Skip to content
ATCMHMR: Home  
Need Help?
Services
Employment & Contracting
About Us
Calendar
Get Involved
Search / Links
FAQ
Contacts
Donate
Home

Get Involved

6th Central Texas African American Family Support Conference

Richard E. Hopkins “Torch” Awards: Established in honor of Richard E. Hopkins

The Richard E. Hopkins Torch Awards were established in 2006 to acknowledge individuals in our community who have significantly improved the lives of persons affected by mental health or other health related issues within the Central Texas community. The “Torch” Awards will be presented annually at the Central Texas African American Family Support Conference in four categories: Consumer, Family Member, Professional and Community Leader.

The Central Texas African American Family Support Conference (CTAAFSC) is hosted by Austin Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation Center (Center) and sponsored by community partners from the public and private sectors. The purpose of the conference is to provide education and information to consumers, families and the community about mental health and developmental disabilities/mental retardation, chemical dependence, co-occurring disorders, and physical health issues.


The ultimate goal of the conference is to increase individual and family awareness of available behavioral and physical healthcare services, reduce stigma, and eliminate health disparities. The CTAAFSC targets the African American community but embraces all community members regardless of race or ethnicity, and conference participation at all levels has been across racial and ethnic lines.

A Center Trustee since 1993, Richard E. Hopkins has been a strong and visionary supporter of this conference since it began in 2000. His professional background of over 28 years in the field of Human Services, includes Vocational Evaluator with the Royal Maid Workshop for the Blind in Hazelhurst, Mississippi; Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, Disability Examiner, Regional Program Specialist and Director of Programs with the legacy agency--the Texas Rehabilitation Commission, currently the Division for Rehabilitation Services under the State Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services--where he serves as the Program Specialist for Assistive Technology.

Mr. Hopkins earned his B.S. degree from Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, Mississippi and his M.Ed. from Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi. Mr. Hopkins is married to Diane M. Hopkins an Executive Project Manager at IBM. They have one son Christopher a student at the University of Houston. Mr. Hopkins has been invaluable to the Center in spearheading both the conference and numerous other endeavors. Mr. Hopkins has served as Vice-Chairman and on the Executive Committee of the Center’s Board of Trustees since 1994 and is Chairman of the Human Resources Committee. He is an active member of the Austin Capital City Lions Club and serves on the following boards; Knowbility, Project Mend, The Texas Council of Community MHMR Centers, Inc., Austin Outreach and Community Services, Inc., Austin Sickle Cell Anemia and is a member of the Texas Technology Access Program Advisory Council. He is an Active Member of the Agape Baptist Church where he serves as Chairman on the Deacons Board. Mr. Hopkins has volunteered as a missionary for the past four years in Honduras on the various Medical Missions through St. Francis Episcopal Church, Temple, Texas.

2006 Recipients

Consumer Category – Sam C. Higgins, Jr.

Sam Higgins has demonstrated his leadership as a consumer in a number of ways. He is the Vice Chair of the Austin Travis County MHMR (ATCMHMR) Consumer Council, and serves as a role model for other mental health consumers. In addition, he has participated in a number of ATCMHMR and community activities to support education and advocacy, including focus groups and seminars on mental illness.

In September 2005, Mr. Higgins provided a testimonial as part of the New Milestones Foundation’s fundraising event. He provided an eloquent description of his own struggle with mental illness and how he is managing his illness and moving forward.

Sam Higgins

He is also active in the faith community, and will be assisting his church in providing outreach and education about mental illness. Mr. Higgins is truly keeping the “flame burning” by being a role model and using his experience and wisdom to help others.

 

Family Member Category - Brenda Coleman-Beattie
Brenda Coleman-Beattie is the past president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Austin, an organization that she helped greatly expand during her tenure. Ms. Coleman-Beattie says that her sister’s experiences as a mental health consumer led her to become involved in the field.

In addition to her work with NAMI, she was appointed by Governor Perry to the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities and serves on the Mental Health Policy Network of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation as well as the School of Social Work Advisory Council at the University of Texas at Austin.

A graduate of Leadership Texas and a recipient of the Exemplary Leadership and Financial Management Award from the ComCare Board of Directors in Seattle, Ms. Coleman-Beattie is perhaps best known to ATCMHMR staff and volunteers for the impeccable style with which she emcees the Central Texas African American Family Support Conference each year.

A skilled financial manager and strategic planner, Ms. Coleman-Beattie has built a highly successful corporate career working in a broad array of public and private venues. She has held prestigious positions in Phoenix, Seattle, and Austin, where she rose through the ranks at Lower Colorado River Authority to the position of Assistant Chief Operating Officer and Assistant to the Deputy General Manager. Currently, the principal of 2Thrive4 LLC, she is a strategy consultant who helps individuals and organizations to thrive and succeed.

 

Professional Category - Mary Lou Adams
Mary Lou Adams has long been an advocate for healthcare and preventive healthcare for low-income persons. She received her Masters, a Nurse Practitioner’s Degree and a PH.D. from The University of Texas before joining the faculty.

In her position as associate professor and project director at The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, Dr. Adams has served as a role model for hundreds of young men and women who see entering the health professions as a vehicle to promoting the common good. She specializes in helping low-income women access screening, prevention and treatment for breast cancer. The model she designed to help African American women access screenings for breast cancer has become a national model.

Additionally, Dr. Adams has served on many community boards and is an outstanding volunteer having devoted hundreds of hours to a broad spectrum of community causes including the Urban League, Planned Parenthood, and the Links.

 

Community Leader Category – Rev. Mike Manor

Rev. Mike Manor is a life resident of Austin, Texas. He is an Associate Minister at Mount Zion Baptist Church. He is the overseer of all of the community ministries at the Mount Zion Action & Resource Center (Mt. Z.A.R.C.).

Rev. Manor has worked for years in the Mental Health and Developmental Disability Fields. His work experience includes directorship positions with the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, the Austin Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation Center and the Austin Travis County Health and Human Service Department. He is an excellent resource for the church and community, and because of his untiring efforts many individuals and families have been helped.


Rev. Manor has served on many community boards and is currently on the board of the Austin Area Interreligious Ministries (A.A.I.M.). He is continually promoting health, mental health and developmental disability activities within the Austin and Travis County community.

 

  back to top ATCMHMR | 1430 Collier St. | Austin, TX 78704 | (512) 447-4141
Copyright © 2002 ATCMHMR | Privacy Policy | Home |