State Personal Achievement Award Recipients

Initiated in 1992, the national awards program recognizes the accomplishments and community service of adults over 18 with disabilities related to any of the diseases in MDA’s program.

The awards were renamed in honor of Robert Ross, MDA’s longtime chief executive, who died in June 2006. Ross created the Personal Achievement Award program to educate the public that disability is no obstacle to accomplishment.

Each local MDA chapter selects a local recipient; all local recipients automatically are considered for a state award. Then, all state award recipients are considered for the national award, which is announced every year on MDA's Labor Day weekend show.

Click on any state to view a bio of its 2011 PAA recipient (ages reflect the recipient's age at the time the award was given in 2011).

U.S. Map

Gail Allen, 42
Dermatomyositis
Marietta, Ga.

Gail Allen is affected by dermatomyositis (DM), a neuromuscular disease that causes weakness of shoulder and limb muscles and joint pain. Finding it very difficult to walk at the time of her diagnosis 13 years ago, she now walks unaided, thanks to medication. Allen was the sole support for her 8-year-old son when she began falling inexplicably and discovered she had the disease. Believing a disability isn't a crutch, Allen persevered. With medical treatment through her MDA clinic, she continued working and raising her son, eventually obtaining a college degree. For 10 years, Allen has been a contract administrator for Georgia Pacific.
Glenn Nakamura, 56
Spinal muscular atrophy
Mililani, Hawaii

Glenn Nakamura is affected by spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) which causes generalized muscle weakness and atrophy. Nakamura uses a power chair for mobility. The youngest of three brothers with SMA, he hasn't allowed the disease to slow him down much. Formerly a human resources director for 17 PayLess Drug Stores and later Hawaii operations manager for Grocery Outlet, Nakamura believes that assisting people with disabilities is a vital part of quality customer service. Now retired, Nakamura uses legislative and judicial efforts to help ensure people with disabilities enjoy equal rights and opportunities. He also keeps busy with MDA fundraising efforts.
Victoria Tschohl, 20
Spinal muscular atrophy
Middleton, Idaho

A former two-time MDA Idaho Goodwill Ambassador, Tschohl is now a top student at the College of Idaho, attending on a full scholarship. She also keeps busy with numerous volunteer activities, such as organizing blanket drives and supply drives for local support agencies, and speaking to groups about living with a disability. As an MDA volunteer, she has participated in several fundraising events and advocated in support of the SMA Treatment Acceleration Act and the ABLE Act. Tschohl has type 2 spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), which causes extensive muscle weakness in the arms, legs, upper and lower torso, as well as respiratory problems. She uses a power wheelchair for mobility.
Katrina Gossett, 26
Spinal muscular atrophy
Indianapolis, Ind.

Affected by spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), Katrina Gossett graduated summa cum laude from Notre Dame University and the University of Chicago Law School and now lives independently and works for a law firm in downtown Indianapolis. Gossett, who uses a power chair for mobility, is extensively involved in community activities and volunteers frequently for MDA. She serves on the Governor's Council for People with Disabilities and is a facilitator for a MDA young adult social group, among other activities.
Zachary Dix, 21
Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Council Bluffs, Iowa

Zachary Dix has Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which causes severe muscle weakness and atrophy. Receiving his DMD diagnosis in 1996, he now uses a power chair for mobility. An honor student throughout high school and college, he recently received a degree in graphic design from Iowa Western Community College. Dix also was recognized by MDA 10 years ago, when he served as the MDA Goodwill Ambassador for Iowa. Since 1998, Dix and his family have raised over $500,000 for MDA through the MDA Annual Gala they founded and chair in Council Bluffs.
Shanell Nieves, 30
Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy
Topeka, Kan.

Shanell Nieves received a diagnosis of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) at age 7. Now an adult, she uses a power wheelchair for mobility and works for an insurance company, where she has shown great ingenuity and creativity in making her work environment accessible for her needs. Nieves attended MDA summer camp as a child, and continues to be an active volunteer for MDA and other organizations that help people with disabilities.
Marvin Troy Ellis, 46
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Madisonville, Ky.

Troy Ellis has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease in which the motor neurons controlling voluntary muscle movements are lost. He uses a power chair for mobility. Prior to receiving his diagnosis in 2007, Ellis was an active brick mason and minister who ran marathons. Though he can no longer run or work at his trade, he still exercises daily with muscle stretching and water therapy, and serves as an associate pastor. As the Kentucky MDA ALS chairman, Ellis is committed to bringing ALS awareness to his community and has been very active in many MDA fundraising activities.
Charles O'Connor, 63
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
New Orleans, La.

Charles O'Connor, who has been legally blind since 1997, learned in 2005 that he has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), a condition that causes muscle weakness and atrophy in the feet, lower legs, hands and forearms, as well as loss of sensation in the extremities. He can walk short distances thanks to leg braces, and uses a wheelchair or scooter for distances. The longtime director of the Advanced Materials Research Institute at the University of New Orleans (UNO), O'Conner also has developed outreach programs to community high schools and regional Historically Black Colleges and Universities. As a result of his self-advocacy, his university has provided him with reading and mobility devices to assist him with his work.
Pamela Brown, 54
Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy
Portland, Maine

Although Pamela Brown can walk and shows little outward sign of her disability, she also lives with great pain and weakness at all times. Even a small amount of physical exertion can be exhausting for her. Nonetheless, for a decade she has devoted hours each day to others who, like her, have muscle diseases and are being helped by MDA. Brown is a member, leader and comforting influence at MDA support groups for individuals and families affected by neuromuscular diseases. She also is an energetic volunteer at MDA Lock-Up fundraising events. Every Labor Day weekend, she can be counted on as a stalwart volunteer during local broadcasts of the MDA Labor Day show. Pamela Brown could be sitting at home marshaling her strength, but she chooses to expend it in behalf of others.
Brett Felter, 29
Becker muscular dystrophy
Baltimore, Md.

Felter has Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD), which causes general weakness and atrophy of all voluntary muscles. He uses a power wheelchair for mobility, drives an adapted van and currently is living independently in an apartment. Felter graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law (Austin) in 2007 and went on to become the first Disability Rights Fellow at the Baltimore law firm of Brown, Goldstein and Levy, serving one year in that role. Committed to public-interest advocacy, he is on the board of directors of the Maryland Disabilities Forum and is a member of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland. He also is an active MDA volunteer, working with an MDA teen support group in Baltimore and participating in fundraising events.