The Arc of Atlantic County 2009 Tribute Dinner

Deborah Davies, Ph.D

Deborah Davies, Ph.D., is the Chief Executive Officer of The Arc of Atlantic County and has served in this capacity since 1983. She holds a Ph.D. in mental retardation and cognitive development from Vanderbilt’s Peabody College. As CEO of The Arc of Atlantic County, Davies has led the agency from a small, grass roots organization with an annual budget of $400,000, to a diversified social service corporation with a $9 million budget.

During Davies’ twenty-four years at The Arc, she and the agency have become industry leaders in integrating people with developmental disabilities into Atlantic County communities, and advocating for their human rights.

Among many other volunteer roles, Davies was appointed a charter member of the Atlantic County Advisory Commission on Women, is a charter member of The Women’s Leadership Initiative in Atlantic County and has been a member of Soroptimist International of Atlantic City since 1986 serving as their president from 1991 to 1993. In 2005, Davies was inducted into the Atlantic County Women’s Hall of Fame.

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C. Vivian Stringer is an amazing woman.

Her professional achievements are legendary. She is the master builder of basketball programs, and a Women’s Basketball Hall-of-Fame inductee and the author of Standing Tall. Coach Stringer is the only coach—male or female—to catapult three universities to the Final Four – Cheyney University in 1982; The University of Iowa in 1993; and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in 2000. She has been a pioneer, visionary and innovator during her three decades on the sidelines.

As notable as these accomplishments are, we choose to honor her for different reasons. We are paying tribute to C. Vivian Stringer for her courage and devotion as the mother of a child with a developmental disability.

Coach Stringer’s life changed forever when her toddler Nina was stricken with spinal meningitis, in November 1981. It nearly killed Nina, robbing her of the ability to walk or talk. In her poignant memoir, Standing Tall, Coach Stringer recounts Nina’s fight for life and her own painful ordeal of having to accept that her beautiful little girl would never be the same. The coach writes about the months spent in the hospital at Nina’s bedside, and how she and her husband Bill had to completely refocus their energies to care for their family and address Nina’s needs.

C. Vivian Stringer’s story is one of great courage and hope. Her touching insights reveal her love for and devotion to Nina. They offer a rare look into the heart of this very private woman who has become a public symbol of victory against all odds.

The Board of Directors of The Arc of Atlantic County invites you to join us in honoring Coach Stringer at our 2009 Tribute Dinner. The Tribute Dinner is The Arc’s single biggest annual fundraiser to support services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Proceeds will benefit people with developmental disabilities through residential services, job training, recreational programs, case management, summer camp, family respite and many other services.

Call Deborah Jewell at 609-485-0800, ext.135 for ticket prices and sponsorship opportunities.