PAR Solutions Conference

Each year, the PAR "We Are Worth It." Awards honor extraordinary Pennsylvanians who have made remarkable contributions to their communities. Help us honor our essential workers! Winners are nominated by PAR Provider Members, who have chosen them from amongst tens of thousands of self advocate employees, direct support professionals, frontline managers and community employers across the commonwealth.

The Awards Ceremony is a major highlight of the Annual PAR Solutions Conference, which welcomed 650 leaders from the Intellectual Disability and Autism community at last year's conference. During this time, award recipients are often moved to tears as they understand how valued they are by their communities. This year’s ceremony will take place virtually on Monday, October 19, 2020. Please plan to join us for this very special ceremony and help us to make it special for all who are involved!

We look forward to hearing the stories of your community champions, especially those who went above and beyond throughout the tough times caused by the global pandemic. Honor these difference-makers by nominating them today!


Nomination Instructions
Deadline: Nominations are due no later than Friday, August 28, 2020. Nominators will be notified of winners in September. After winners are selected, all nominators will receive a packet to give to their nominee, which includes a copy of the submitted nomination. We want each nominee to know that they are appreciated and valued!
Awards Categories: The "We Are Worth It." Awards honor one winner from each region (Western, Central, Northeast, Southeast) in each of the following categories:
  • Self Advocate Employees of the Year: This award will honor outstanding self advocates employed in community businesses who exemplify drive and passion for their chosen work. These individuals demonstrate all of the finest qualities of a top performing employee: positive attitude, integrity, initiative, dependability, strong work ethic, leadership, professionalism, customer service excellence, collaboration and being goal-oriented. 
  • Community Employers of the Year: This award will honor outstanding community employers (not an ID/A provider agency) who have demonstrated innovative leadership and exceptional support and hiring practices. These award winners have consistently set policies and demonstrated positive approaches for hiring, training, and supporting employees with intellectual disability and/or autism so they can succeed on the job and contribute to company goals, particularly those employees with complex employment challenges.
  • Frontline Managers of the Year: This award will honor outstanding Frontline Managers who have demonstrated innovative leadership practices through change agent action. These individuals lead by example and develop engaging teams of high performing Direct Support Professionals. These leaders have successful relationships with all stakeholders and ensure the highest quality services through strong, trusting relationships with staff, individuals, families, support coordinators, team members and community members.
  • Direct Support Professionals of the Year: This award will honor outstanding Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) who have demonstrated extraordinary and innovative support and action that lead people with intellectual disability and/or autism to live meaningful and inclusive lives. These winners will be honored for transforming lives by supporting people to achieve their personal outcomes while actively engaging in their communities.
Award Winners: Award Winners will be honored at the afternoon virtual Awards Ceremony on Monday, October 19 and will receive:
  • An award mailed to them before the Awards Ceremony. During the ceremony, each winner will be able to show off their award through Zoom!
  • A copy of a press release announcing their receipt of the Award
  • A copy of their nomination
  • Recognition in advocacy materials throughout the year
  • Direct Support Professionals and Self Advocate Employees will receive a $100 cash prize which will be mailed along with their award
Nomination Instructions:
  • Your organization must be a PAR Provider Member to submit a nomination.
  • Organizations may submit no more than one nomination for each category in each region.
  • There will be one winner in every region for each category (listed below). Regions are: Western, Central, Northeast, and Southeast.
  • Nominations must be between 300-350 words.
  • Nominations should give clear examples of how the nominee has fulfilled the award description (given below). They should also highlight community involvement.
  • Include high resolution photo(s) that show the nominee with those they have impacted as they work in their community.
  • Please use person-first language in your nomination.
  • Take the time to write and save your nomination in Microsoft Word and then copy and paste into this form. Internet browsers can time-out, leaving you without a nomination after a lot of hard work! Writing in Word will also allow you to easily edit and save your nomination before submitting through this portal.

Questions: Contact Lauren Quigley at lauren@par.net or (717) 236-2374 with any questions.

T