ASCEND 2026 Annual Community Awards & Fundraiser

HUDSON FALLS, NY – April 29, 2026 – ASCEND Mental Wellness will host its 2026 Annual Community Awards & Fundraiser on Thursday, May 7th, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The event will take place at Heritage Hall, located in the Harding Mazzotti Arena.

The afternoon will feature networking opportunities, light refreshments, and an awards ceremony to recognize outstanding contributions to the local mental health community.

ASCEND Chief Executive Officer Andrea Deepe will provide opening remarks and a special presentation, which will be followed by a fireside chat with featured speaker Sharon R. Horton. CEO Andrea Deepe will also present the community awards to this year’s honorees.

The 2026 award recipients are:

• Washington County Sheriff’s Department – Recipient of the Dorothea Dix Community Service Award. Established in 2001, this award recognizes an individual and/or organization not part of the mental health system whose efforts have contributed to the betterment of mental health in the community. It is named in honor of Dorothea Dix, who lived in the mid-19th century and almost single-handedly influenced reforms that drastically changed the cruel “treatment” of the “insane” during that time.
• Well Child Pediatric Psychiatric Services – Recipient of the Walter P. Reichert Award. Established in 1986, this award is named after the first Board President of the “Glens Falls Mental Hygiene Association”—a small group of local citizens committed to bettering community-based treatment for those with mental illnesses. It formally recognizes an individual, group, or agency within the local mental health community that has significantly contributed to the promotion, development, and/or betterment of mental health within Warren and Washington counties.
• Elliana Jeppesen – Recipient of the Amy Carpenter Memorial Scholarship Award. Established in 1989, this scholarship is in memory of Amy, a compassionate and greatly respected residential counselor at ASCEND. Full tuition is awarded annually to a second-year student majoring in Community Mental Health, Human Services, or Nursing at SUNY Adirondack, selected by the Admissions Committee based on financial need and academic performance. Funding is provided through public and corporate donations.

Nominations for these annual awards are ongoing. Candidates not selected are kept on file and reviewed again in subsequent years. Nomination forms are available at the Administrative Offices in Hudson Falls.

The event is made possible through the support of sponsors and the ASCEND Mental Wellness Board of Directors, led by Board President Mary McLaughlin.

For more information, please visit www.ascendmw.org.