Miki Receives Achievement Award

Here are some highlights from her long list of her accomplishments:

• 1951
  Miki was the Easter Seals Poster Child for March of Dimes in St. Louis.
• 1960s-1970s
  Miki became a part of the Independent Living Movement. She was a vocal supporter of civil rights and equal rights for everyone regardless of their physical or mental challenges.
• 1983
  Miki and her husband moved to Cape Girardeau where she discovered there was not a local support group for polio survivors. So guess who organized a local support group for polio survivors? The meetings were held in Miki’s home and soon people with all types of disabilities began attending. Miki soon learned that, in addition to their disabilities, these people faced other local issues such as lack of affordable, accessible housing, lack of transportation, lack of employment and lack of healthcare. Miki saw the need went beyond support to a need for advocacy.
• 1987
  Miki, along with five others with disabilities, formed and incorporated SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence, also known as SADI. It was a not for profit organization created to assist and advocate for people with disabilities in the community. Miki became known as the local spokesperson for disability rights and related issues.
• Also in 1987
  Miki was appointed to the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and became the local liaison on employment for the disabled in southeast Missouri.

  That same year, Miki also began serving a two year term on the Mental Health Advisory Board in Jefferson City and worked closely with Missouri Protection and Advocacy organization.

• 1990-1993
  Miki began serving on the State Independent Living Council of Missouri.
• 1992
  Miki began serving on the Board of Directors of Easter Seals.
• 1993
  Finally after seven long years developing the groundwork, building relationships, and getting community support, SADI was funded and approved by Governor Mel Carnahan, as the 7th non-residential center for independent living in the state.
• 1994
  Miki was appointed to the Missouri Assistive Technology Project to study and assess assistive technology needs in southeast Missouri.
• Also in 1994
  Miki received the Easter Seals Society Award for Personal Achievement for all her advocacy work and accomplishments.
• 1996
  Miki started the first epilepsy support group in southeast Missouri.
• 1998
  Miki took on the local sheltered workshops and advocated on behalf of those who worked in them. She worked with and supported the Perry County Commission when they elected to pull away from the local workshops and become the Independent Perry County Sheltered Workshop where they offered competitive wages and better working conditions.
• 1999-2000
  Miki was successful in starting transportation services through SADI to benefit the disabled population, getting to and from work. This transportation gave the disabled more employment options, other than the sheltered workshops.
• 2003-2005
  Miki served on the Board of Directors for Support Dogs Incorporated in Jefferson City. She also helped raise money to fund dogs for those who could not afford them.
• 2007
  Miki was the recipient of the Zonta Woman of Achievement Award.
• 2010
  Miki worked with local individuals who wanted to start a chapter of ARC in southeast Missouri. Miki acted as a consultant and offered to finance the cost of the startup fees.
• 2011
  Miki was instrumental in providing technical assistance and language to clarify the roles of the local Senate Bill 40 board in Cape Girardeau County.
• 2012
  Miki received: the Kiwanis International Walter Zoellner Women in Leadership Award, the St. Francis Medical Center Disability Leadership Award, and the Missouri Commission on Human Rights Disability Rights Awareness Award.
• 2013
  Miki was the recipient of a Missouri Senate Resolution honoring her lifelong work as an advocate for the disabled.

  She also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Missouri State Independent Living Council for Advocacy and Leadership in Independent Living.