My Dear Council Members and Friends,

It is time to pass the baton.

In June of 2012, after 43 amazing years of employment with the Council, I will be retiring. I am working closely with the Executive Committee to assure you, our membership, and the community of a smooth leadership transition.

What wonders we have witnessed! During the March 2012 Art from the Heart gala, we will celebrate the SIXTY year anniversary of the Council! Over the decades of my tenure, so much has been realized in the name of the HOPE, the VISION, and the VOICE that the Council represents for people with developmental disabilities. We have fought together, celebrated together, and cried together. Through Council initiatives, many millions of dollars have been committed by the state of Kentucky to programs and services that were once only the wildest dreams in the minds of families. The very culture has been reshaped. I feel like the luckiest woman on earth to have been at the helm of this ship, powered and kept afloat all these years entirely by you.

Now I am asking you, for the final time, for your support for our beloved Council. This is a tough part of my job. How many times have I come to you over the years and asked you to give—again? To give when times were difficult, when the economy was rotten, when your own lives were full of pain and turmoil? And yet, time and again, you have opened your hearts with the astounding generosity that told me you realized that the true power of The Council is YOU.

You are the Council.

That is why this is a time to celebrate. Change can be scary. But I am moving on with a light heart. It is time. And this change, which will be neither the first nor the last, will be positively exhilarating, renewing, and empowered by you.

The foundation has been laid, in what we might call Phase One. Now we are moving on to Phase Two: constructing a brand new 21st century future, full of possibilities, where all people born with disabilities can have the expectation of a full and happy life.

In my parting request, I humbly ask you to consider making a significant demonstration of faith in The Council and its new leadership as it enters the second phase. Your contributions will be a statement that HOPE, VISION, VOICE continues full steam ahead into a new future.

I believe in you; I always have. And I believe that with the greatest annual campaign ever, you will show the new leader, the constituency of The Council, the public, and people with disabilities that you are The Council and you are not going anywhere.

Leadership is changing, but the power of the Council is constant. The truth is, The Council has always been greater than the sum of its individual parts—even one that has hung around for 43 years. Change happens. But YOU are constant. Carry on.

It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve you.

Thank you so much for your continual, incredible generosity.

Sincerely yours,


April DuVal
Executive Director

Many people find that a recurring monthly donation
is a very easy and painless way to give.

The Council’s vision is a society that includes, values, and empowers children, youth, and adults with developmental disabilities.