NAMRC

National Association of Multicultural Rehabilitation Concerns.

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Reflecting on the 2004 Conference

Drs. L. Robert McConnell and Carl Flowers

Conference Co-Chairs

The 2004 NAMRC National conference, “Multiculturalism in the Forefront: Leadership, Innovation and Change” convened in Chicago from July 21-25. The approximate 150 participants included a diverse, multiethnic, multicultural and multi-geographic mixture of practitioners, educators and students (nearly 50) - from states ranging from Hawaii to Florida, and Wisconsin to Texas. Aside from the host state, led by Illinois Rehabilitation Association President Gary Rainaldi and staff from the Illinois Department of Human Services, the largest contingent of attendees at the conference came from the state of Oklahoma, followed closely by the state of Arkansas.

Attendees were exposed to an offering of 30 varied workshops, with content addressing issues germane to serving American Indians, Asian Hispanics, Arab, and African Americans and other underserved populations. Workshops and programs targeted at supervisors, practitioners, educators and higher education students in rehabilitation programs were included among the workshops, as topics ranging from outreach to service delivery, to counseling, to career development and mentoring, leadership development, along with a focus on a variety of disability groups. Workshops were complimented by a number of informative poster displays that were presented during the opening poster session and reception.

Early arrivals for the two Wednesday pre-conference sessions had an opportunity to gain additional CEU’s while receiving some very practical knowledge. Dan Hopkins and Ellen Chesley led an informative full-day session on the “Grants Game”, designed to enhance participant’s success in acquiring federal grants. During the morning, a separate session on CORE site reviewer training, conducted by Don Linkowski, prepared attendees to serve as reviewers of graduate Rehabilitation programs seeking CORE accreditation.

The opening general session was an inspirational and moving tribute to the late Dr. Sylvia Walker of Howard University. The tribute which included a video presentation and comments from Paul Leung, Bobbie Adkins, Ellen Chesley, Dan Hopkins, Madan Kundu and Shirley Ball. Ms. Ball, Dr. Walker’s mentee from Howard University, acknowledged her consistent advocacy on behalf of persons with disabilities, her mentoring of minority professionals, and her research addressing the unique issues of persons with disabilities from diverse racial/ethnic communities. Dr. Walker, served as director of the Howard University, rehabilitation research and training center, was a presidential appointee to the President’s Committee on Employment of People with disabilities, a recipient of the NAACP Benjamin Hooks, “Keeper of the Flame” award, and a long time supporter of the NAMRC Division of NRA. It was stated that “ Dr Walker encouraged young people with and without disabilities to take on leadership roles…..she not only promoted but lived the philosophy of inclusion, and……..Without physical sight, but with great vision Dr. Walker came, saw and conquered multiple adversaries to make this world a better place for all humanity.”

NAMRC members were recognized for their outstanding achievements during the award luncheon in the following categories:

Dr. Sylvia Walker Education Award: Dr. Brenda Cartwright, University of Hawaii, Manoa
Bobbie Adkins Research Award: Dr. Brenda Cartwright, University of Hawaii, Manoa
T. K. Bridges Practitioner Award: Ms. Alvita McNeal (Georgia)
Organizational Award: Dan Hopkins and Associates (Colorado)
Virgie Winston Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. L. Robert McConnell (Michigan)
Student of the Year: Heather Brostrand, Southern Illinois University
Partnership Award (A new award for 2004): Consortia of Administrators for Native American Rehabilitation( CANAR), Treva Roanhorse - President
Presidents Award: Dr. Carl Flowers

In addition, the first NAMRC student graduate scholarship award of $1500 was presented at the luncheon to Ms. Lakeysha McLaurin, a student in Rehabilitation Counseling at Michigan State University. Ms. McLaurin who was selected based on her GPA, letters of recommendations, and essay paper, presented her paper on the special issues surrounding the culture of deafness. Both a graduate and an undergraduate scholarship award are available annually to qualified student members of the association. Based on her presentation, Ms. McLaurin has been invited to present her paper at the annual CANAR conference this fall in Seattle.

Informative sessions and networking were complimented by the exciting sites, sounds and taste of Chicago and the surrounding area. Activities included, music at the House of Blues, food from the Carson’s, the local “rib shack”, shopping at the Water Tower Place and all along the Magnificent Mile. For those feeling 'lucky', games of chance were available at casinos in nearby Hammond, IN.

Plans are underway for the 2005 conference in historic and culturally rich San Antonio, Texas. Hold the dates, July 20-24, 2005 and plan to join us along the famous River Walk and the site of the Alamo. For more information on San Antonio, check out their web site at http://www.sanantoniocvb.com, and check the NAMRC website in the coming weeks for more on the 2005 conference, including an array of photos, at our web site at namrc.org.