Chris named top achiever
15 December 2011
The Karingal Employee and Achiever awards were presented at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting last month to give recognition for effort, commitment and success.
The Achiever of the Year award was presented to Chris Van Ingen.
Karingal Chair Cheryl Graham said Chris was deserving of the award due to his excellent service to Karingal and the wider community on a number of different levels.
“Chris has been gifted with a voice to articulate his journey and tells his story regularly as part of Karingal Training modules, staff inductions and also at other Karingal events,” Cheryl said at the AGM.
“He is not afraid to challenge his audiences, but does so in a respectful and genuine way and has been described as a true champion in the training room, evoking the spirit of positive pathways for people with disabilities.”
Chris is also a member of the Karingal PR and Marketing Committee as a participant representative, providing invaluable input into Karingal events and activities.
Chris also presents outside of Karingal, quite often to the business and school communities, where he tells his story in a bid to give insight into the positive experiences of a person with a disability within the community framework.
Chris has his own blog called Coalition for Social Awareness where he once again demonstrates an active participation within the community, articulating his sound views and opinion of the world.
“A poet, an actor, a father and a husband, Chris continues to inspire the people around him and is well-known for being a true gentleman,” Cheryl said.
The winner of the Employee Award was Marilyn Merrifield, a Team Leader of the Life Skills day service area at Karingal Konnections, Karingal’s branch on the Mornington Peninsula.