Norm McLeod Awards

Barbara Nish, 2006 Community Inclusion Dreamweaver Award

Making a Difference

Thirty years ago, Barbara Nish and her husband Robert attended their first Lethbridge Association for Community Living (LACL) meeting in Lethbridge. Their infant son, Andrew, had just been diagnosed with a developmental disability and they were grappling for ways to cope—physically, mentally and emotionally. What they found in the group that day was a community of dedicated people with similar challenges and over time, for Barbara, a career in the disability field.

Barbara Nish accepts congratulations from (left to right) Norm McLeod, LeeAnn Plain (awards host), Derrick Seabrook (awards host) and MLA Rob Lougheed.

“When we got there it was like coming home,” says Barbara. “The example of these families who persevered to make life better for their children and others with disabilities was inspirational. Life has so many possibilities if you persevere.”

Thirty years later, Barbara was on the podium at the 2006 Norm McLeod Community Inclusion Awards celebration in Edmonton on June 7, receiving a Dreamweaver Award for a lifetime of achievement. This award “recognizes an individual who is dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities, is committed to community inclusion, and fosters values such as equity, integrity, dignity and respect.”

For Barbara, it began by being a committed parent. That soon grew to helping other parents and then volunteering with LACL. Volunteering led to her becoming president of the association and over time, its executive director. It also led to her becoming a board member of the Southern Alberta Persons with Developmental Disabilities Board.

Throughout this journey, Barbara has been an activist for inclusion. As her nominator Anne Kish says, “She has helped families find their voice, and at more difficult times, had been the voice of families speaking out about the need for inclusion and community. Our community is stronger because of her work and her dedication.”

After 30 years of serving on the support side, Barbara recently moved to the service sector as associate director of Southern Alberta Community Living Association's residential supports. Once again she hopes to “challenge what's there, make it different and better,” a motto that guides her life's work.

As for Andrew, he is now a man of 31, who lives in a group home and is still very much a part of the Nish family. “Andrew has taught our whole family lessons in living—his siblings and now my little granddaughter. Though he has never been able to speak, she already knows how to interact with her Uncle Andrew and is totally at ease with him. That's how everyone should be with people who have disabilities.”

The distant future may bring retirement to the family's cabin in Crow's Nest Pass, but for now, Barbara says, “We plan to continue to do what we do and continue to make a difference.”

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