Writing on the Wall: Fall 2022

President’s Corner
John Weatherspoon
Welcome to another edition of <strong>Writing</strong>
on the Wall! This is a very special
issue focusing on reconnecting with
co-workers, the individuals we serve,
providers, and leaders around the
state. In addition, this has been a season
of reconnecting with our purpose
individually and as an agency.
In August a group of us from Wall
Residences were invited to meet with
the new Commissioner of DBHDS,
Nelson Smith, and the new Deputy
Commissioner, Ellen Harrison, in
Richmond. This provided us with
an opportunity to share the accomplishments
of Wall Residences, how
we serve local communities across
Virginia, and our plans for continuing
our mission moving forward. We
want to thank Commissioner Smith
and Deputy Commissioner Harrison
for their hospitality, for sharing their
vision, and for listening to ours.
In September, we held our first staff
retreat in Floyd since
2019. Over 100
managers and staff
joined us. During the
retreat, we had the
pleasure of hosting
Assistant Commissioner
of DBHDS,
Heather Norton, who
took time out of her
very busy schedule to
meet with our leadership
team and spend time talking
with a large number of staff about the
future of the settlement agreement and
developmental services. We appreciate
Christine Morris, Senior Licensing
Specialist, and Ashley Bennet, Lead
PA Consultant, joining us as well.
Perhaps one of the most important
changes over the last three months has
been the ability to begin to meet again
in person with our contracted providers
and the individuals in their services.
Throughout this newsletter you
will notice a significant focus on the
importance of those connections. As
always, thank you for all that you do!
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