Golden Goals Awards Luncheon

Alpharetta, Georgia: InCommunity, Georgia’s largest provider of services to individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities, hosted its 9th Annual Golden Goals Awards Luncheon at the Metropolitan Club in Alpharetta, on Thursday, November 21st.

Golden Goals is an awards luncheon recognizing individuals and advocates in the developmental disability community who have made extraordinary advances and/or an outstanding commitment to support those in our community. The luncheon is hosted by InCommunity with more than 50 nominees being recognized in 10 different categories. Community members and organizations submit worthy candidates from organizations, families, educators, staff, individuals and mentors throughout Georgia to be recognized. All are invited to come cheer on the nominees and witness the inspiring and courageous stories of our Golden Goals Winners.

The event would not be possible without these generous corporate sponsors: EDGE Business Systems, Blad & Associates, Professional Medical Fulfillment, Inc., Abernathy Bank Consulting, Avita Partners, and Perimeter Office Products. Special thanks to this year’s swag bag donors: BPI Media Group, Cay Communications, Special Kneads & Treats, and Sunshine on a Ranney Day.

This year’s event opened with the musical styling of violinist Michelle Winters. The awards presentation was kicked off by the InCommunity Dancers and the thrilling moves of the Namari Dance Center Dancers. Emcee Phil Bonelli delighted guests during their lunch with his witty repartee and gracious presentation of the awards.

Some of the nominees this year included:

Distinguished Community Service: Linda Hickey – Jonny & Xena Spread the Words Foundation

Gold Star Spirit of Friendship: John McLaughlin – North Metro Miracle League

Best Duo: Jessie & Bernadette - InCommunity

Best Community Advocate: Charlie Miller – GVRA

Gold Star Spirit of Friendship: Kaitlyn Ross – 11Alive

Gold Star Educator: Denise Curcio – Fulton County Schools

Volunteer Service Star of Excellence: Jeanette Dummer – BrewAble

Gold Star Spirit of Friendship: Santa Mike Duchaj – Paulding County Schools

Distinguished Community Service: Carolyn Polakowski – Cay Communications

Whitney Fuchs, CEO of InCommunity states, “Every year, the Golden Goals honors individuals that haven't let their disability get in the way of what they wanted to accomplish. It is inspiring to see anyone set their sights on something important to them and then achieve it. Each one of our nominees today reflects a personal best in an area; a goal they set for themselves.”

To see more photos from the event, visit the InCommunity Facebook page!

To learn more about InCommunity events, programs and services please visit www.incommunityga.org

About InCommunity: Originally founded in 1979, InCommunity, a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency headquartered in Atlanta, was created to provide community-based services and support to people with developmental disabilities and their families. For more than 40 years, InCommunity has been embracing the abilities in all of us, building an outstanding reputation in Georgia for innovative programs and willingness to take on challenging support situations for people in their communities. Currently, InCommunity has more than 650 employees who provide all levels of support in the community to people with a variety of needs; including residential support, employment services, respite care, family support, in-home care, and day programs. To date, InCommunity has provided support and service to more than 10,000 Georgian community members. The mission of the organization, “We partner to enrich and sustain the lives of individuals who have disabilities, their families, and their communities”. The primary diagnoses of those served by the organization include: mild/moderate/severe/profound intellectual disability, autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome. Many of the individuals supported have a significant secondary disability including physical disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, seizures, hearing or vision impairments.