AAC History and Awards
AAC History
AAC was founded in 1978 as a volunteer, non-profit organization bringing together on a national level local and regional search, support, and advocacy groups. It was incorporated in 1981 in the State of Missouri and was granted tax-exempt status in 1982.Read an "Eyewitness Account of the Beginnings of AAC" by Penny Callan Partridge, first AAC President.
You can check here to see who AAC's Past Presidents/Vice Presidents have been
Each year at our National Conference Awards are handed out to Board Members, and others.
The following is a list of these awards
AAC Conference History and Awards Given
Each year the AAC has an Annual International Conference. Here are the places the AAC has been almost since the inception of the AAC. Annual AAC Conference History
At each of the conferences there usually is an Awards Lunch or Dinner where members of the AAC are honored for what they have given to the AAC.
Among these awards given out each year is the President's Award. This person who receives this award is chosen by the President of AAC, and represents the commitment of the person chosen At each of the conferences there usually is an Awards Lunch or Dinner where members of the AAC are honored for what they have given to the AAC.
In 2015, the AAC came up with a couple of new awards to issue.
The first was the first AAC Ambassador Award. This award is dedicated to the person who throughout the year, promotes the AAC in all manners.
The next was the AAC State Representative Award, given to the State Representative(s) who made the most impact during the previous year. Wether it be by working with legislation, or in educating people on the world of adoption and reform.
The last award is the AAC Vilardi Award
The Emma Mae Vilardi Humanitarian Award is awarded at the National Conference to one person who has shown themselves to be one or more of the following:- An Exemplary agent of change in the direction of the AAC's goals
- A community builder within the adoption reform community
- A steadfast and/or stand-out supporter of either the adoption reform community or the goals of AAC
For its operating expenses, the AAC relies on donations, grants, membership dues and income from book sales on the recommended reading page and special gift programs.