Arc Baltimore Presents Award for Career Excellence to Stemler

The Arc Baltimore has presented its Stephen H. Morgan Award for Career Excellence to Towson resident Mary Stemler.

Presented during The Arc’s recent Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony, the Stephen H. Morgan Award for Career Excellence is presented to an employee of The Arc Baltimore who has spent at least 25 years of their career with the organization and has consistently shown excellence over that time. The awardee has a consistent record of professional growth and advancement, as well as consistent dedication to excellence and to The Arc’s mission.

Hired as a teacher in 1974 by former Arc Baltimore Executive Director Stephen Morgan in the Model Cities school program, Stemler initially served as a Direct Support Professional in several day centers and then as case manager. She worked in The Arc’s first group home, then as a coordinator in the residential program, where she grew to understand people’s needs and desires and how programs and funding could help them toward their goals.

Stemler joined the small outreach team nearly 20 years ago and became an official advocate for bringing people into The Arc Baltimore with solid plans of support to meet their personal needs and career ambitions. In recent years, she has taken on the Adopt-a-Family program, making it possible for more than 50 families to be paired with “adopting” companies, schools, and caring citizens so that each adopted family would have a joyful Christmas.

“If you ask co-workers to describe Mary in her work for the families and people we support, ‘tenacious’ is often the word you will hear,” says The Arc’s Chief Executive Officer, Kathleen McNally Durkin. “In the view of Robert Kirkendall, a man she first grew to know and support some 25 years ago, though, Mary is first and foremost a friend.”

The Arc Baltimore’s 2021 Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony featured the election of the organization’s new board of directors and officers, and award recognitions for those who have gone above and beyond in their service to The Arc Baltimore.

“The hard work and dedication of all of our award recipients and nominees, and so many others, is the critical component which enables The Arc Baltimore to support people with developmental disabilities to lead fulfilling lives with a sense of belonging, purpose, and meaningful relationships,” Durkin concludes.

About The Arc Baltimore

The Arc Baltimore supports people with developmental disabilities (autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability) to lead fulfilling lives with a sense of belonging, purpose, and meaningful relationships. The Arc Baltimore is an indispensable resource, providing employment training and support, day and residential services, family support and education, treatment foster care, respite care, public policy advocacy, and information and referrals. For more information, visit www.thearcbaltimore.org or call 410-296-2272.