Happy New Year from Kenny & Company
Dear Readers,
2009 was a fun and exciting year for us full of reviewing places with and without access. We especially loved attending the 2009 Inauguration of President Barack Obama and reviewing the places in Washington, DC as well as many places throughout Massachusetts. A lot happened in 2009 in our world too which the video above captures so well!
We truly appreciate everyone’s support and are especially appreciative of all the Media coverage we received; which accurately helped to bring public awareness to the importance of Accessibility. We are particularly grateful to Kat Taylor of The Equal Rights Center, Emily Sweeney of the Boston Globe, Alice Elwell of The Enterprise and Mark Belanger of The Middleboro Gazette and blogger of Nemasket.net.
We are very grateful to Congressman Barney Frank for supporting disability rights in Washington DC. We are also grateful to State Representative Stephen Canessa for filing House 3785 and Senator Marc Pacheco for filing Senate 1948; “An Act Relative to the Transportation of Individuals Seated in Wheelchairs” and Dr. Lawrence W. Schneider, Director, University of Michigan’s RERC WTS (Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Wheelchair Transportation Safety) for providing his expert advice for this needed legislation which will improve W/C Passenger Safety in our state of Massachusetts.
We are also grateful for the support of other accessibility advocates such as Jean Ann McLaughlin of Cape Cod Access, Gary Presley , Timothy A Carey of DisabilityVoice and Marcy Marchello of Everyone Outdoors . We’re also grateful to have Jamie & Crew and Nicole write some accessibility reviews for our site.
I love living in the community vs. an institutional nursing home and am grateful to the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) for making it possible and to my dedicated, caring and loving caregivers of Community Systems Inc. I have and will continue to advocate for ‘Community Living’ for persons with disabilities.
Most importantly, I am very grateful for my family’s love and support!
We look forward to another year of Accessibility reviews and truly hope our work brings more public awareness to the Importance of Accessibility and helps to make the world more sensitive, respectful, safer and accessible to all.
We wish all a 2010 full of Happiness, Health and Accessibility!
Sincerely,
Kenny & Company
December 29th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
It’s been quite a year! Love the recap and the video is AWESOME!
December 30th, 2009 at 1:17 am
Looks like you had one hell of a year! Keep up the good work!
December 30th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
It’s amazing how much you’ve accomplished in one year. Happy New Year!
December 30th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Congratulations on a great year! Looking forward to seeing the 2010 adventures and reviews!
December 30th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
FANtastic Kenny and Company!
You are a real inspiration for this year and next – thanks for all your great work and sharing that fun video too!
December 30th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Your a hero for many people in this country! Keep going strong! You are making a BIG CHANGE & DIFFERENCE FOR MANY!
December 30th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Hello Kenny! You are an amazing person with amazing friends and family. I’ve really enjoyed reading your blogs the past two years because they are not just about ACCESS but also about the fun and love you have living in a community where you’re accepted – even in places that are not fully accessible. I hope you keep on rollin’ because you are making progress in helping to make our world a better place. God bless you, your family and friends!
December 31st, 2009 at 12:28 pm
What we need most is for each of us to “advocate by being present.” Social integration — extending to educational and employment opportunities — is the most important step toward making “disability” as a concept disappear from our world.
Congratulations for all you do in that regard …
January 7th, 2010 at 3:19 am
Thanks for doing such great reviews. This will really help me plan business and pleasure outings with colleagues and friends who use wheelchairs!
I know I, as someone who doesn’t use a wheelchair myself, can’t reliably rely on my own “eyeballing” or, alas, on calling restaurants—your detailed reviews will help so much. What a fantastic resource you’re creating. Thanks.
January 7th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Hi Julia,
I’m glad my reviews help. I started my website so people in wheelchairs will know what’s really wheelchair accessible because often places say they are but they’re not at all. Another reason I started it was to bring public awareness to the importance of equal access for all!
Happy New Year!