TDC Announcements

Please join us in welcoming to Belinda Hotchkiss to the Tennessee Disability Coalition as the Family Voices Program Coordinator.  Belinda is the mother of two young children, one of whom was born 3 months premature and resided in the Vanderbilt NICU for 2 months.  Her son participated in services provided by TEIS and currently, Belinda and her children are participating in the Better Birth Outcome study, through the Vanderbilt’s Nurses for Newborns Foundation. 

She will be working out of the Coalition’s Nashville office.  Her contact information is email: belinda_h@tndisability.org; phone: 615-383-9442 or toll-free at 1-888-643-7811.

The Council is developing a new five year state plan that will be submitted to the Administration on Developmental Disabilities in August, 2011. Please take time to read the information on our needs assessment activities and the goals and objectives we developed based on those needs. Then please provide us with your comments about the new goals and objectives. Your review of this document is important to us and we look forward to hearing from you. Alternate formats are available upon request to the Council.

To view or print the needs assessment activities and goals and objectives, please go to the Council home page address www.tn.gov/cdd. It will be the first document you see on the Council’s home page.

Or if you would like to go directly to the document, please click here for a Word version or click here for a PDF version.

To submit public review comments or for information about the State Plan, please send comments to Alicia Cone at alicia.cone@tn.gov, 615-253-1105, or Parkway Towers, Suite 130, 404 James Robertson Parkway, Nashville, TN 37243.

The Council looks forward to collaborating and working with all our partners to address the identified service system issues over the five years and beyond!

It is with sadness that I write to tell you of Joe Marshall's passing.  I spoke to his wife Joyce who is in the process of making funeral arrangements.  Joe was a tireless and committed advocate for people with disabilities.  He believed in the power of people coming together for common purpose, each doing his part. And Joe more than did his part!

He remained a tireless leaders and supporter of the Tennessee Disability Coalition. He was a board member since the beginning. He has served as Treasurer, Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors. For more than 10 years he served as chairman of the Special Education Task Force.  

For the last few years Joe fought a valiant battle against Melanoma.  Last year he became a part of a clinical trial at Vanderbilt University, not  just as a part of his battle, but hoping to make a difference for others with the same cancer.

This appeared about Joe in our Winter 2008 issue of the Coalition Quarterly:

"Joe is the father of Jo Ann, an adult with autism; and he is a Board member of the Tennessee Disability Coalition representing the Parents Association for the Rights of Educating Non-Traditional Students (PARENTS), an East Tennessee advocacy organization. Joe has been board member of the Coalition since its inception. Originally he served as board member representing the Autism Society of America - Tennessee. Joe first became involved in advocacy for persons with disabilities when Jo Ann was very young and has remained so. He helped start the Autism Society of America (ASA) – East Tennessee Chapter and the ASA – Tennessee. He also serves on the statewide TDMHDD and DD Planning and Policy councils."

If you'd like to sign an online guestbook, offer condolesces or share memories of Joe visit this page dedicated to him.