April 5, 2019 | NorthStar Monthly
Press Release
Montpelier, VT
MONTPELIER, VT – On April 8, 2019 the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services will host its Annual Crime Victim’s Rights Week Service Awards Ceremony. The theme this year is “Honoring Our Past. Creating Hope for the Future.” Join us celebrating the countless people and programs that have, through vision, action, dedication and leadership, improved the lives of victims in the aftermath of crime.
The Awards Ceremony will begin at 2:00 p.m. at the Capital Plaza Hotel, 100 State Street, Montpelier. Advocates, allies, support workers, victims and survivors, law enforcement representatives and friends will be coming together to raise awareness and pay tribute to Vermonters who offer services to victims of crime. The press is encouraged to attend.
Our keynote speaker, Anna Nasset, will speak about her experience as a victim of stalking, and about the importance of empathy and empowerment of victims as they walk through the criminal justice process. She shares from her own experience working with countless service providers over the years and how their positive impact has shifted her experience from living in the shadows to proudly standing up and speaking out. The keynote speech will begin at 1:00pm.
Award Recipients:
Meghan Place, Windsor County, Victim Advocate in the Windsor County States Attorney’s Office, is one of the recipients of the State Based Advocate Award given to a victim of crime who has taken her or his own personal experience and transformed it into action or advocacy on behalf of other victims of crime.
Also receiving recognition as a System Based Advocate Award is Katie Guilbault, South Burlington, Human Trafficking Case Manager for South Burlington Police Department.
We will also honor Kimberly Colville, Colchester,Advocate at the Vermont Center for Independent Living, with the Community Based Advocate Award for working in a community-based program who has made a significant contribution to the lives of crime victims.
Dottie Watson, Essex Junction and Sharyn Salls, Hardwick,share the award for Victim Survivor Activist this year. These two women have made an impact by taking their own personal experience and transforming it into action or advocacy on behalf of other victims of crime.
We are pleased to honor “The Conversation,” a group of high school students at Montpelier High School with the Emerging Leader Award. This award is for a person(or people) of college age or younger who have made a contribution to improve the treatment of crime victims (particularly of his or her peers), worked for systems change, or created an innovative project that benefits community response to violence, crime/violence prevention, or community outreach/education.
Lifetime Achievement/Career Achievement/Patrissi Award” This year, we are honoring three unique individuals.
Lifetime Achievement Award to Timothy Chagnon, St. Albans, Detective.
Career Achievement Award to Ellie Breitmaier, Montpelier, Director of Domestic and Sexual Violence for the Department of Children and Families.
Roderick Bates, Brattleboro, Former District Manager, Vermont Department of Corrections, Brattleboro/Springfield Probation & Parole.
This award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to victim services over their career or lifetime and have changed the culture and practice of Vermont to be safer and more responsive to victims of crime. The recipient of this award will be clearly deserving of a place in Vermont history beside other leaders in victim services. When this honor is awarded to those who are leaving their work in victim services, it will be designated as the “Patrissi Award.”
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