Congratulations to our 2008 Award Winners
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The awards committee was very pleased to present the winners of our 2008 Annual State LDA of
Indiana Awards. They were honored for their hard work and perseverance in achieving their academic, professional
and life goals.
Pictured from left to right:
Outstanding Service Award: Dennis Ray Kinder, Ph.D., Indianapolis
Dr. Kinder started his career as school psychologist in Shelbyville and supervised psychological services for the Blue
River Special Ed. Co-op till 1990. He has worked closely with the courts, welfare and mental health center. and
established youth shelter for high risk adolescents. For over 29 years Dr. Kinder focused on evaluating children with
learning and/or behavioral challenges and emotional needs. Dr. Kinder was recommended for the award by his
colleague, Dr. Julie Steck. In her words: “He exemplifies the optimism and commitment we need from professionals to
improve lives of children and adolescents w/ special needs.”
High School Student of the Year: Lydia Farmer, Cory. Clay City High School, Clay City.
Through her amazing perseverance and hard work, she will be graduating as an academic honor student. She has
participated in many extra-curricular activities and has continued to develop her self-advocacy and is recognized for
her leadership skills. Her teacher writes, “I am overwhelmed by her sincerity and desire to make a difference in our
society. What a great role model for her peers in every sense of the word!”
Elementary Student of the Year: Luke G. Riemenschneider, Lafayette. Dayton Elementary School, Dayton.
Luke was recommended by his Mom, Jill Riemenschneider. “The thing that makes Luke very special is his tolerance
and perseverance. He has been receiving various forms of therapy since he was 2 yrs old and he never complains.
He appreciates the small things in life that other people take for granted. He has struggles that most of us wouldn’t
understand. But, he takes it in his stride and continues to work very hard to learn. Besides being an amazing
athlete, Luke has continued to receive high honors in his classes at school every quarter.”
Middle School Student of the Year: Taylor Schepers, Brownsburg. St. Malachy School, Brownsburg.
Christie Mitchell recommended Taylor for this award. In his academics, Taylor has worked extremely hard and has
been achieving high honors every quarter. He spends many hours working on his homework and is also amazing at
football, basketball, and track. In his teacher’s words, he has become a self-advocate for accommodations and
continues to increase all of his talents.
Administrator of the Year: Cathy Culley. Warren Central High School, MSD of Warren Township,
Indianapolis.
Like many administrators, there has not been only one act that makes Cathy Culley an ‘outstanding’ administrator.
But, rather strong leadership, professionalism & caring consistently. She has worked diligently to help educate
others about issues that confront students with disabilities. Cathy has been recommended for the award by Rebecca
Conger and her son, Seth. As example of the type of attention and care Cathy has given through the years,
Rebecca and Seth have shared that after graduating from High School, Seth entered Air Force. When he returned
basic training, he shared with his Mom some of letters he had received. Of course, one of most important letters was
from Mr. Culley. Warren Central Schools is indeed fortunate to have a person who is so dedicated and committed to
students.
LDA of Indiana $1,000 Academic Scholarship Award: Joseph Spohr, Avilla. He attends the University of
Saint Francis, Fort Wayne.
Joseph is currently working on his BS in Nursing at the University of St. Francis, in Ft. Wayne, IN. Through his
perseverance and tenacity he has helped open the eyes of many teachers. When he wanted to take an advanced
class in math, he went so far as to exercise his “due process rights” and was finally admitted into the class. By the
end of the semester, he was helping the teacher to help tutor some of the other students who needed extra help.
Through his struggles, he has developed tremendous skills in advocating for his learning needs. He has applied to
continue to teach other young people about advocating for their needs. Over the years his mother, Pam, received
training as a parent advocate through IN*SOURCE and little did she know that her work as a parent advocate had
also rubbed off onto her son. On behalf of LDA of Indiana, we award Joseph a $1,000 financial scholarship and
congratulate him for continuing to inspire other young people to persevere and be successful.
Parent of the Year: Diana Krempec, She volunteers in South Bend.
Diane was nominated for the award by Sue Maguire & Kim Kaughee, co-directors of the South Bend Masonic
Learning Center for Children. The Center offers free tutoring for students and uses the Orton Gillingham method.
Diane has two children who have participated in the tutoring program. Besides being a terrific parent, she continues
to work to help educate parents and advocate for the learning needs of children and helps raise funds to continue
the tutoring work being done at the Center.
Teacher of the Year: Barbara Potts, Indianapolis. Cathedral High School, Indianapolis. Not pictured.
Barbara was nominated by Marcia Reynolds. Barbara has been exemplary teacher for past 25 yrs. and teaches
bright students who are college bound, but who also have significant problems with language. Five years ago, she
developed the curriculum for her school so that Latin courses could be offered to students. Barbara believed that a
more rigorous curriculum for students was needed for students who also needed language support. She has high
expectations for her students and works to teach critical academic skills along with building student’s character and
teaching life skills. Barbara believes in students ‘abilities’ and will not allow them to take short cuts or fail! Barbara is
retiring from teaching in May. On behalf of LDA of IN and the Cathedral HS students, parents, and her peers we
sincerely thank her for her many years of service.
Unfortunately, Barbara’s father passed away a few days before the conference and she is unable to attend the
presentation ceremony. Her colleague, Marcia Reynolds accepted the award on her behalf.
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