And the Winners Are ....

REMEMBERING PHIL PICKENS

Phil Pickens Leadership Award

The Phil Pickens Leadership Award is a statewide honor recognizing outstanding leadership in the collaborative work between home, school and community to improve outcomes for students with disabilities; outstanding contributions to the Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership program; and consistent outstanding leadership accomplishments in special education.

The award is named after the founder of the Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership, Dr. Phil Pickens. The late Dr. Pickens is a former Department of Education’s Special Education Director who dedicated more than 35 years to improving the education of children with disabilities.

Director's Award

Kim Chester
Bartow County

JoEllen Harden
Dodge County

Tracy Barber
Seminole Co.

Suzanne Carter
Walton Co.

Ginger Henderson
Meriwether Co.

Mikki Garcia
Chatham Co.

Patti Solomon (GaPMP)
Visionary Award

Scott Crain
Hall Co.

Mike Blake
Clarke Co.

2007

Julie Moilanen
Grady Co.

2006

Clemene Ramsey
Fayette Co.

2005

Phil Pickens

Tracy's Tribute

Tracy Barber, Parent Mentor for Seminole County and the winner of the 2010 Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership Phil Pickens Award wrote this tribute to Phil Pickens.

"Several years ago, I wrote this story about two men in my life. It seems like the right time to share it with you. These two guys both lived in the great state of Georgia, yet they never met, and now that I think about it, neither had much hair.

But, seriously, they both played a role in altering the lives of children in Georgia. One planned it, and the other became the plan!

The younger one lived in a quiet town in rural South Georgia, making his dad and I smile every single day. The older man was finishing almost 30 years in education in a big Georgia city, where he drove state initiatives for change. This big city, Atlanta, was the same town where his fondest memories were of his daddy’s barbershop where he gained insight from the chitchat in a room with lots of guys.

In 1999, this big guy huddled with stakeholders and members of his staff inside conference rooms for hours to cut rules that could style changes in the revised federal law, IDEA.

Meanwhile, the little guy, hundreds of miles away, worked earnestly to implement his own rules and regulations at 3928 Phil Spooner Rd. The little guy slipped from life’s balance that year and took a step closer to the man in Atlanta. He joined a club I would not have chosen for him but some things in life are not our choice. Yet, looking back I wonder who I would be without him and his club. He didn't know it, but he was becoming one of the children of change. His body was lifeless, but his eyes gave educators a reason to go to school.

In the year 2000, this same little man used his disability to teach his parents and others that there is strength in numbers. The big man taught this same thing by hiring a parent of a child with a disability to be a staff member in the state office.

In 2001, the big man said that we must “acknowledge our responsibility for the education of ALL children” and that we cannot do it without parents. He launched the Parent Mentor Pilot Project.

The little man had a message as well. While he recognized that his parents were important, he knew he needed the schools and community to train his tired body and teach his active mind.

In 2002, The Georgia Psycho Educational Network presented the big man in Atlanta with the Mary Margaret Wood award. He then began the enormous task of leading the state of Georgia in resolving difficult issues concerning our children’s education. Among those issues was LRE (Least Restrictive Environment).

The little man was awarded a kindergarten diploma for accomplishing the goals set by educators and his parents. He participated in a regular ed. class during Circle time and even went to music class where his regular ed. peers sang as he played the cymbals. The accomplishments of these two men didn’t stop there.

2003 Rolled in. The parent mentor program had grown and 40 school systems were participating. The little guy’s mom decided to help both the men in their efforts to change the lives of disabled children by becoming the first parent mentor in the Seminole County School System. The big guy showed his appreciation by sharing with her the knowledge that he had acquired in his 30 years of education. The little guy also showed his appreciation too. His seizures decreased from a monthly occurrence to approximately once every six months. His mother could attend the big man’s conferences without worrying too much!

By 2004, the big man felt that he had successfully joined parents and educators in a partnership that would improve the quality of education for children with disabilities, and retired as the State Director of Education, confident that his legacy would continue long after his departure.

The little man pressed on for another year. His legacy would drive his mother to continue her work for the children he would leave behind, and the community and educators would stand with her in her efforts. In conclusion, both men did what they were put on this earth to do. They made a difference in the lives of disabled children by using the talents, knowledge and resources of educators, the community and parents.

They accomplished this in totally different ways, but both had the same outcome. You can’t possibly place a value on their worth to Georgia. Neither could be replaced. Their spirit still dwells in our hearts at every meeting, every school, everywhere.

I am proud to say that the wonderful little man was my son, Antravious Khalil Rogers. And the big man was my very good friend and confidant, Philip H. Pickens. "