Jon was awarded the Supported Living Staff Member of the Year!
Jonathan Smith has received San Andreas Regional Center’s Service Above Self Merit Award and was honored at the Service Above Self Dinner on October 24. Jonathan was named Supported Living Services Staff Member of the Year for the three-region area served by San Andreas Regional Center. This award recognizes individuals who go above and beyond in supporting people with disabilities.
It was a wonderful night for Harbor to celebrate Jonathan’s achievement. Harbor is incredibly honored to have Jonathan in our organization and proud of the work he continues to do in our field.
In presenting Jonathan’s work, his contributions to Harbor Supported Living Services were highlighted by the speaker:
“Jonathan has served in a variety of different roles at Harbor Supported Living Services, as a mentor to the management team and as a facilitator of services for teams supporting eight individuals at Harbor. Beyond the great work that he does every single day, he continues to find ways to improve the lives of the people he supports and others throughout organizations.
Now, he’s unique. He has an ability to connect with people and help them empower themselves, think outside the box, and push the limits that they or others have placed on them.
Jonathan is passionate about what he does: supporting individuals with developmental disabilities, helping them thrive and enjoy their daily lives. He has led many unique opportunities for the individuals supported at Harbor, including once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences. He is especially proud of one in particular. The organization went on a biannual trip to Tahoe, where individuals were able to participate in adaptive sports through Achieve Tahoe.”
Jonathan’s Acceptance Speech
In accepting his award, Jonathan shared these words:
“I have to admit, throughout my career, I have been punched and kicked in the face, quite literally, many times. I’d rather be doing that right now than standing up here talking to a crowd.”
After the well-received joke, he continued.
“I’m truly honored. Thank you. Being able to work in supported living all these years has been a dream to me. The work that everyone in this room does, not only to help people survive but to help them thrive, is so important.
I love helping people push outside of their comfort zone, especially because I feel it is so hard for me to do myself. Some of the most meaningful moments in our work aren’t big or dramatic. They may be everyday moments, when someone reaches a goal and gains confidence, or sometimes it may be seeing someone in a wheelchair ski down a hill at 45 miles an hour when they never thought they could. Well, I’ve seen that a few times now, and it’s amazing.
Being a part of those moments is one of the most rewarding parts of what we do, and I know many of you here feel the same way.
I want to thank Becky and Brianna Donofrio for trusting me and continuing to take a chance on me after all these years. Our field of work can have a stigma for being a thankless job, but you have constantly proven to me that that is wrong.
Thank you to my family and friends, and most importantly, thank you to the people I support for putting their trust in me and for taking care of me.
I’m grateful for our community, and I will do everything I can to continue to earn this award every day going forward.”
We are so very proud of you, Jonathan. Congratulations and thank you from all of us in the Harbor Community!
