A Brand New Day/Cedar Lake, Kentucky

What an amazing day this past Friday at Cedar Lake, Cedar Lake Lodge, Cedar Lake Enrichment Center and Park Place Residence near Louisville, Kentucky!! Joe Macbeth, Executive Director of NADSP, and I had the great honor and joy to be invited to the agency-wide celebration of certifying  110 DSP-Rs!   DSP-R essentially means that the candidates have passed the requirements and petitioned the NADSP and have qualified for registry in a national data base.  DSP-Rs are recognized as being in the initial qualification stage for national credentialing. Cedar Lake has committed to transforming the majority of it's front-line direct support workforce into fully nationally credentialed professionals with the DSP-C within 5 years. Amazing goal!! 

Cedar Lake began this wonderful journey towards a DSP-centric culture on August 2, 2012, at the Brand New Day Gala!....heretofore referred to as BND (I was not blogging then but may just devote a retrospective blog entry about that day in the near future...stay tuned) During the BND event last August every stakeholder in the Cedar Lake family committed to a 5 year plan to educate, remunerate and register and credential as many their Direct Support Professionals as possible.  This was such a celebratory day and was indeed the opening ceremony for what is to be a powerful journey towards excellence.  We were there that hot August day and we have watched carefully over the last four months as the leadership of this organization and the staff at Cedar Lake are fast becoming a shining beacon for similar organizations in the country to follow and aspire to become.  Cedar Lake is steadfast and on a clear path to becoming a true national leader in supports and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities with the emphasis on their Direct Support Professionals as being the primary vehicle for assisting the people supported in achieving abundant life and abundant possibilities in life.

Chris Stevenson, President and CEO, of Cedar Lake has been the heart and soul of this agency transformation and has clearly committed dollars and "sense" to make Cedar Lake the absolute pioneer in promoting competent and ethical Direct Support Professionals to the top of the organizational chart.  We see Cedar Lake and it's fine leadership as an example and model for a national shift into promoting organizational DSP-Centric culture and focus.This can only be done  strategically and with LOTS of focus on the right people leading.

Patrick Varner, Cedar Lake's Community Engagement Coordinator, is Cedar Lake's resident BND cheerleader and culture-maker.  He is at the center of the agency transformation and is a person who infects you with hope, inspiration and BND mojo!!   Ya gotta see this man in action...no words can describe him!! He is important to keep the spirit moving.

Janet Wilson, Cedar Lake's DSP-Educator , (yes, the organization has created a specific position called the DSP-Educator that will help DSPs with all aspects of their credentialing journey as well as educate and train all staff of the organization)   had this to say about Friday's event,

" It is an important moment for us all to be supporting so many staff in this transformative undertaking, and we are looking forward to carrying on the work to build more steps in the career ladder. Most of all, the day served to reinforce the importance of the services that our DSPs provide to our residents, the full support of the organization, and everyone’s commitment to building a career based upon a firm foundation of our values."  Janet Wilson, DSP-R ....Yes, Janet is a DSP-R!!

Several other people are on the Cedar Lake Leadership team and I do want to give them a mention;

Jason Squires, VP Operations.
Jim Evans, VP Development and Marketing
Martina Netherton, VP Community Services
Clyde Lang, VP Finance and Administration
Marcy Clark, VP Human Resources

....all of these Cedar Lake leaders are critical to the success of the Brand New Day initiative and deserve great credit as well....

The most important people at Cedar Lake will always be the people supported.  With DSP-R and DSP-C staff by their side the mission of the organization will blossom, and life will be abundant for everyone in the Cedar Lake family.

So friends, look to Kentucky for some shining light!  Cedar Lake is an organization that has 110 Direct Support Professionals signing-off on their documentation with....

   DSP-R.......

they deserve to be listed here!!!!
.....and here they are!!!

Nancy Acree	Cedar Lake
Joshua Acree	Cedar Lake
Carla Allen	Cedar Lake
Kent Allen	Cedar Lake
Erin Ayres	Cedar Lake
Sharon Ball	Cedar Lake
Barbara Ballew	Cedar Lake
Cynthia Behymer	Cedar Lake
Janet Bierman	Cedar Lake
Elizabeth Bolin	Cedar Lake
Virginia Bosco	Cedar Lake
Deanna Broyles	Cedar Lake
Laura Calhoun	Cedar Lake
Keely Carroll	Cedar Lake
Cassandra Carroll	Cedar Lake
Leslie Carter	Cedar Lake
Gail Cashion	Cedar Lake
Claudia Castaneda	Cedar Lake
Linda Chesser	Cedar Lake
Katy Clark	Cedar Lake
Katie Clark	Cedar Lake
Deborah Clemmons	Cedar Lake
Joyce Clubb	Cedar Lake
Kimberly Coates-Smith	Cedar Lake
Ashley Cooke	Cedar Lake
Candace Corona	Cedar Lake
Allissha Crawford	Cedar Lake
Sarah Daniels	Cedar Lake
Danna Dixon	Cedar Lake
Billie Downey	Cedar Lake
Angela Durbin	Cedar Lake
Sandra Edsell	Cedar Lake
Stephanie Esparza	Cedar Lake
Aleshia Fisher	Cedar Lake
Brittany Fitzgerald	Cedar Lake
Vickie Fitzgerald	Cedar Lake
Emma Foree	Cedar Lake
Mary Fowler	Cedar Lake
Sarah Fox	Cedar Lake
Shelly Gaines	Cedar Lake
Maria Gaona	Cedar Lake
Rickey Geary	Cedar Lake
Connie Gebhart	Cedar Lake
Rebecca Goins	Cedar Lake
Samantha Grigsby	Cedar Lake
Laura Hall	Cedar Lake
Sandra Hanley	Cedar Lake
Patsy Hensley	Cedar Lake
Vicki Hickman	Cedar Lake
Ima Holland	Cedar Lake
Renata Ingram	Cedar Lake
Debbie Jackson	Cedar Lake
Michael Jeffries	Cedar Lake
Amanda Jones	Cedar Lake
Michele Kidd	Cedar Lake
William Kiser	Cedar Lake
Amy Klumb	Cedar Lake
Deborah Kopp	Cedar Lake
Kandice Lane	Cedar Lake
LeAnna Liter	Cedar Lake
Harry Lyons	Cedar Lake
Doris Marple	Cedar Lake
Bonnie Meadows	Cedar Lake
Donna Mershall	Cedar Lake
Brianna Miller	Cedar Lake
Leslie Mills	Cedar Lake
Joyce Monroe	Cedar Lake
Leslie Nussbaum	Cedar Lake
Donna Ouellette	Cedar Lake
Rebecca Payton	Cedar Lake
Theresa Payton	Cedar Lake
Nora Perkinson	Cedar Lake
Candice Perry	Cedar Lake
Jennifer Phelps	Cedar Lake
Gene Potts	Cedar Lake
Theresa Powell	Cedar Lake
Tomasa Rogers	Cedar Lake
Maria Rojas	Cedar Lake
Lori Saylor	Cedar Lake
Jaleesia Smith	Cedar Lake
Karen Smith	Cedar Lake
Stephanie Stivers	Cedar Lake
Allyssa Storey	Cedar Lake
Sheree Stucker	Cedar Lake
Amanda Teelucksingh	Cedar Lake
Kena Thomas	Cedar Lake
Mary Thornton	Cedar Lake
Ryan Timberlake	Cedar Lake
Danyel Tingle	Cedar Lake
Christopher Travis	Cedar Lake
Tiffany Troxell	Cedar Lake
Paula Tuttle	Cedar Lake
Mary Ullman	Cedar Lake
Tiffany Ullman	Cedar Lake
Amberley Van	Cedar Lake
Tammy Vanover	Cedar Lake
Shannon Vogel	Cedar Lake
Blanca Wade	Cedar Lake
Rebecca Washburn	Cedar Lake
Jennifer Webb	Cedar Lake
Hazel White	Cedar Lake
Kermit White	Cedar Lake
Theresa Wigginton	Cedar Lake
Harli Williams	Cedar Lake
Janice Wilson	Cedar Lake
James Witt	Cedar Lake
Rose Witt	Cedar Lake
Amegan Zaring	Cedar Lake