Brookings Disability Awareness Committee

02/06/2026

Check out this spotlight on the Life Skills Lab at Mickelson Middle School, funded in part by a mini-grant from our committee!

Special education students at Mickelson Middle School have new opportunities to grow thanks to the new life skills lab.

The lab was created thanks to the energy and efforts of Alysha Hamann, life skills education teacher at MMS.

“As a special education teacher, I’m always thinking ‘I can always use that money for something. What could I do that’s really impactful?’”

https://www.brookingsregister.com/2026/02/06/recipe-for-success-new-mickelson-lab-helps-special-ed-students-gain-life-skills/

01/23/2026

Please check this out if you get a chance

01/22/2026

One of the Brookings Disability Awareness Committee mini grant recipients! Check out the story on KELO

At the Life Skills Lab at George Mickelson Middle School in Brookings, students with different abilities are learning valuable life lessons like making cookies.

12/03/2025

✨ Tonight's the night! We hope you'll join us for the 2025 Mayor's Holiday Celebration and Mayor's Awards event! 🎉🎄

📅 Tonight – Wednesday, December 3
🕔 Social starts at 5:00 PM.
🕕 Program begins at 6:00 PM.
🍷 Hors d'oeuvres and beverages provided.
📍 Dacotah Bank Center at 824 32nd Ave.
👚 Dress Code: Come as you are.

🏆 Mayor Oepke “Ope” Niemeyer, along with several of the City’s volunteer boards and commissions, will honor the 2025 Mayor’s Awards recipients, including:
● SDSU Lucas P. Wintrode Autism Support Services for the BDAC's A.B.L.E. Award
● Cubby's Sports Bar & Grill for BDAC's Empower Award

💻 Learn more about them at https://www.cityofbrookings-sd.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=5362

🎉🎄 Come celebrate the holiday season and congratulate these people and organizations on their contributions to our community!

11/20/2025

🗣️ It's tiiiiime!

If you are affiliated with a Brookings-local organization that serves disabled and neurodivergent community members, we invite you to apply for a mini grant of up to $250 to support your programming.

Submit your proposal to the City of Brookings Government Disability Awareness Committee at abc[at]cityofbrookings-sd[dot]gov by December 1, 2025. Check the comments for our formal release with more detailed information about the process.

We look forward to learning more about your program's impact! 🥳

11/12/2025

News Release: The Brookings Disability Awareness Committee (BDAC) has named two recipients of its 2025 Mayor's Awards.

The Lucas P. Wintrode Autism Support Services at South Dakota State University has been selected for this year’s A.B.L.E. Award. Cubby’s Sports Bar & Grill has been chosen for the Empower Award. Read full news release at https://www.cityofbrookings-sd.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=5362

The awards will be presented at the annual Mayor’s Awards and Holiday Celebration event on Dec. 3, at the Dacotah Bank Center, 824 32nd Ave. The event will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. with the awards program starting at 6 p.m. The public is invited to attend to help celebrate all awardees.

10/21/2025

Happening Tonight! Leadership through the Lens of Disability: Resilience, Empathy and Purpose

📅 Tuesday, Oct. 21
🕢 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
📍 Volstorff Ballroom West (SSU 101A), University Student Union, South Dakota State University campus

Billie Sutton, former South Dakota senator and founder of the Billie Sutton Leadership Institute, will speak. He will share his powerful journey of resilience and transformation after a spinal cord injury ended his professional rodeo career.

His story is a compelling testament to purpose and the impact of embracing the inherent strengths and abilities in all of us — showing how adversity can lead to empathy, innovation and meaningful leadership.

This event is a collaboration of the SDSU Office of Student Accessibility, Student Connection and Engagement; Brookings Disability Awareness Committee, and Human Resources.

09/17/2025

We're partnering with the Brookings Disability Awareness Committee to host another 8-week American Sign Language Class! This class will run every Wednesday at 6:00pm from September 24-November 19 (with no class on 10/15).

In this class, you'll learn basic American Sign Language from a trained instructor. Please only register if you can make it to all of the sessions, as each class builds on the previous one.

Registration is open now! Register online at http://bit.ly/regbpl

If registration fills up, please feel free to register on the waitlist! Sometimes spots for programs open up, and having people on a waitlist helps us know if we should offer a program again in the future.

08/14/2025

Does your organization help promote the health and well-being of Brookings area residents who are disabled or neurodivergent? We'd love to have you come present to our committee at our monthly meeting!

Join us on the fourth Thursday of the month at noon to share about your organization's important work. If you'd like to present, please reach the BDAC via e-mail at abc@cityofbrookings-sd.gov at least 72 hours in advance of the month's meeting so that we can finalize your spot on our agenda.

Our meetings are hybrid for accessibility, so you can join in-person at the Brookings City and County Government Center or via Zoom. Your presentation can be informal (just you talking!) or more formal.

We're looking forward to learning more about what you do and how we can support you!

06/24/2025

BROOKINGS — Mobility: One simple, dictionary-definition calls it “the ability to move or be moved freely and easily.” That definition is applicable in the United States, where …

06/13/2025

Press Release: The Brookings Disability Awareness Committee is accepting nominations for the 2025 Empower Award and A.B.L.E. Award (Ability, Belief, Leadership and Equality to Achieve Access for All).

The nomination deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 23.

Nomination forms, instructions and additional information can be found at https://www.cityofbrookings-sd.gov/428/ABLE-and-EMPOWER-Awards

The Empower Award is designed to recognize the outstanding commitment of a business in employing and empowering disabled individuals. Highlighting the efforts of an outstanding business may motivate others to increase opportunities to hire disabled individuals.

The A.B.L.E. award is designed to recognize the outstanding commitment of a business or public entity in fulfilling the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Highlighting the efforts of an outstanding business or entity may motivate others to provide improved accessibility to goods and services.

Read full press release at https://ow.ly/iTqr50W96Gy

06/03/2025

Sensory Swim starts today!