangle.Someofourotherpartnersin-clude Reality Ministries where we hold social events and our Durham TSANmeeting.Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is home to our holidaypartiesincludingParty&PicswithSanta.AndinChapelHillourpetalswithaPurposeprogrammeetsatPNC Bank on Rosemary Street.BranchManagerJochenSchwarzandhisstaffhavealsoprovid-ed banking and money management information to our participants.

The Arc of the Triangle is so fortunate to have built strong community relations throughout our neighborhoods. We look forward to continu-ing these and building many more partnerships over the years. Party & Pics with Santa at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church