by Carl McMillen
Veteran Board member and PILC consumer Ray Aplin holds Your Key To Independence.
An antique brass key that hangs on the wall at Panhandle ILC recently caught the eye of a consumer who asked if it had any significance, or “is it just a neat old key?” During the spooky Halloween season, it’s rumored that the key unlocks the vault behind the fireplace where Igor and his old bats are kept. Since Igor and most of the old bats are no longer here, this is the real story….
(Sound effects up: creaking door with wicked laugh)
The key is part of PILC’s history dating back to 1953 when advocacy and independent living philosophies actually began in Amarillo. The Indoor Sports Club was led by a handful of people including charter members Jeannie McDonald and Maurine Seale who pioneered improvements to the quality of life for people with disabilities. Then in 1979, the Amarillo Disabled Individuals in Action was formed with Marshall Mitchell as president. I was privileged to serve as an ADIA board member in 1984 along with Dwain McMahan and Sharon Wilson who is still with our present Board of Directors. The ADIA was an aggressive group that advocated for handicap parking and ramps, elimination of architectural barriers, and the development of jobs, housing and transportation.
Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about the key. Hang in there, it’s coming.
The goals of the ADIA continued when, in 1988, it founded Amarillo’s first independent living center, Panhandle Action Center for Independent Living Skills or “PACILS.” With funding from the U.S. Department of Education and the Texas Rehabilitation Commission, PACILS adopted the core services of Peer Counseling, Advocacy, Information and Referral and Independent Living Skills training. The service area covered the sprawling 26-county Panhandle region. In 1998, the Board of Directors changed the Center’s name to Panhandle Independent Living Center, about the same time this agency moved to its present location at 1118 South Taylor.
Okay, now about the key – and I didn’t make this up!
A half-century ago, folks who started the old Indoor Sports Club organized themselves to “open doors” for people with disabilities. When the ADIA came along, they adopted the slogan “Opening Doors to Disabilities” which was symbolized by a key. In 1988, the old brass key that still hangs in PILC’s activity room was presented to the ADIA and the fledgling PACILS by Amarillo Mayor ( ) as an official gift to the disability community. The ADIA’s slogan was then changed to our present slogan, “Your Key to Independence.”
Today, PILC is honored to host monthly meetings of the ADIA which continues its mission of advocacy and dedication to forging better lives for people with disabilities. The key is still a reminder of the many people who began this good work 55 years ago. And now, about those old bats…
