A Wonderful Honour for Amaze!

Today is Victoria Day and in the Victoria Day honours, Amaze has received the Victoria Day Award for Community and Public Service by a Victorian Organisation/Association.
“We are thrilled that Amaze has been recognised in the Victoria Day Awards,” said Michele Carson, Chair of the Board of Amaze (Autism Victoria). “This was a complete surprise and a delightful one. Knowing that Amaze received many nominations for this award shows that awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder is growing, and with awareness comes understanding.”
Michele Carson, Murray Dawson-Smith (CEO) and Fran Ludgate (Manager Marketing & Communications) from Amaze attended the presentation ceremony this morning at the Melbourne Town Hall, together with guests Ben Carbonaro and Daniel Giles, representing individuals from the ASD community.
Murray received the award from Lord Mayor Robert Doyle and in his acceptance speech, talked about the rise in diagnosis rates and the ‘invisible’ nature of the condition, which makes it difficult for the general public to understand. He pointed out the very low rates of employment for individuals with ASD compared with the general population, and especially compared with other disabilities/conditions. He called on the community to help create better working environments for those with ASD to help them succeed in the workplace.
The other winners were:

• Jeanne Pratt AC – Victorian of the year
• Nichole Hussey – Young Victorian of the year
• Gerard Vaughan – Award for the Arts
• LinFox Logistices – Good Corporate Citizen

“We are delighted to be in the company of such worthy winners,” said Murray. “It is a credit to the hard work of our staff and  board members. We thank the Victoria Day Council for this great honour and we hope that it will help us to shine the spotlight on the difficulties and needs of our community of individuals and families living with ASD and all those who help them.”