Courage Center Selects Five Recipients for Jay and Rose Phillips Awards; 30th Annual Award Recognizes People with Disabilities Who Have Achieved Success in Their Vocations.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Courage Center has selected five people to receive the Jay and Rose Phillips Award, which is given annually to people with disabilities who have achieved outstanding success in their vocations. The five are Arnold Abels, Manuel Guerra Jr., AmyLynne Hermanek, Tim Matthees and Kelly Raymond Socha.

Established in 1964, the Jay and Rose Phillips Awards are administered by Courage Center, with funding made possible by the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation. The $1,500 cash award honors individuals with disabilities who have achieved financial and vocational independence. Winners are selected for their professional success, leadership skills and their contributions to their community.

The 2004 winners were announced at the Celebration of Courage Gala on Aug. 21 and are described as follows:

--Dr. Arnold Abels. Abels, of Grand Forks, N.D., is a staff psychologist, clinical coordinator and training director at the University of North Dakota Counseling Center. He has also been actively involved in the award-winning UND Crisis Coordination Team and has a private psychologist practice. Abels is legally blind due to retinoblastoma and progressive degeneration of the retina and cataracts. Despite his difficulty in seeing, he walks 12 blocks to work every day and travels extensively. At UND, colleagues describe him as one of the most diligent, knowledgeable and courageous professionals they work with, and he is well known for his sensitivity, professionalism and problem-solving abilities. Abels is a campus leader and daily contributes to the success of UND students.

--Manuel Guerra, Jr. Guerra, with a degree in computer science, is a LAN administrator at RBC Dain Rauscher in Minneapolis and also owns a consulting firm, Guerra Consulting. The Plymouth resident was diagnosed with polio in 1968 and was in a car accident in 1989, after which he began using a wheelchair. He began to play wheelchair softball at Courage Center in 1991; since that time he has won gold and silver medals at the Paralympic Games. Guerra serves on the Athlete Board of Directors for USA Hockey; the Minority Employee Association at RBC Dain Rauchser; the Board of Directors for the U.S. Sled Hockey Association; and is a Meals on Wheels volunteer for the United Way. He and his wife Debra have four children.

--AmyLynne Hermanek. When Hermanek was 15, she was involved in a car accident which resulted in quadriplegia. Despite this, she did what doctors said was impossible - she walked across the stage, with the help to assistive technology, to receive her high school diploma. She is now a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and a staff attorney with Central Minnesota Legal Services, focusing on family matters, including divorce, child custody and abuse. She also spends a considerable amount of time helping people with disabilities secure government benefits and aid. Hermanek, who lives in Blaine, is described by friends and family as compassionate, courageous and determined.

--Tim Matthees. Matthees, St. Paul, is legally blind due to a hereditary condition called Best's Disease or Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy. When he became blind, he lost his job as a precision mechanical inspector and spent the next 11 years raising two daughters, volunteering and working odd jobs to help support his family. He then attended Century College in the Orthotics and Prosthetics Technician program and currently works at Gillette Children's Specialty Health Center as an orthotics technician. Matthees dedicates countless hours of service to help make the lives of children and adults with disabilities and their families a little brighter, including one of his own daughters who also has Best's Disease.

--Kelly Raymond Socha. Socha works as a customer service assistant at State Farm Insurance Bank Operations Center and is also studying for a human resources degree from St. Paul College. The Hugo resident has had spina bifida from birth and hydrocephalus. He is vice president of the Spina Bifida Association of Minnesota and volunteers generous amounts of time to mentoring young people with spina bifida and speaking with family members about the disability. Socha also volunteers at Inventure Place and Gillette Technology Center. In addition, he educates others, including his fellow employees, about his disability in order to help change people's attitudes and misconceptions about people with disabilities.

About Courage Center

Courage Center is a nationally-known, not-for-profit rehabilitation and resource center for people with physical disabilities, brain injuries, speech or vision impairments, or hearing loss. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Courage Center offers comprehensive, life-long services to people of all ages. Courage Center's wide ranging services are designed to empower people with disabilities to reach their full potential in every aspect of life. Courage Center is a United Way agency. For more information, visit www.courage.org.