Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities

08/16/2025

Evan Dickerson is from Howard, Ohio, and has built quite an impressive career in literally everything Bluegrass music despite having autism.

08/04/2025

Last week at First Friday, Paul Acitelli was posthumously given the Volunteer of the Year award by Mayor Matt Starr.

“Paul consistently demonstrated an unwavering commitment to helping others, particularly individuals with disabilities,” Starr said.

“Each Christmas he adopted a family through The Salvation Army or a church, and thoughtfully purchased gifts, not only for the children, but for the parents as well.”

Acitelli participated in local theater production with Orange Barrel Productions and was a gifted writer, penning numerous memoirs documenting his life experiences as a person with a disability.

“His reflections provide insight into the challenges that he faced, especially as he aged, which serves as a powerful voice for others in similar circumstances,” Starr said.

Acitelli consistently raised funds to help others, including:

•$1,000 in 2020 to help individuals pay bills during the height of COVID-19

•$2,300.44 in 2023 for The Salvation Army to support individuals with disabilities in need of housing assistance, utilities, and other support

•$1,652.76 for the Family First Council to assist people with disabilities and fund recreational access like access such as Hiawatha waterpark passes

Fundraising effort provides 34 disabled individuals a free season pass to Hiawatha Water Park

“He would give anything he had to help others with disabilities, and his actions continue to make a meaningful impact,” Starr said. “In my opinion, this is a gentleman who truly had a servant’s heart.”

Heather White, Acitelli’s support manager, accepted the award on Acitelli’s behalf.

She said Acitelli passionately wanted to give back to those with disabilities.

“That was his whole life balance. Every time you would talk to him, that’s what he wanted to do, find something that would help people with disabilities,” White said.

“Whether it was kids, adults, whoever it was, that was always his passion. He was a great guy. We’re going to miss him.” https://www.knoxpages.com/2025/08/02/mount-vernon-honors-volunteers-of-the-year-2/

07/31/2025

07/31/2025

We are hiring! If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a Service & Support Administrator, please check out the job description on our website to learn more and to apply! https://www.knoxdd.com/careers

07/25/2025

We had a great time yesterday at the Limitless Livestock show at the Knox County Fair -OHIO! Thank you to everyone that helped create such a fun, warm and welcoming place for everyone to participate in 4H! www.knoxdd.com/stories/2025/7/25/limitless-livestock-show

07/18/2025

At this time last week, we were wrapping up an amazing week with iCanShine at the iCan Bike series that helped 11 people learn how to ride a bike! Thank you to our amazing sponsors Kenyon College and Get Healthy Knox County and to our amazing volunteers: Alexandria Magers, Jessica Parker, Bridget Lomax, Tami Ruhl, Jennifer Kennedy, Heather Neipling, Pat Heithaus, Elizabeth Lebold, Darya Aminia, Lucy Rush, Rebeka Lebold, Keiran Hoffman, Walt Lewis, Brody Boggs, Sophie Taylor, Kristina Hagermann, Abby Gantt, Molly Taylor, Starr Roden, Sala Glandon, Abby Taylor, Dani Korman, and Erin Humphrey. Thank you all for helping make this program as wonderful as it was! To see the rest of the pictures, please check out our blog: https://www.knoxdd.com/stories/2025/7/17/ican-bike

07/15/2025

DUE FRIDAY!!! Direct Support Professionals are an integral part of helping people with developmental disabilities be independent in their lives! Nominate a DSP today for a DSP Appreciation Award! https://www.knoxdd.com/dsp-appreciation-awards

07/15/2025

Thanks to an ARPA grant we received, we were able to add a Communication Board to the Knox County Fair -OHIO! We are so excited to see how people use it next week during the fair to express how they're feeling, what they want and more! We will also have the Universal Changing Table set up near the grandstands again for people to use during their time at the fair!

07/11/2025

We have been having so much fun this week with the iCan Bike program! Here are a few quick pictures from yesterday! iCanShine