Louis Thomason, Ph.D. of Chappaqua will be honored with the Volunteer Center’s 2012 Quality of Life Volunteer Spirit Award for his many contributions to Richmond Community Services.
The Volunteer Center will honor his service and give special recognition to Dr. Thomason and seven other outstanding individuals and groups at the 32nd Annual Volunteer Spirit Awards celebration and benefit. This year’s volunteer event will take place at the Hilton Rye Town on Friday morning, April 20, from 8-10 a.m.
As a retired IBM executive with over 40 years of experience in advanced internet design and management, Dr. Louis Thomason’s professional expertise was channeled for new and inspirational usage, enhancing assistive technology for people with significant intellectual disabilities and designing an intranet platform to facilitate internal staff knowledge sharing.
This past year, Dr. Thomason has volunteered his services at a Richmond Community Services group residence in Ossining, NY. He was instrumental in introducing and implementing a digital art program which allows the user to “paint” a picture on a screen as the system follows the movement of their wheelchair. In addition, he designed customized mounting systems to be used with communication devices that have enabled the people we serve to express themselves in new ways. Louis Thomason’s dedication and commitment to Richmond’s mission has positively impacted the organization by improving the quality of life of each Richmond resident which he has the opportunity to work with.
Dr. Thomason also volunteered extensively with the organization’s workforce development staff to design and develop an intranet platform. He was instrumental in the initial systems analysis, including identifying Richmond’s specific needs and intent of the internal network, including the ability to offer online trainings, enhance agency communication and streamline internal processes. Richmond’s intranet is scheduled to go live within the next few months.
“Skilled volunteers such as Lou provide high quality professional services that non-profits would normally not be able to afford” said Edward Spauster, Ph.D., President/CEO of Richmond Community Services.
In addition to his university teaching experience at institutions such as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Dr. Thomason’s experience includes the architecture, design, and management of internet, networking, distributed systems and advanced technology software at IBM. Louis Thomason is an active member of the IBM Academy of Technology, comprised of 1,000 of IBM’s technical leaders, recognized for their outstanding technical accomplishments, leadership and contributions to the business. He is recently retired and lives in Chappaqua with his family.
About RCS:
Richmond Community Services is the leader in providing family-like support for children and adults in the Hudson Valley region with significant intellectual and physical disabilities. Richmond maximizes each person’s quality of life through innovative services, compassion and advocacy, while providing support and peace-of-mind to their loved ones. Richmond provides residences, respite services, intensive medical, nursing and therapeutic supports, day rehabilitative programs and bi-lingual Medicaid service coordination in communities throughout Westchester County. Founded in 1973, Richmond Community Services is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Mount Kisco, N.Y.
