Thompson honored during Tri-C National Disability Awareness Day event 

HIGHLAND HILLS ––– Cuyahoga Community College held its 11th annual National Disability Awareness Day on October 16 at the Eastern Campus in recognition of National Disability Employment Awareness Month.  Robert Nash, Mayor of the Village of Highland Hills, provided a proclamation that declared the day Jacky Thompson Day.  Thompson, who died earlier this year, was one of the founders of National Disability Awareness Day.  She was a member of Para-Progressives, a Cleveland group for people with disabilities, in addition to appearing on the first local United Cerebral Palsy telethon in 1953 and helping RTA’s Para transit system get started.

This year’s keynote speaker was Johnnie Tuitel, an expert in disability issues.  Tuitel was born with cerebral palsy and has used a wheelchair his entire life.  He talked openly about growing up with a disability and becoming the first disabled student legally mainstreamed in Michigan.  Tuitel is the founder of Alternatives in Motion, a non-profit organization that buys wheelchairs for people who can’t afford them.