Mark McDaniel, left, and Board Chair Rod Austin present the 2017 Geraldine B. Nelson Advocacy Award to Stacy Warner.

2017
Stacy Warner

​The 2017 recipient is someone who has channeled the most tragic of circumstances into a remarkable energy and drive for change. Barely more than two years ago, August 23, 2015, her 16-year-old son Bryce died by suicide. While learning to live with that grief and burden of loss, she at the same time defined a personal mission to promote better understanding of mental illness, especially among young people, and to start conversations about suicide prevention. Her son was on the West Milton track and cross country teams, and she herself is a runner and a coach, so it was an appropriate channel to host a 5K run in Bryce’s memory, and for the purpose of promoting the messages of understanding and hope in West Milton and the surrounding communities. There have now been two “Free the Mind/Anchor the Soul” 5K events – held July 4 – and hundreds of runners and walkers have participated in those events, worn the T-shirts, and shared the message. Stacy and other supporters have used funds raised from those events to partner with the Tri-County Board to post billboards with a suicide prevention message, and to train more than 20 educators from throughout Miami County in Youth Mental Health First Aid this past August, with a second cohort coming next month. With the focus, determination and stamina of a trained athlete, she continues to expand her circle of advocacy and influence, so that no other parent should have to bear the loss of a child to suicide.
                                                     
It is in recognition of this achievement that the Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services – with humble gratitude and admiration - recognizes this year’s recipient of the Geraldine B. Nelson Advocacy Award, for supportive measures on behalf of another, by promoting the recognition of consumer rights and encouraging positive change in the realm of mental health and addictions issues, presented this day, October 18, 2017, to Stacy Warner.