Members of the Sunshine Optimist Club collected over 500 food items for the St. Peter’s Food Pantry through the month of November. The donated food will be used to help feed the hungry over the Thanksgiving holiday.

 

Independent Living Services is partnering with the Sunshine Optimist Club in an effort to help provide food for families that don’t have food for Thanksgiving.

Please join us in contributing nonperishable items in boxes provided at Profiles Enrichment Center, Profiles Productions, and the ILS Administration Office. The food drive will extend through November 14th.

Questions? Call Chris Smith at 501-327-5883.

 

Congratulations! The Sunshine Optimist Club won the Chili Cook-off championship at ArtsFest this year in downtown Conway!

The Sunshine Optimist Club’s goal is to help students with intellectual disabilities and their families be better prepared for life after high school. The club strives to ensure that both parents and students have all the information they need to make the best decisions.

Visit www.sunshineoptimist.com for more information.

The Conway Sunshine Optimist Club partnered has with Profiles Enrichment Center and the Noon Optimist Club to form a school supply drive for the Conway High School Special Education Department. The annual school supply drive aims to help individuals with developmental disabilities start the school year with the necessities.

Visit www.sunshineoptimist.com for more information.

Congratulations to Executive Director Jackie Fliss on being selected as a Nonprofit Executive of the Year finalist for the 2010 Arkansas Business of the Year Awards!

When asked to explain her secret to success Fliss says, “I aim to gather intelligent, talented, caring people and give them the tools, directions and timelines they need to do their jobs and, more importantly, do the right thing. Our employees must have compassion for the consumers and their respective families.”

“I also believe that maintaining a strong network with other agencies, developing personal networks, staying in touch with officials in state government, and communicating with community members and businesses has proven to be the key to developing innovative solutions for complex issues.”

Since she took over as Executive Director in 2000, Jackie Fliss has guided Independent Living Services through considerable growth. In the past ten years Independent Living Services has grown from a staff of 85 employees to over 375, a caseload of  70 consumers to over 200 and annual revenues of $2.1 million to $6 .3 million.

Jackie oversaw the development and construction of Greenbier Apartments and Florentz Estates in 2007. Since its completion, Florentz Estates has become the model for indoor apartment construction for people with intellectual disabilities in Arkansas. Profiles Productions, a recycling facility offering gainful employment to people with intellectual disabilities, was also started during Jackie’s tenure.

Fliss began her career at Easter Seals of Arkansas. Afterward, she worked for seven years as a Certified Public Accountant. During her seven years as a CPA, she explains, “I was never able to forget the feeling of doing something that mattered. So, I returned to Easter Seals of Arkansas.”

After her tenure  at Easter Seals of Arkansas, Fliss worked as the CFO and Director of Children’s Services at Friendship Community Care, winner of the 2009 Nonprofit Organization of the Year Award presented by Arkansas Business.

Fliss is a member of the Conway Rotary Club and is a Paul Harris Fellow. Fliss played a significant role in founding the Sunshine Optimist Club, which is the first Optimist Club composed of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. The club is viewed as the pilot for Optimist International on a national and international level.

Jackie has been married to Larry Fliss for 24 years. The two share two sons, Carter and Jackson, ages 22 and 21.

The 2010 Arkansas Business of the Year Awards, presented by Centennial Bank and Arkansas Business, will be held February 22 in the Wally Allen Ballroom at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.

Arkansas District Governor Chris Black spoke to the Sunshine Optimist Club of Conway today at Profiles Enrichment Center, the adult day program of Independent Living Services.

The Sunshine Optimist Club of Conway is the first club of its kind in the world. Composed of individuals with developmental disabilities, the Sunshine Optimist Club aims to help students and their families be better prepared for life after high school.

The Sunshine Optimist Club strives to ensure that both parents and students have all the information they need to make the best decisions.