FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Oct. 19, 2024 - United Spinal Association will host its third annual StrongWheeled Together Awards ceremony tonight in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. at the Abilities Expo at the Broward County Convention Center. The Awards celebrate the cultural and intellectual leadership of wheelchair users who have impacted the fabric of American life, part of a broader initiative that pays tribute to the power of community.
United Spinal Association is proud to present Franklin, Texas resident Mack Marsh with the prestigious James J. Peters Community Builder Award. Marsh is the founder of the Parking Mobility program, which educates and mobilizes community members against accessible parking abuse.
Marsh and his team developed a groundbreaking app that has been key to grassroots action from the community to defend already scarce accessible parking. It enables ordinary people to report violations directly to local governments. Parking Mobility has also produced educational materials that instruct offenders on how to avoid future transgressions. The combination of the two has proven especially effective in multiple localities throughout his home state, and has become a proven model that begs to be replicated around the country.
Marsh is a long-time advocate for people with disabilities in employment, accessibility and emergency preparedness, and has deep experience with community outreach and knowledge of the support landscape for his community. He has lived with quadriplegia since 2001. United Spinal is honored to present Marsh with the first-ever Community Builder Award.
The James J. Peters Community Builder Award is named after United Spinal's most significant historic leader, a veteran and civil rights activist. It honors an individual who has achieved significant social progress for wheelchair users in the realm of rights, support services, accessibility, or career advancement.
This year, the Award recognizes winners across two additional categories.
Named for a stem cell research and medical ethics trailblazer whose passing last year shook the community, the Brooke Ellison Community Visionary Award honors an individual who has changed the face of the fields of technology or business. The Community Visionary Award will be presented to Jennifer French of St. Petersburg, Fla., Executive Director of Neurotech Network and one of the most recent recipients of the Craig H. Neilsen Visionary Prize.
The Barry Corbet Community Voice Award honors a creative professional who has advanced the positive and authentic representation of people with disabilities in American public life. The Community Voice Award will be presented to Regan Linton of Alexandria, Va., an accomplished actor, filmmaker, writer, and outspoken leader on inclusion in the arts. She is the co-director of the award-winning documentary IMPERFECT.
The StrongWheeled Together Awards arose from a multi-issue campaign created by United Spinal in 2022 to raise the profile of people with disabilities in American life, invigorate the cause of disability justice for a new generation, and broaden the historic coalition that has fought for disability rights. It is part of a companion events series and conference that is taking place virtually in 2024.
SOURCE United Spinal Association
