Murphy, Cornell Honor Camp Venture's Ryan

Rockland County Legislative Chairwoman Harriet Cornell and Legislator John Murphy recgnized the work of Camp Venture Council of Advocates President Meagen Ryan with a proclamation at the last county meeting.

With Ryan as president, the council initiated a fundraising campaign to aid the people of Haiti after the earthquake there in January of 2010. Ryan, who is intellectually disabled herself, thanked the legislature for funding programs for people with developmental disabilities.

"She's an example of how far people with special needs can rise when they are in nurturing circumstances," Murphy said. "I go back in time when folks like Meagan were institutionalized in large facilities and wards with 50 and 60 people in them. That never allowed the people to blossom as Meagan has blossomed."