BIAPA Honors Five at 2023 Conference
The Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania honored five organizations and individuals at the 2023 Conference in Lancaster.
The Service to the Brain Injury Community Award was presented to the Fighting Back Scholarship Program (FBSP). Founded in 1989 by Scott Dillman, FBSP assists individuals who have suffered life-changing illnesses or injuries and are without the finances needed to participate in a rehabilitative exercise program. FBSP seeks to extend rehabilitation through individualized fitness programs and personal training. It also provides a welcome and necessary connection for individuals to a community and other people, something which is often lost after disability. Each year, FBSP serves approximately 80 individuals with brain injuries, including veterans, through both in-person and virtual training. The Fighting Back Scholarship Program gives participants a means to improve their health, and it offers them a sense of purpose and community.
The John Sears Inspiration Award was presented toMichael Wright. Since sustaining a brain injury when he was a high-school senior in 1996, Michael has earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Penn State University, with a focus on interdisciplinary humanities. He has also earned certifications as a Reiki Master Practitioner, as a Mindfulness-Based Stress Relief Therapy Trainer, as a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Trainer, in Hypnosis, and as a Support Service Professional. He is employed full-time as a warehouse cycle counter and clerk for a truck body company and part-time as a direct support professional working one-on-one with individuals with disabilities. He also writes poetry and has published a book of his poetry. At BIAPA’s 2022 Conference, he read one of his poems at Cristabelle’s Coffee House. Michael participates regularly in the monthly brain injury support group at Reading Hospital Rehabilitation, and he has been asked by Reading Hospital Rehab to join the BIAPA Ambassador Program to provide peer support. BIAPA looks forward to seeing Michael inspire other survivors of brain injury to persevere and succeed.
The Dennis Minori Family Tribute Award was presented to the Reiter Family. In 2012, Rebecca (Becky) Reiter sustained a traumatic brain injury in a motor vehicle accident. At the time of the accident, her children Abigail, Albert, Adrianna, and Alias, were 16, 11, 10, and 8 years old, and they had to adjust to their mother’s challenges. Their commitment to her recovery was unwavering, despite the demands of their own educations and household tasks. While receiving outpatient rehabilitation services until 2016, Becky also managed a community supported agriculture program. She subsequently worked part-time as a sales associate and began pursuing her Ph.D. in leadership at Lancaster Bible College. With the extensive support of her children in all aspects of their family life, she was able to continue to make remarkable progress and obtained her Ph.D. in 2022. Becky has repeatedly pointed out that her accomplishments would not have been possible without her children’s love and support. At BIAPA’s 2022 Conference, her children—then 24, 19, 18, and 16 years old—gave a presentation on “A Child’s View of a Parent’s TBI.” It was a well-received program designed to help other families cope with the sudden and monumental changes following a family member’s brain injury.
The BIAPA Organization Award was presented to IMPACTED, Inc., which was founded by Tom and Pattiann Berton following their son’s concussion in 2011. IMPACTED is a non-profit organization designed to increase awareness of brain injury and to impact “the effects of concussion in youths through prevention, education, advocacy and support.” It offers support to students, their families, and to organizations working with brain-injured youth. IMPACTED, Inc. has worked with Intermediate Units and has donated Apple technology to be used as part of a lending library to support the educational needs of students. It has also provided concussion awareness scholarships and supported Make-A-Wish opportunities for children with brain injury. In May 2022, IMPACTED, Inc. provided the CDC’s ConcussionWise training to school district coaches at no cost to the attendees. It also collaborates with BrainSTEPS and school teams to support students’ return to school after a brain injury. IMPACTED, Inc. also contributes to state-wide advocacy efforts. IMPACTED has had a positive effect on the community, schools, and children across the state and BIAPA appreciates its contributions to Pennsylvania’s brain injury community.
The Service to the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania Award was presented to Stefanie Bauman. This award recognizes an individual’s contributions to BIAPA. Its recipients are considered to be integral to BIAPA’s mission and to supporting ad implementing BIAPA’s most important initiatives. By leading BIAPA’s Annual Conference for the past three years, Stefanie Bauman has demonstrated her continued commitment to persons with brain injury and their care partners through her resolute perseverance and persistence, her organizational talents and her creativity. Her governance of the Conference Committee assures that all attendees experience a high standard of excellence. The success of BIAPA’s Conference is due to her leadership.