Seminole Karen and Ron Wasson Honored As Best of the Best in Direct Support Services

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS) held its 28th Governor’s Conference on Developmental Disabilities recently in Norman. During the awards ceremony, DHS recognized two of Renaissance Management Staff’s Agency Companions Karen and Ron Wasson with an “Award of Excellence” and as “Best of the Best” award in direct support services.

They were nominated for the award together as a couple by Renaissance Management Staff Program Manager Laci Jones. Karen and Ron both separately raised three children, but during their 29 years of marriage each lost one adult child. Sixteen years ago, they decided to open their hearts and home to children with disabilities.

“They work really hard for the individuals they serve,” Jones said. “They’re great advocates for their children with developmental disabilities. They’ve cared for one child for 16 years, served as agency companions for another child who was later independently adopted, and they personally adopted another foster child in 2005.”

Jones said Karen and Ron provide excellent care for the individuals in their modified companion home and they also serve as volunteer guardians for two people in their community. They’ve become super advocates in dealing with the local school district, ensuring their children have access to regular education classes and have interaction with peers their own age.

“Our children are being incorporated into the regular schools,” Karen Wasson said. “You can’t teach compassion. You have to feel that and if our kids aren’t a part of your kids who are quote, "normal kids," how do we ever learn about each other if we are all the same? We are trying to open that gap wherever we go; our children go with us everywhere. If they don’t get in, we don’t go. If it’s too hard to get into that restaurant, we don’t go to that restaurant because they’re not serving the needs of the community because we all need to be treated with equal respect,” she added.

Jones said due to the Wasson’s extreme passion and persistence, both of their children have been able to achieve unexpected skills. The Wassons also give back to their community of Seminole, Oklahoma, by running a soup kitchen called “Loaves and Fishes.”

“They (children with developmental disabilities) change your perspective on life,” Ron Wasson said. “If you have a little bit of compassion about you, they will turn that into a lot of compassion. They make you aware of so many other things. They become the teacher and you become the student. It begins to internalize things within you and that changes all of the other aspects of your life, even outside of taking care of these children whether it is caring for people who are hungry or people who are living on the street, you start to see those things differently because of these kids.” 

A direct support service professional is someone who works as a direct care worker for individuals with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities. These workers can include habilitation training specialists, job coaches and group home staff, as well as habilitation aides, workshop staff, and agency companions or as specialized foster parents.

The criteria for winning an “Award of Excellence” focuses on a nominee’s tenure, experience, relationship to the individual(s) and the families they support, leadership, advocacy and their success in supporting people to be included in the community. Out of the 26 Award of Excellence winners, only six were selected as “Best of the Best.”

“Our award winners say they absolutely cherish the people they serve,” said JoAnne Goin, director, DDS. “They’re practical, determined and compassionate folk who treat their individuals like dear friends and family, all the while encouraging and teaching them how to become more independent members in the communities where they work and live.”

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 DHS Director Ed Lake, left, presents Karen and Ron Wasson with an “Award of Excellence”