The Aktion Club of Clermont County, Ohio is the self advocacy group that works in partnership with the Clermont County Board of Developmental Disabilities and the Kiwanis Club of the East Fork Region.
Self advocates exercise their rights as citizens by communicating and representing themselves. They have a say in decision-making in all areas of their daily lives and in public policy decisions that affect them.
Meet our officers and learn about upcoming meetings by clicking on our brochure link: Aktion Club Brochure
2023 Self Advocate of the Year
Mark Iles, Jr.
Mark has been a member of the Aktion Club self advocacy group for two years. During that time, he has volunteered to work many events including Trunk or Treat at the Clermont Family YMCA, National Night Out, and the Clermont County Fair. He also has attended Advocacy and Leadership Day at the Statehouse, where he spoke to State Senator Terry Johnson about services for people with disabilities in Ohio vs. the previous state where he lived.
When he decided it was time to move out of his sister’s house, he called his SSA and made it happen on his own. When he moved to his first group home, he encouraged others to attend self advocacy meetings and boosted the club membership by at least four new members. Since then, he has moved to a second home where he is leading an independent lifestyle.
Congratulations, Mark! (pictured below with his sister and brother-in-law, Mary Beth and Daniel Roberts).
Self Advocates of the Year
2011 – Amy Jones
2012 – Megan Purtell
2013 – Matt Strickland
2014 – People In Action Group
2015 – Gail Troxell
2016 – Ben Blizzard
2017 – Ethan Stuempfle
2018 – Austin Porter
2019 – Ellen Thompson
2020 – Scott Baker
2021 – John Hicks
2022 – Abby Minardi
2023 – Mark Iles, Jr.
History of Self Advocacy at Clermont DD
People In Action was the first self-advocacy group at Clermont DD. PIA was made up of people who supported each other to speak up and learn to discuss issues that are important to them. They worked cooperatively with the Clermont County Board of DD to share ideas, promote advocacy education, and improve the quality of services in our county.
In 2017, Clermont County Voices became the new self advocacy group. In 2018, the name was changed to Clermont County Turn Up the Voices which reminded members to “turn it up” as much as possible! In December, 2019, the name was shortened to Turn Up Clermont. On March 16, 2022, the group became the Aktion Club of Clermont County, Ohio.
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