a bit more on our board members
Amy L DeHaan, President
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Carly Callison, Vice President
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Susan Fall
Secretary My name is Susan Fall and I am the Secretary for DsUpNorth. I have held this position since 2005. I am a native of the area, having lived here all my life. My husband Richard and I have four children, Dan, Kate, Cole, and Gage. Our youngest son, Gage, has Down syndrome. We did not have a pre-birth diagnosis so we became indoctrinated by surprise. Gage had many life-threatening health issues at birth resulting in many trips to DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids where he had a variety of surgeries. This continued for several years and Gage is now 18 and healthy!
I joined the Board to garner knowledge of opportunities (educational/social/vocational, etc.) for our children. As a member I am part of a team that creates a yearly schedule of free or low-cost events (local and national) that are available to our members, community educators and medical providers. The goal being to spread awareness to our community. I support inclusion but realize it is not the path for everyone. I embrace my son’s abilities and limitations. Every milestone he has achieved has made us happy and proud, but Gage being healthy and happy has always been most important. He is so loveable and such a joy, a people-pleaser for sure! Much of my spare time is in volunteering as an avid advocate to those in our community with differing abilities. I also volunteer with the Traverse City Dream Team (a baseball league for children/young adults of all abilities) because, who doesn’t like baseball?! In my spare-spare time I enjoy DIY projects, crocheting, boating, and the rare nap! |