King Named Therapist of the Year

The winner of the AMBUCS Therapist of the Year Award for 2008 was Terrie King of Longview, TX. She was presented with this prestigious honor during this year’s Living Endowment program in Rogers, Arkansas.

King, who is a professor in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program at Panola College, was sponsored by the Longview Too chapter. Over the past two decades she has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of those less fortunate.  King is regarded as a true visionary and considered one of the brightest and most versatile leaders of her field.

“Terrie is truly deserving of this award because of her commitment to lifelong learning,” said Cheri Lambert, Director of Panola College’s Occupational Therapy Assistant program.  “She is one of a handful of occupational therapists in the country that has the experience and additional training required to provide OT services for developmentally delayed children, adolescents with behavior or substance abuse issues, and adults with physical disabilities, substance abuse issues and mental health problems.”

In 1996, King purchased land in Tenaha, Texas which she eventually transformed into a wonderful camp for children with disabilities.  Since its inception, Camp Tenaha has benefited scores of local youth and also serves as a regular site for clinical studies for allied health programs. The camp was featured on the cover of the April, 2008 edition of the Advance Magazine for Occupational Therapy.

During her acceptance speech, King ran a slide show featuring images from her camp. AMBUCS members in the audience enjoyed seeing the joyful faces of all the kids at her camp who have benefited so much from King’s incredible vision and hard work.