Monday, December 17, 2012

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


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