Good News Friday!

Readers of my blog and those of you familiar with Imagine! are aware of Imagine!’s SmartHomes project, the development of two homes in Boulder County that use technology to enhance the quality of life for consumers, augment the effectiveness of staff as caregivers, and provide cost and energy savings for Imagine!. As the first such homes in the nation, the SmartHomes are serving as a model for the future of residential care for people with cognitive disabilities. In addition, creating this model has enormous potential to impact groups of people with related concerns (dementia, autism, chronic mental illness, Alzheimer’s) through partnerships with other agencies.

In order for this project to serve as a model for the future of residential care, however, we need to make sure people are aware of this ambitious project. And indeed, interest in this unique model continues to grow.

The project has garnered significant media attention, in print and on television, locally and nationally. Just last Sunday, the Longmont Times Call ran this great article about our Longmont SmartHome. And you can see all of the media coverage of the SmartHome over the past year by clicking here.

We’re not just relying on the media to spread the word about our SmartHomes, however. Members of the SmartHome team have traveled across the state and even the country to give presentations on this project.

Imagine!'s Director of Business Development Greg Wellems has traveled the length of the nation, from Alaska to Washington D.C., in the past year, giving presentations about Imagine!’s SmartHomes project to audiences at a wide variety of conferences. And now other members of the SmartHome team are being invited to speak to interested audiences.

On May 12, SmartHome project manager Sterling Wind will be presenting our SmartHomes Project at the National Association of Housing & Redevelopment Officials Colorado Conference. He will be a member of their “Aging Gracefully in Place” panel.

Keeping busy, Sterling will then turn right around and head to Keystone, CO, to present May 13 and 14 at the Colorado Association of Homes & Services for the Aging Conference. The presentation title will be “Lean & Green: Breaking the Residential Service Delivery Routine.” Joining Sterling will be Hanni Ruehrdanz, Imagine!’s Staffed Sites Manager.

On May 20 through 22, Greg will be back on the circuit, giving a presentation on the history and future of the SmartHome in Dublin, OH at the Ohio Association of County Boards Serving Individuals with Developmental Disabilities Spring Conference.

And on June 17, SmartHome team member Fred Hobbs will be presenting at the Alliance June Training Summit in Fort Collins, CO. His presentation will be: Getting Social: Why Service Organizations Need To Embrace Social Media.

And recently, the international community has started looking at our SmartHomes as a model to emulate as our International Campaign continues to gain momentum! We had a very high profile visitor tour the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome this past Tuesday.

Angelos Pangratis, Chargé d’ Affaires and Acting Head of Delegation of the European Union to the United States, toured the home and was very engaged throughout the tour, asking tough questions and creating lively discussions.

The visit was facilitated by our friends at the Colorado European Union Center of Excellence.

We are incredibly excited about this opportunity to place our innovative and unique project on the national and international stage! Keep an ear out and you are sure to hear more in the future!