What a fun evening! Thank you so much to everyone who joined the celebration. We had a great time being mystified by the one and only award-winning comedian/magician Chipper Lowell. He blew our minds with his magic tricks- pulling in many of our viewers to make the magic happen!

None of the fun would have been possible without our board of directors- Mike, Paul, DeAndra, Tori, Erin, Donna Marie, Renee, Adrian, Rosemary & Cory who helped plan it all out, picked up donations, and so much more.  Thank you to Tyler & Mike from Backstory Creative who helped manage all the tech aspects during the event for us. Thank you Stephen & Ruth who assembled all the party boxes for us! Thank you to all the incredible businesses and individuals who donated to our silent auction and party boxes! And of course, to incredibly generous sponsors- Thank you so much for your support!  

This year we awarded our inaugural Sapphire Sibling Award. We created this award to recognize those siblings who have shown great acceptance, inclusion, and appreciation for their brother or sister who happens to have Down syndrome. We had so many wonderful nominations for this inaugural award, let’s take a moment to applaud all the amazing siblings out there. Our winners are two older siblings who epitomize what it means to accept, include and appreciate all abilities. They have participated in Parent2Parent meeting as siblings, sharing with other families how having a sibling with Down syndrome is a wonderful thing. They shared so much about living through Ava’s rough times in the hospital, fun times in social settings, and everything in between. Most of all they represented how Down syndrome has enhanced their lives. Their mom and dad are so proud and touched by their love for their sister.  Congratulations Luke & Gianna Fernandes, our very first Sapphire Sibling award winners.

It was a challenge to pick just one Advocate of the Year, there are so many incredible individuals with Down syndrome in the valley who are all deserving of this award.  Thank you to our panel who made the difficult decision for us. This year’s winner joined the DSACC Advocate committee a few years ago. You can find her at almost every DSACC event welcoming new families and old friends. She is the first to volunteer to help in any way that she can.  Her nominator says of our winner, “her bubbly personality is a joy to be around, and her bright smile lights up any occasion.   She is proud and confident in who she is. I see the determination in her, and hope she knows how much we admire her.”

This past year has been a challenge for all of us, and I have seen firsthand how it has affected all of our loved ones with Down syndrome. I have seen how this woman has fought through it, found the light in all situations, and continues to share her smile wherever she goes. Congratulations to our Advocate of the Year- Sarah Corona.

If you have won any silent auction items and need to collect them, please contact us at the office 559.228.0411.

We look forward to seeing everyone in person at next year's gala!