Speak-Up Spotlight: Abby
- Tammy Smith
- 15 minutes ago
- 2 min read
The Speak-Up Spotlight honors someone who advocates for themselves and others. Abby is an incredible example of a self-advocate and has many accomplishments that help her continue to speak up for herself and others. When asked why speaking up is important, Abby shared that by speaking up she encourages others to do the same. Below are some of the many reasons why Abby was chosen as the first recipient of the Speak-Up Spotlight.
One major accomplishment for Abby is that she has served as Allen County People First-Just Do It Crew President from 2024-2026. During this time, she has grown in confidence, spoken up more and has been a great role model for others. Abby has also spoken at Aktion Club to explain Allen County People First and encourage other individuals to attend Just Do It Crew meetings.
In 2025, Abby attended Project STIR (Steps Toward Independence and Responsibility) advocacy training in Tiffin so that she can be a trainer for future STIR trainings. Along with this, she attended Synergy to further her leadership skills and connect with other self-advocates.
Abby helps advocate by attending Board and community events. For instance, Abby has volunteered to walk in the Allen County Fair parade the past 2 years to represent the self-advocates and has worked the Board's fair booth so the community can learn more about Board services. For several years now, Abby has enjoyed reading to students at Bath during Developmental Disabilities Awareness month. Just last month, Abby brought many family members to the Wings & Rings fundraiser to help raise funds to cover the costs for self-advocates to attend the Synergy Conference later this year.
One of Abby's greatest accomplishments in life is winning two gold medals at the Special Olympics USA games in Seattle, Washington, in 2018. She received one in mini javelin and one for the 4×100 relay. Former Lima Mayor, Dave Berger, proclaimed July 18, 2018, “Abby Conley Day” in Lima to recognize her accomplishments. Finally, Abby attends Marimor Industries and is proud of her work as a volunteer with Lima Memorial Health System, where she has been volunteering for over 13 years.
All of these experiences and accomplishments have helped Abby not only become more confident in herself, but have the confidence to teach other people to speak up and advocate for themselves. She is a true example of a great leader. We are all so proud of Abby, and this shows why she was selected as our very first Speak-Up Spotlight Advocate!
Want to nominate someone? Please send the name of who you would like to nominate, along with a brief description on why that person has been nominated, to Tammy Smith at tsmith@acbdd.org.
