2023 Awards Ceremony: Pictured from left to right: Doug Dunn, general manager for Casella Waste
Management and Michael Stehman, Western Region vice president for Casella Waste Management,
winner of Business Partner of the Year award; Martin Miskell, Arc GLOW CEO; Cheryl Englert, Arc GLOW
Board of Directors president; Chuck Keenan, Board of Directors secretary and winner of Volunteer of the
Year award; and Mary Lou Touhey, owner of Case Nic Cookies in Medina and winner of the Friend of Arc
GLOW award.
Press release/Provided photos
BATAVIA — Friends, families and community members gathered at the Batavia Downs Wednesday
evening to celebrate Arc GLOW’s 1st annual Awards Banquet and Annual Meeting since their merger in
2021.
Over 250 people came, including Erik Geizer, chief executive officer for The Arc of New York; Merle
“Skip” Draper, from state Sen. Rob Ortt’s office; Greg Torrey, from state Sen. George Borrello’s office;
Assemblywoman Marjorie Byrnes; and John Deleo, Genesee County legislator.
There was an art display from Elba Day Habilitation, and the centerpieces which people could take home
were provided by the staff and individuals at the Washington St. Day Habilitation in Albion with the help
of Pam Lamar, a retired Orleans County Day Habilitation coordinator. After dinner, Julie Johnston sang
“Let it Go” from Frozen to a roaring standing ovation.
After speeches from local officials, the awards presentation began.
INDIVIDUALS OF THE YEAR: Pictured top row, left to right: Michael Cuttitta, Supported
Employment Person of the Year; Robert Greer, Self-Advocate of the Year; Matthew Willson, Residential
Person of the Year. Bottom row, from left to right: Larry Anderson, Pre-Vocational Person of the Year;
Aaries Fitzsimmons, Community Services and Self-Direction Person of the Year; and Dusty Sanford, Day
Habilitation Person of the Year.
The Supported Employment Person of the Year award honors a person with a disability supported by Arc
GLOW who has demonstrated a strong work ethic, dedication to their job, ability to learn new
community employment skills and maintain successful employment.
This year it was given to Michael Cuttitta.
“Mike worked in the work center at Hilltop for over 12 years before moving on to Arc GLOW’s supported
employment program. He takes pride in his work and is focused. He always gets his job done with
quality and efficiency,” said Kellie Kennedy, vice president of Day and Employment Services with Arc
GLOW. “Last summer in July, Mike took a chance and decided to try out a contracted work opportunity
at Bristol ID Technologies in Lima. This chance transitioned into a permanent placement with Bristol ID
this past fall.”
Day Habilitation Person of the Year honors a person with a disability supported by Arc GLOW who
participates in day habilitation activities, strives to learn, and demonstrates effort and commitment to
be included in their own communities. With her constant jokes and contagious smile, Dusty Sanford was
given this award.
“Dusty loves attending the Elba Day Habilitation, and when she returns home she tells her house staff
that she wants to return to day habilitation — even if she has to walk,” Kennedy said.
Pre-Vocational Person of the Year honors a person with a disability supported by Arc GLOW with a
dedication to learning about the world of work including: new job skills, completing quality work and
showing attention to the task of learning. A worker at Orleans Enterprises and a participant at the HUB
in Batavia, Larry Anderson was chosen for this award.
“He is dedicated to learning about the world of work, including new job skills, striving to complete
quality work and showing attention to the task of learning,” Kennedy said. “Larry represents the best of
what the pre-vocational program has to offer. He takes advantage of what the program offers and the
experiences in the community.”
Community Services and Self Direction Person of the Year honors a person with a disability served by Arc GLOW who shows outstanding participation and contribution to their community. The awardee shows
the initiative in trying new activities and gain leadership potential through community involvement, and
with her outstanding participation and contribution to her community, Aaries Fitzsimmons was given
this award.
“Many would agree that Aaries is community. With the support of her self-directed staff, Andrea, Aaries
finds unique ways to give back to others one smile at a time,” said Jill Pegelow, vice president of Self
Direction and Community Services. “The biggest impact in her volunteerism has been with the Batavia
Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. The staff and veterans always look forward to her seasonal
handcrafted kindness and conversation.”
Aside from the VA, Aaries volunteers at Godfrey’s Pond, her church, and bakes for various fundraisers.
The Self-Advocate of the Year honors a person with a disability served by Arc GLOW who has grown and
is meeting their personal outcomes. They also have positively influenced the lives of others. A member
of the Self-Advocacy All Star group for years, Robert “Bobby” Greer was chosen for this award.
“He is very knowledgeable about advocacy and teaching new members what self-advocacy is all about,”
Pegelow said. “Bobby participated in the in the Self-Advocacy Talent Show Fundraiser and attended the
Self Advocates of New York State Conference in Niagara Falls. Bobby also volunteered at the Orleans
County Fair Arc GLOW booth. He served on the agency incident review committee, he was engaged and
provided great feedback.”
Pegelow said Greer is a great self-advocate, demonstrating the very essence of what staff are charged
with doing and what Arc GLOW’s services are supposed to accomplish.
2023 Awards Ceremony : Vice President of Children Services Stephanie Metz with Holly Green,
winner of KidStart Employee of the Year award
KidStart Employee of the Year honors an employee who demonstrates exceptional support to children
and families, and is committed to assisting in all areas of their growth and education. With her
exceptional support to children, Holly Green was chosen for this award.
“As the Head Start family advocate, she is often the first face families see and remains a pillar of support
throughout their enrollment. Holly shows the same dedication and support to all of KidStart’s staff by
stepping in when needed and assisting with KidStart’s many programs and events,” said Stephanie Metz,
vice president of Children Services
Green started in 1992 as an intern through college, and helped to set up the very first Head Start
classroom in Dansville. She was hired as a substitute for the classroom and did the building cleaning for
a period of time. Eventually she applied for a position as a teacher’s assistant in Head Start.
Green took a break to go on maternity leave for her second child, and when another position became
available, she returned full-time in September 2001 as the Head Start family advocate.
Green also works part-time as a direct support professional.
Residential Person of the Year honors a person with a disability supported by Arc GLOW who resides in
residential services, grew in their independence and learned life skills. A resident of Turtle Rock IRA in
Lakeville, Matthew Willson received this award.
“Matt has certainly come a long way in the time he has lived with us. He has grown in his
independence, he’s learned life skills, made friends, and he enjoys being helpful,” said Deb Tuckerman,
vice president of Residential Services. “Matt participates in the WOW program, and he and his
habilitation staff have attended many events and fairs around the community.”
2023 Awards Ceremony: Vice President of Day and Employment Services Kellie Kennedy with Amy
Beiswenger, winner of Direct Support Professional Person of the Year award
Direct Support Professional Person (DSP) of the Year honors a DSP who provides a variety of activities to
adults with developmental disabilities within a home setting, day programs or recreational activities in
the community. The DSP would provide excellence in support in living skills, personalized goals, arts and
crafts, sensory activities, and facilitates individuals to take their active role in the community. With 19
years at Arc GLOW, Amy Beiswenger has been chosen as DSP of the Year.
A DSP at Senior Open Road Day Habilitation in Mt. Morris, Beiswenger always provides activities in a
home setting, day programs or recreational activities in the community.
John Prospero, vice president of transportation and master of ceremonies, said, “Amy is the definition of
an excellent DSP — she is someone whose dedication, advocacy, compassion, competence, person centered approaches and collaboration results in improved quality of life, health and wellness, and/or
opportunities for all that we serve. Amy makes this role look simple with her kind, no day is a bad day
attitude. Amy used our services at ARC GLOW to bridge into the direct support professional world.”
Employee of the Year recognizes an employee of Arc GLOW who is committed to the mission and vision.
They demonstrate the values of diversity, respect, integrity, visionary, equality, empowerment and
excellence. Kristie Rada, nurse supervisor, the award recipient, is committed to Arc GLOW’s mission and
values.
“She has demonstrated the values of diversity, respect, integrity, visionary, equality, empowerment and
excellence. Kristie always goes above and beyond for this agency and for the individuals Arc GLOW
serves,” Prospero said. “Her dedication, knowledge, professionalism and commitment are only
exceeded by her compassion, grace and caring heart.
“One of her peers said, ‘I have never seen any nurse as devoted to both the health care agency and
individuals that are cared for — she is such an asset to this organization.’”
The Friend of Arc GLOW Award is for a community friend and supporter of Arc GLOW’s mission and
vision, and everyone at Arc GLOW knows of the Touhey family and Case-Nic Cookies
“The Touhey family is the true definition of a community friend and supporter of Arc GLOW’s mission
and vision,” Prospero said.
The Touhey family always can be found volunteering at Arc events or organizing fundraisers to benefit
Arc GLOWs programs and other communities. Mary Lou Touhey constantly provides cookies for Arc
GLOW’s fundraisers and events, and Nicole Touhey heads her own fundraisers. Her Have a Heart
Campaign raised over $2,300 this year that benefited many programs within the agency.
The Business Partner of the Year is for a business who supports Arc GLOW’s mission and vision through
excellent customer service or providing work opportunities for employment. Casella Waste
Management received this year’s award.
Martin Miskell, CEO, said over 40 years ago, the Arc of Genesee opened its trash recycling center to fill a
need for the City of Batavia to help create jobs and produce a positive revenue stream for the
organization. However, business models change and recycling was no longer providing the number of
jobs it had in the past.
Selling the business was an easy financial decision, but a difficult one emotionally, but after months of
negotiations the decision was made to sell the business to Casella Waste Management.
Casella kept everyone who had a job, the transfer station open and operated by Arc GLOW’s work crew
with a job coach, and free trash pick-up at all of Arc GLOW’s Batavia locations in perpetuity and a large
discount at other locations served by Casella. Casella also gave Arc GLOW their lease at Apollo Drive in
Batavia for their transportation department, which still has three and a half years on it for free.
“Casella is the true definition of a partner who supports our mission and vision through excellent
customer service and providing work opportunities for employment,” Miskell said.
Finally, Volunteer of the Year honors a person who is committed to Arc GLOW, volunteering their time
by serving the local community and supporting the Arc GLOWs mission and vision. This year, it goes to
Chuck Keenan, who serves on Arc GLOW’s Board of Directors as its secretary; is the chairperson of the
Compliance Committee; and sits on the Vocational Committee, the Incident Review Committee and
Community Services. He also volunteers his time on various boards within his community such as the
Developmental Disability sub-committee for Livingston County Community Services Board and for the
Town of Groveland.
“Chuck wants to see Arc GLOW become a world class agency in our field. As a result, he is very
interactive with all of his committees/boards. He takes his role seriously,” said Cheryl Englert, Board of
Directors president.
At the annual meeting, Cheryl Englert was re-elected board president, John Huber was elected vice president, Charles Keenan was re-elected secretary, Eric Parker was re-elected treasurer and Ken
Barchet was elected assistant treasurer.