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The Porter-Starke Award for Service to Community Mental Health was presented
to Chesterton Tribune reporter Vicki Urbanik at the Mental Health Alliance
annual meeting Thursday, September 22 at The Legacy in Valparaiso.
The Porter-Starke Award for Service to Community Mental Health was presented
to Urbanik for her contribution towards 22 years of quality journalism that
is accurate and assists with educating the community on mental illness
issues, reducing the stigma.
Urbanik has been a local government reporter with the Chesterton Tribune
since 1986, reporting primarily on Porter County government and the Duneland
Schools. Her volunteer service has included work with a Portage Adult
Education program tutoring and providing general support for adults and
children at the Spring Valley Homeless Shelter and in the Hilltop
neighborhood (prior to the establishment of the Hilltop Neighborhood House).
Urbanik has also been a volunteer in the Nurturing Program at the Family &
Youth Service Bureau in Valparaiso and Portage. She is currently a board
member of the not-for-profit Moraine Ridge Wildlife Rehab Center. Vicki
lives with her husband and two children in Morgan Township.
The Alliance, which consists of Porter-Starke Services, Inc., The
Porter-Starke Services Foundation, Inc., and the Mental Health Association
in Porter County also presented the Aled P. Davies Service in Public Policy
Award to Barbara Collins-Layton for her willingness to take stands to meet
the needs of the entire community.
Collins-Layton, Executive Director for NAMI of Porter County, an affiliate
of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is an advocate for the mentally
ill, a group facilitator and an educational trainer at the local and state
levels.
The Gale C. Corley President’s Award was presented to Dale Clapp for his
many years of service and support to the Porter-Starke Board of Directors.
Clapp, Senior Vice-president and Regional Manager for Mercantile Bank, is
the current board president for the Porter-Starke Foundation board of
directors. Clapp lives in Valparaiso with his wife and two children.
The Robert Anderson Community Education & Service Award and the Mental
Health Association’s Distinguished Service Award were presented to Mental
Health Association board president and Porter-Starke Foundation board member
Julie Graegin, for her continued commitment to the community to educate and
influence issues of importance in the cause of mental health. Previously
Graegin, who has a MA in Counseling from Valparaiso University, had worked
in the Community Support Services department of Porter-Starke for over eight
years. “I was able to see how important the Mental Health Association and
Porter-Starke Services was to the community. I believe everyone struggles
with mental wellness at different times in their lives and these agencies
are there to help. I feel honored to be involved with them,” Graegin stated.
Graegin lives in Valparaiso with her husband and three daughters.
The Patient Care & Advocacy Award was presented to James Spanopoulos for his
devotion, compassion and dedicated efforts to help the mentally ill of our
community. Spanopoulos, a licensed pharmacist and Director of Fagen Pharmacy
in Valparaiso has piloted many pharmaceutical programs for those with mental
illness and various hospice and assisted living facilities within the county
and state. He currently serves on the board of directors for Porter
Hospital, the Whispering Pines in Valparaiso and is an advisory board member
for the Mental Health Association in Porter County.
The Mental Health Association awarded the following awards: The ARCH Award
went to Stanley Lelek, Ph.D. for his exceptional devotion and compassion to
the MHA’s Advisory Board and for his efforts in building the arch of
services which promote mental wellness in the community.
Friends of the Mental Health Association awards went to Ian Lucas for his
tireless volunteer efforts to the agency and to Von Tobel’s Hardware &
Lumber for their continued support of the MHA and with recent renovations to
their facility. Accepting the award for Von Tobel’s was Curt Malangoni.
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Posted 9/26/2005
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