Irvine Valley College Dean of Kinesiology, Health and Athletics Keith Shackleford was honored earlier this week by one of the college's own.
Erik St. Amant, a former IVC student and the long-time announcer for the Laser men's and women's basketball and baseball teams, was on hand to at City Hall to present Shackleford with the Disability-Friendly Manager's Award by the Irvine Residents with Disabilities Advisory Board (IRDAB).
Vice Chair of the IRDAB June McLaughlin nominated Shackleford for the award.
The IRDAB was established in 1990 by the Irvine City Council to ensure residents with disabilities have equal access in community life.
The voluntary Board consists of 16 members. At least 51 percent of members have disabilities and the remainder of the Board is comprised of residents who have a family member with a disability and/or work in the field of disability services.
The IRDAB's mission is identifying and recommending programs and services meeting the physical and social needs of residents who have disabilities, regardless of age. The board provides advocacy and support for programs related to community needs and propose recommendations to a variety of city departments. IRDAB also works collaboratively with vital community organizations.
Shackleford, who is also the Athletic Director at Irvine Valley, was given the award in recognition of the positive work experience provided to persons with disabilities and for successfully integrating disabled persons into a productive work team.
Shackleford thanked the Irvine Valley staff for its attentive and tireless work in helping others.
"I am accepting on behalf of the college," he said. "So many people do this work day-in and day-out, like Ted (Weatherford), Silvie (Grote) and Mike Bennett with their work in adaptive kinesiology.
"We also have direct connections in Disabled Students Programs and Services with Monica Parks, Ange Riedel, Mary Rominger and Judy Henmi, and with Beep Colclough and Parisa Soltani in Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, as well as others who have daily contact with our students and work diligently to put them in a position to be successful.
"So many deserve so much more credit for putting us in a place where we have the luxury of accepting such recognition."
