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The Florida Grantor, Spring 2007

Footnotes

SportsAbility Expo

This April, the Florida Disabled Outdoors Association hosted the 2007 SportsAbility Conference and Activities, held April 13-14, 2007 in Tallahassee. This annual event promotes healthy and active living for persons with disabilities. SportsAbility provides first-hand access to resources and demonstrations of recreational activities designed to encourage participation regardless of age or ability level. This year the event also offered participants information on the latest advancements in recreational equipment, products and resources.

Residents, community organizations and sports enthusiast of all ages engaged in a wide range of fun-filled activities including: wheelchair and adaptive golf; tennis, basketball, goal ball, laser target shooting, interactive fishing simulator, disc golf, therapeutic recreation activities and more! To learn more about SportsAbility or the Florida Disabled Outdoors Association, visit www.fdoa.org.

Grassroots Forum

The 2007 Grassroots Forum will take place June 21-24, 2007 at the University of South Florida in Tampa. The Grassroots Forum is an event, held every two years, that is designed to address education, housing, employment and transportation issues affecting people with disabilities.

This conference will offer participants insightful information from advocates and supporters, such as: Chip Wilson of the Florida Independent Living Council (FILC) and Olegario D. Cantos, VII, Esp., White House Domestic Policy Coordinator.

To obtain more information about the Grassroots Forum, please visit www.flailc.org.

NAGC/AYLF/AAPD Joint Meeting

The Association of Youth Leadership Forums (AYLF), the National Association of Governor's Committees on People with Disabilities (NAGC), and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) teamed up, this past April, to host the 2007 AYLF/NAGC/AAPD Joint Meeting, April 30-May 1, 2007. The conference, held at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Florida, welcomed more than 100 participants and members of the NAGC, AYLF and AAPD. This unique meeting provided attendees information on new developments and programs affecting the disability community around the state of Florida and the nation.

The two-day conference also featured workshops and seminars focused on employer and disability hiring practices, transition strategies, disability advocacy and programs. Featured speakers included Bill Palmer, director of the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Jeannie Amendola, The Able Trust Board secretary and member and past president of Walt Disney World Co. CastABLE and Andrew Imparato, president & CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities. Serving her second term as Chair of the NAGC, The Able Trust President and CEO, Sharon Griffith, also played host and moderator to this distinctive conference.

For more information about the AYLF/NAGC/AAPD Joint Meeting, please contact The Able Trust at (888) 838-2253.

APD Launches New Toll-Free Number

The Agency for Persons with Disabilities has secured a new toll-free phone number to better serve Florida citizens. The agency's new phone number is 1-866-APD-CARES or 1-866-273-2273. You may contact APD Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5p.m.(EST.)