Media Coverage Archives - Penn-Mar

Penn-Mar Human Services’ CEO Greg Miller Named One of 2023’s “Most Admired CEOs”

nvenn — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 19:59:01 +0000

- Maryland Daily Record’s Annual Award Honors Maryland’s Top Leaders -

October 2, 2023

Baltimore – Penn-Mar Human Services, the region’s leading provider of services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), is proud to announce that President & CEO Greg Miller has been named one of 2023’s Most Admired CEOs by the Maryland Daily Record. This prestigious award is presented to exceptional Maryland business leaders who have demonstrated remarkable achievements in their professional endeavors, a strong commitment to community service, and have garnered accolades from co-workers, board members, and community leaders for their exemplary leadership and visionary contributions.

Greg has served as CEO of Penn-Mar since 2012 and has an illustrious career in human services spanning over three decades. Under Greg’s visionary leadership, Penn-Mar has experienced remarkable growth. What once began with a handful of families operating out of a church basement, has evolved into an organization with over 500 dedicated employees providing essential services to more than 400 individuals each year across Maryland and Pennsylvania through its three locations. Additionally, over 1,000 individuals with IDD benefit from Low Intensity Support Services (LISS) provided by Penn-Mar.

“Greg is the epitome of humble servant leadership that impacts people’s lives,” says William T. Yanavitch II, Chair of the Penn-Mar Human Services Board of Directors. “As Greg would acknowledge, this recognition reflects the amazing team of Penn-Mar people with whom he has surrounded himself to help the people that we support live courageous lives. His inspiring and passionate leadership is contagious in empowering our community to become partners in our mission.”

Greg’s dedication to the disability community was ignited during his senior year at Shippensburg University when he was introduced to Target Community & Educational Services Inc., a nonprofit committed to supporting people with disabilities in Westminster, Md. His professional journey began as a direct support professional, working closely with individuals with IDD to empower them to lead lives of their choosing. Soon after, with his wife Terri, Greg opened Maryland’s first home for children with significant disabilities as part of this pioneering initiative. He gradually worked his way up the leadership ladder at Penn-Mar, assuming a wide range of positions along the way, before becoming Chief Operating Officer in 2000 and ultimately, CEO 12 years later.

“I am honored and humbled to receive this award. Any success I have achieved is due to the dedication of each member of the Penn-Mar team,” says Miller. “As an organization, we are constantly looking for new ways to improve the supports we provide while advocating for sound public policy that will create additional opportunities for those in the IDD community. Our amazing team members continue to exceed expectations and while we are not perfect, we strive to be better each day. Due to the collective efforts of all our partners, private and public, we continue to forge new ways to achieve the goals of our organization and more importantly, the goals of the people we support.”

In 2022, Greg oversaw the launch of Penn-Mar’s most ambitious fundraiser to date, the $7.5 million Building Bold Futures campaign, which was successfully completed in March 2023. In July 2023, Penn-Mar made a historic, $3 million investment in team members, increasing Direct Support Professional (DSP) wages – which are limited due to government funding constraints – and positioning Penn-Mar to attract and retain talented DSPs, who are the frontline professionals providing vital services to people with disabilities.

Greg has also played a pivotal role in Penn-Mar’s Belonging Initiative, an internal culture campaign aimed at fostering a workplace where every employee feels valued, heard, and supported. This initiative seeks to harness the collective life experiences of Penn-Mar’s team members to create a more inclusive and connected work environment.

Penn-Mar congratulates Greg on this well-deserved recognition and looks forward to continued growth and success under his leadership.

Media can contact Roger Mecca at roger@vitaminisgood.com to set up an interview or learn more about the organization.

About Penn-Mar Human Services

Penn-Mar Human Services is a nonprofit that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to Live Courageously, whether that’s securing a job, being an active member of their community, building independence, or developing new relationships. Penn-Mar accomplishes this by supporting people on their own unique personal journeys. Founded in 1981, Penn-Mar operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in northern Maryland and southern Pennsylvania. They support 500+ adults with disabilities daily through an array of customizable services.

www.penn-mar.org.

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Penn-Mar Human Services Partners With Jemicy School For Inclusive Fashion Show

nvenn — Fri, 12 May 2023 20:19:44 +0000

- People Supported by Penn-Mar to Model Clothing Designed Specifically For Their Disabilities -

May 11, 2023

Baltimore – Penn-Mar Human Services, the region’s leading provider of services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), will host its first-ever inclusive fashion show, featuring people that are supported by Penn-Mar, who will model original clothing designs created by 18 students from Jemicy School, a Maryland-based independent school that educates elementary, middle, and high school students with dyslexia or related language-based learning differences.

The show will take place on May 19, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. at Penn-Mar’s Day Learning Center at 310 Old Freeland Road in Freeland, Md. Though the event is closed to the general public, it will be livestreamed on Facebook and recorded for rebroadcast. Invited guests and members of the press are encouraged to attend.

The Jemicy students have created 20 original articles of clothing that are conducive with, and favorable to, the specific developmental and/or intellectual disabilities of people that Penn-Mar supports. Where appropriate, clothing will be designed to slip overhead easily, utilize stretchy materials with minimal seams, and rely on large zippers, magnets, or ties to secure. Then for the show, several people supported by Penn-Mar will “hit the catwalk” and model the Jemicy student’s unique designs, highlighting how fashion can, and should be, inclusive for everyone.

“Everything Penn-Mar does is centered around a commitment to inclusion and equity for the IDD community- so why should fashion be any different?” says Penn-Mar CEO Greg Miller. “This project gives the people we support a chance to embrace their disabilities with clothing that works with them and supports who they are as individuals, rather than having to conform and adapt to what’s being offered by the clothing industry.”

Miller adds that while there are no formal plans to make the show a recurring event, both teams have expressed interest in doing it again.

The first inkling for the event began in 2019 as a natural extension of Penn-Mar’s person-centered approach to support. Jennifer Hisey, Penn-Mar’s community supports day program manager, discussed having a fashion show with people who attend Penn-Mar’s day learning center. They loved the idea, but then the pandemic halted any plans.

Then, in April 2022, Tina Chan Sweenie, Penn-Mar’s associate director of development, attended a fashion show at Jemicy where her daughter, Leila, was a featured student designer. Realizing that there was already interest in holding a fashion show at Penn-Mar, Tina and Leila approached Jennifer about a collaborative effort between Jemicy and Penn-Mar. Jennifer loved the idea and soon after, the Penn-Mar team contacted Pauline Savage, Leila’s teacher and Jemicy’s US visual arts department chair and college counselor for the arts. Upon hearing the proposal, Pauline knew it was a terrific opportunity for her fashion students to fully express their talent and creativity.

“My students are brilliant visual spatial thinkers, ingenious when it comes to problem solving,” says Pauline. “They have a talent for making unusual connections that allow them to see opportunities that many people cannot, and they shine brightest when engaged in real-world design opportunities.”

She adds that the partnership with Jemicy is especially appropriate, given the school’s commitment to inclusion and finding ways to overcome learning obstacles for neurodivergent and dyslexic children for the past 50 years. Jemicy students have unique methods to learning, based on who they are as individuals, which is not dissimilar for someone with an IDD and how they approach and adapt to daily living. In fact, for 42 years, Penn-Mar has been helping people with an IDD achieve their own personal goals and find success in a world that is very often not inclusive of their needs.

In addition to the fashion show, eight Jemicy film students will be recording the entire show for a future documentary.

The press is encouraged to attend but must RSVP by contacting Roger Mecca: roger@vitaminisgood.com. Photos and video of the event will also be made available.

About Penn-Mar Human Services

www.penn-mar.org.

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Penn-Mar Human Services’ “Building Bold Futures” Campaign Reaches $7.5MM Goal

nvenn — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 12:04:05 +0000

Historic Fundraiser Will Help Expand Programs and Create New Services

Baltimore – Penn-Mar Human Services, the region’s leading nonprofit provider of services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), is proud to announce the successful completion of the $7.5 million “Building Bold Futures” campaign, the largest in the nonprofit’s 42-year history. The prodigious goal was achieved on March 4, 2023, the final day of the campaign, during Penn-Mar’s 31^st Annual Gala.

Building Bold Futures was created in 2020 after Penn-Mar leadership analyzed what efforts and plans were necessary to not just solidify and expand the organization’s current services but enable remarkable and innovative new avenues for programming and support. From that point, the exploratory phase of the campaign began in August 2020, and it was publicly announced in September 2022.

Creating a campaign of this size and getting it off the ground during a global pandemic, was not an easy task. But as Penn-Mar Chief Advancement Officer and Executive Director of the Penn-Mar Foundation Kathy Rogers says, transformative change is never easy.

“We knew this was a lofty goal, but Penn-Mar has never been an organization that shies away from a challenge,” says Rogers. “To ensure that Penn-Mar will be there for the person who needs us tomorrow, and for the person who needs us in 20 years, we had to go bigger than ever. We always look for more ways to grow, more ways to reach new people, and more opportunities to deliver on our mission to Live Courageously. And this campaign was the answer.”

The funds will be actively used to support a wide range of Penn-Mar services, endowments, and programs:

Enhance how Penn-Mar provide services, whether that’s in new transportation vehicles or implementing new assistive technology
Grow the Michael James Pitts Endowment for the Advancement of Direct Support Professionals to support the organization’s nationally recognized Career Ladders program for DSPs, which has resulted in an 79% retention rate for DSPs who have earned their credentials
Grow the General Endowment that propels innovative funding opportunities wherever they are needed most to discover new and better methods of providing services
Completion of the Far Hills site in New Freedom, PA, allowing Penn-Mar to consolidate its Pennsylvania operations and eliminate the costs and challenges of maintaining multiple locations
Support the newly introduced “Belonging Initiative”, an intentional exploration of Penn-Mar’s culture to become an even more inclusive organization from the inside out.

Much of the campaign’s success can be attributed to co-chairs Beth Pitts-Madonna and the late Jon Kinsley. Jon was an executive at the York, Pa.-based Kinsley Enterprises, and a steadfast supporter of Penn-Mar since 2008 when he joined the Board of Directors. Beth and Jon’s enthusiasm in taking on such a significant role for Building Bold Futures, and their lasting dedication to Penn-Mar, was instrumental to the fundraiser’s success.

Sadly, Jon and his brother, Tim, passed away in a tragic accident in January 2023, and yet his influence was felt even at the March 2023 Gala, where over $120,000 was contributed in his honor.

“I simply cannot overstate how much of an impact Jon and his family’s leadership, expertise, friendship, and generosity have had,” says Penn-Mar CEO Greg Miller. “Not only on the lives of the people with intellectual and developmental disabilities we support, but on our team and on the greater community. His immeasurable contributions to Penn-Mar, and to Building Bold Futures, will be with the nonprofit for generations to come.”

The successful accomplishment of the campaign coincides with Penn-Mar securing $1 million during the Gala, a first for the event, and 2022 being the strongest fiscal year in Penn-Mar’s 42-year history, a testament to the outreach and planning strategies enacted by the organization’s leadership team and board of directors.

For more information, or to schedule an interview with a Penn-Mar representative, please contact Roger Mecca: roger@vitaminisgood.com.

About Penn-Mar Human Services

www.penn-mar.org.

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Penn-Mar Human Services Honors Morton F. Zifferer, Jr. With the2023 Distinguished Humanitarian Award

nvenn — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 20:44:02 +0000

Local Business Leader and Philanthropist Will Be Honored at Penn-Mar’s 31st Annual Gala

York, Pa. – Penn-Mar Human Services, the region’s leading provider of services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), is excited to announce that life-long York, Penn. resident Morton F. Zifferer, Jr. will be honored with the 2023 Distinguished Humanitarian Award on March 4, 2023 at 6 p.m. at Penn-Mar’s 31st annual Gala fundraiser, taking place at the Delta Hotels Marriott Hunt Valley.

Since 1992, Penn-Mar’s Gala has been the most important and successful annual fundraiser for the nonprofit, raising $629,000 in 2022 alone. While guests enjoy the fine cuisine and wine, live music, dancing, and a spirited live auction, many attendees consider the true highlight of the evening to be the presentation of the Distinguished Humanitarian Award. The Award was started in 2017 to highlight specific individuals who have courageously dedicated their lives to community service and shown unwavering support for Penn-Mar’s ongoing mission and to the region. This year, Penn-Mar recognizes Morton F. Zifferer, Chairman and CEO of New Standard Corporation in York, Pa., and a 26-year member of Penn-Mar’s board of directors.

By every measure, Mort is a textbook example of a what it means to be a distinguished humanitarian.

“Mort is one of the most compassionate and caring individuals I have ever had the pleasure to work with,” says Penn-Mar CEO Greg Miller. “For nearly 30 years, he has been a steadfast member of our board and been a part of some of the most exciting and profound initiatives we’ve introduced. But it’s his untiring support for the entire York area that makes him a model recipient for this award. I can proudly and confidently say that Penn-Mar, and the entire York region, is a better place today because of Mort and his passion for philanthropy.”

Mort’s community dedication to charity includes serving on the boards of many of the region’s art and humanitarian nonprofits including WITF public television, York College of Pennsylvania, and the Appell Performing Arts Center. Morton also helped found the Cultural Alliance of York County.

About Penn-Mar Human Services

www.penn-mar.org.

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Penn-Mar Human Services 31st Annual Gala Celebrates a Transcendent Past Year

nvenn — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 20:37:51 +0000

Nonprofit’s Cherished Fundraising Event Honors Those Who ‘Live Courageously’

Baltimore – On Saturday March 4, 2023, Penn-Mar Human Services, the region’s leading provider of services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), will welcome friends, supporters, and partners to its highly anticipated 31st annual Gala fundraiser, taking place at 6 p.m. at the Delta Hotels Marriot Hunt Valley.

Since 1992, the Gala has consistently been Penn-Mar’s most successful individual fundraising event, raising $629,000 in 2022 and attended by up to 600 people each year. The money is used to fund the group’s strategic programs and initiatives that advance and expand Penn-Mar’s services and growth opportunities, including the phenomenally successful Career Ladders program. Career Ladders provides ongoing certification and training to Penn-Mar’s indispensable Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and has resulted in a 79% retention rate for the DSPs who have fully participated in the program.

In many respects, 2022 was one of Penn-Mar’s most successful years ever and a true cause to celebrate. The past year saw the launch of the nonprofit’s largest and most ambitious fundraiser to date, the $7.5MM Building Bold Futures campaign. As of February 1, 2023, Penn-Mar has secured over 90% of the funds and the Gala will serve as the official end of the campaign. The Belonging Initiative was also launched in 2022, an intentional exploration of Penn-Mar’s culture and how they can continue to become a more inclusive organization from the inside out.

And perhaps most impressive is that 2022 was the strongest fiscal year in Penn-Mar’s 42-year history, a testament to the outreach and planning strategies enacted by the organization’s leadership team and board of directors.

“It’s a fantastic time for Penn-Mar and this year’s Gala is the perfect chance to reflect,” says Penn-Mar CEO Greg Miller. “So much of the success we have achieved, especially while enduring a pandemic, is because of the generosity of our partners and friends throughout the year and at the Gala. The kindness and unconditional support they continue to show Penn-Mar, and the IDD community, is both humbling and awe-inspiring.”

This year’s Gala will include many of the elements that have made it such a can’t-miss event including a raw oyster bar, casino gaming tables, dancing, live music from the band Black Tie, and the crowd favorites, the silent and live auctions. This year, the nation’s premier automobile auctioneers, Adcock Bros., will preside over the live auction, which will include some incredible items:

Bottle of Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 23-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Dinner at Wildcat Falls for Eight: A beautiful setting along the Susquehanna River in Wrightsville, Pa. An afternoon of hand-crafted cocktails and hors d’oeuvres followed by a gourmet dinner at a beautiful western motif home, amidst the backdrop of the stunning Wildcat Falls
A two-night villa stay at the beautiful Thorn Hill Winery in Lake County, Calif. for four, including a wine tasting and a private wine concierge for the duration of the trip
A stunning diamond ring featuring 92 white and pink diamonds, set in 18K white and rose gold
Four tickets to the 2023 Billy Joel-Stevie Nicks concert at M&T Bank Stadium

But many guests consider the highlight of the evening to be the presentation of the Distinguished Humanitarian Award, established to highlight specific individuals who have courageously dedicated their lives to community service and shown unwavering support for Penn-Mar’s ongoing mission. This year, Penn-Mar recognizes Morton F. Zifferer, Chairman and CEO of New Standard Corporation in York, Pa. and a 26-year member of Penn-Mar’s board of directors. A York native, Mort has served on the boards of many of the region’s art and humanitarian nonprofits including WITF public television, York College of Pennsylvania, and the Appell Performing Arts Center. Mort also helped found the Cultural Alliance of York County.

Guests will also celebrate Claudia Summerson, this year’s Impact Award recipient for volunteering. The award is given to a volunteer who has made extraordinary contributions in the past year, while promoting Penn-Mar’s mission and bringing exposure to the organization. Claudia’s daughter, Abbie, has been receiving support from Penn-Mar since 2007.

The Gala’s March date coincides perfectly with National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, which was established in 1987 by President Reagan. The timing is auspicious, as the Gala’s funds sustain Penn-Mar’s ongoing pledge to support men and women with IDD to always “Live Courageously”.

For additional details regarding sponsorships or ticketing, please contact Jackie Summers at 443-491-9660 or at jsummers@penn-mar.org.

About Penn-Mar Human Services

www.penn-mar.org.

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Baltimore Sun Shines Spotlight on Critical Funding Provision That Could Come to an End

Penn-Mar Editor — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 18:01:18 +0000

Providing care for the intellectually and developmentally disabled (IDD) community is at the center of everything we do. But it also requires crucial funding and support from the state and federal level. What would happen if one of the key resources for financial support were to be cut off prematurely?

In a recent article, Baltimore Sun health reporter Hallie Miller spoke with Penn-Mar COO Jackie Stevens as she shared the serious consequences of a key emergency funding provision, known as Appendix K, possibly ending early- and what it will mean for people with IDD- and their families.

Read the full article on the Baltimore Sun’s website.

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Penn-Mar Joins WYPR’s “On the Record” to Discuss the Importance of DD Funding

pennadm — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 00:36:00 +0000

As states across the country face large budget shortfalls due to the pandemic, there is a concern that human services groups like Penn-Mar could be at risk for reduced funding. But what are those funds used for and why are they so critically important? Penn-Mar CEO Greg Miller and Jim Pitts, the founder of the Michael James Pitts Endowment for the Advancement of Direct Support Professionals, were featured on WYPR 88.1FM’s “On the Record” to discuss the issue. The 30-minute public radio program highlights why any cuts to human services organizations could leave our most vulnerable citizens without a necessary safety net and why the people who provide such vital care, Direct Support Professionals, deserve our praise.

You can listen to the complete episode on WYPR’s website.

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