/24-7PressRelease/ - HARRISBURG, PA, November 07, 2007 - The award ceremony took place as part of PAR's Tenth Annual Solutions Conference: "A New Day" at the Willow Valley Conference Center in Lancaster, Pa.
Shirley Walker, President and CEO of PAR, introduced Speaker O'Brien by saying, "PAR's Humanitarian Award is based on years of dedicated service to people to people with disabilities and to PAR. A Humanitarian is one who is devoted to the promotion of human welfare and the advancement of social reforms." She added, "PAR rarely reaches outside of its membership for a recipient of the Humanitarian Award. But Speaker O'Brien's actions and advocacy on behalf of individuals with intellectual disabilities and people living with autism make him the ideal candidate for this honor."
Speaker O'Brien had come to the PAR Solutions Conference to deliver opening remarks and to speak to "The Light of a New Day for Children with Autism in Pennsylvania." He was surprised by the award, which was met with a standing ovation by a crowd of over 300 people, primarily providers of autism and intellectual disabilities services.
"For 36 years you [PAR] have been paving the way for new and innovative strategies for intellectual disabilities and I thank you for that." Speaker O'Brien said. "You all are the reason I believe people saw me as a fair and objective leader who could reach out to both sides of the aisle. Congratulations to all of you for making a difference, and believe me you do."
Speaker O'Brien thanked providers from him district who helped him understand the complexities of the service system in Pennsylvania and advocated strongly for HB 1150, a bill that would prohibit discrimination of children living with autism by private insurers. "People around the country are looking to Pennsylvania as a leader in providing autism services. We have to take advantage of our opportunities today."
The Pennsylvania Association of Resources for Autism and Intellectual Disabilities (PAR) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization dedicated to the continuous quality improvement of services and supports for individuals with intellectual disabilities and individuals living with autism. PAR member agencies support 45,000 individuals with intellectual disabilities as well as 8,000 people living with autism in more than 5,600 locations in the Commonwealth. For more information, visit http://www.par.net.
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