Title
Proclamation honoring Disability Advocate Lena Ricks
Memorandum
PROCLAMATION
Honoring Disability Advocate Lena Ricks
September 3, 2013
WHEREAS, Lena Ricks served until her death as the Executive Director of Partners in Personal Assistance, which she founded in 1999; the nonprofit ensures that people with disabilities live independent, self-governed lives by directing their own personal care; and
WHEREAS, Ricks was one of the founders of the disability rights and service nonprofit organization Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living in 1976, the fourth such organization in the world; and
WHEREAS, she served as Washtenaw Community College's Special Needs Office Associate Director in the 1980s; and
WHEREAS, Ricks worked as a counseling social worker for many years having earned her Masters of Social Work at Eastern Michigan University in 1994 and a bachelor's of business administration at Cleary University in 1984; and
WHEREAS, she served on the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority's local advisory committee and the Washtenaw County National Alliance on Mental Illness Board of Directors; and
WHEREAS, her leadership has been officially recognized by Michigan Legislators and unofficially by thousands of people with disabilities.
NOW THEREFORE, I, John Hieftje, Mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan would like to honor the memory of Lena Ricks for her dedication and contributions, and extend our gratitude from the Ann Arbor community.
I hereby set my hand and seal
This 3rd day of September, 2013
John Hieftje, Mayor