VERMILLION ‘I’ve Definitely Found a Place Here’ Molly Hammitt Named South Dakota’s DSP of the Year VERMILLION – When a prestigious honor came her way recognizing the important work she does, Molly Hammitt was surprised and honored. One can sense, though, that the people she encounters each day in her job as a Direct Support Professional (DSP) at SESDAC, Inc. in Vermillion – her supervisors, her co-workers, and the people she serves – were very pleased and also not completely caught off guard this spring when she was named 2014 Direct Support Professional of the Year for South Dakota. The award was presented by the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR). Molly flew to Miami, FL, to take part in ANCOR’s 2014 conference, held May 4-6, entitled “Beyond the Envelope.” While there, she had the opportunity to meet with other DSPs and discuss the important aspects of their work. She received her award during a special ceremony at the conference on May 6. 20 v HERVOICE JULY/AUGUST 2014 The SESDAC, Inc. staff began the preliminary work that eventually led to Molly being nominated for this honor last fall. “Yearly, ANCOR solicits submission from different community support providers from each state, and in September or October, we started the process internally,” said Joe Hoose, SESDAC, Inc.’s human resource director. “We started to talk with different people within the agency about who could be that person that we would nominate, and we came to a consensus, and Molly was our choice for a nomination.” The process involved finding an individual who fulfills a strongly defined criteria set by ANCOR. “One of the neat aspects is that a person that Molly directly supports writes a letter of affirmation talking about how Molly helps that individual, and that’s included in the nomination as well,” Joe said. Three weeks after the nomination form was sent, Joe received a