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Sharon
Deschambeau accepts the plaque depicting the Tri-County Board of
Recovery and Mental Health
Services Geraldine B. Nelson Advocacy Award
October 21 2015. At left is Tri-County Board Chair Dennis
Butts, and
right is Tri-County Executive Director Mark McDaniel.
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Sharon Deschambeau
received Geraldine B. Nelson Advocacy Award
Sharon Deschambeau, president of the Darke County Chamber of Commerce,
received the Geraldine B. Nelson Advocacy Award at the Tri-County Board
of Recovery and Mental Health Services Annual Meeting and Art of
Recovery reception October 21 at Edison Community College in Piqua.
In presenting the award, Tri-County Board Chairman and Greenville
Police Chief Dennis Butts cited Deschambeau's leading role in "bringing
to the table decision-makers from across the spectrum - business
leaders, community leaders, elected officials, courts, healthcare,
behavioral healthcare and others – to create a coalition to address the
serious challenge of opiates and specifically heroin’s effects on
Greenville and Darke County. Without this strength of will, without
this vision that through coordinated efforts conditions can change, we
would not be where we are in addressing this very complex problem."
Deschambeau accepted the award saying she was honored to accept the
award on behalf of the chamber and the approximately 100 people
involved in the Coalition for a Healthy Darke County. The coalition
came about in response to hearing Darke County employers say they are
having trouble finding employees able to pass pre-employment drug
screenings.
She said the issue has “become my passion – it affects the physical
health, mental and behavioral health, and spiritual health of our
community.”
The Geraldine B. Nelson Advocacy Award reads, “For supportive measures
on behalf of another, by promoting the recognition of consumer rights
and encouraging positive change in the realm of mental health and
addiction issues.”
The award is named for the Tri-County Board’s first Director of
Community Resource Development, and has been presented annually since
2000 to individuals or groups who demonstrate exceptional advocacy in
the realm of mental health and addiction issues.
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