Celebrating Our Inaugural Legacy Dinner!

On Thursday, February 2, CTC kicked off its Legacy Campaign with an inaugural Legacy Dinner at the Wege Ballroom at Aquinas College! This event celebrated Legacy Award honorees, Rodney Martin and Jan Wilks, and Volunteer Award honoree Macie Zack. They were recognized for their dedication to CTC’s mission, helping children to walk, talk, learn, and play. As a part of our Legacy Campaign, the last 40 years of dedicated advocacy for this mission will inspire another 40 years of growth and community impact.

As seriously as we take our mission, we couldn’t host this event without having a little FUN! Before making their way to their seats, our guests were invited to complete activities with our therapists to get a taste of what they do. Playdough, wiggle pens, and iPads, oh my! But not just any iPad— the iPads our guests got to demo were Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC) devices. In case you missed out, you can check out what an AAC is by visiting the link above!

After having some fun with our therapists and learning about the services we offer, guests turned in their completed activity cards for a chance to win one of our fabulous door prizes. Dinner was served, and door prizes were awarded! Lucky guests received our generously donated prizes such as dinner for 2 at The Mitten Brewing Co., Bug Guard lawn protection services from AAA Lawn Care, dog grooming from Handsome Hounds, and last but not least, homemade syrup AND a candle from CTC founder, Jean Silbar. Who doesn’t love a candlelit pancake dinner?

As the night unfolded, we turned our attention to the award honorees to thank them for the way that they have shaped CTC’s legacy! The first Legacy Award recipient, Rodney Martin, served CTC for over 25 years as a member of our board and as board president.

Our next Legacy Award recipient, Jan Wilks, joined CTC in 1990, working as the Activity Coordinator for the Therapy & Fun program. During her tenure at CTC, she was promoted to Director of Therapy & Fun and moved into the position of Programs Director in 2019. In December 2022, Jan retired from CTC to travel the world with her husband and spend time with her family.

Finally, we honored the future of CTC’s mission by handing down the Volunteer Award to Macie Zack. Macie started her journey with CTC in 2011, with a total of 6 years of volunteer work under her belt, as well as a total of 2 years working for CTC. Macie is currently pursuing a Master’s degree at Grand Valley State University in Occupational Therapy. As Macie prepares to enter the field of Occupational Therapy, we celebrate the role the CTC played in helping her choose this path, and the role she serves at CTC as a star volunteer.

After our distinguished guests received their awards, our Interim Executive Director, Ellen Sawyer, wrapped up the ceremony with an address to the attendees. She spoke to the last 40 years of growth at CTC and how far we’ve come, and how much potential we have to continue our growth in the future.

Join us in our Legacy Campaign by following our mission, spreading awareness, and donating to our campaign goal to raise $1,000,000 before the end of 2024. Thank you for helping us celebrate 40 years of service, as we look forward to 40 more!