The large conference room at Genesis Development in Jefferson was renamed the Eason Room in a ceremony Friday afternoon in honor of Helen and Wilbur “Curly” Eason of Scranton. The ceremony, which was attended by about 35 persons, was a surprise for the Easons. They had been asked to come talk with legislators about services for adults with special needs. The legislators were there – Rep Chip Baltimore and Sen Jerry Behn were both in attendance – but the reason for the meeting was not what the Easons thought.
Helen and Curly Eason were instrumental is starting Genesis Development 40 years ago, first as the Jefferson Sheltered Workshop, located at Clover Hall at the Greene County Fairgrounds. Their daughter Genie was their motivation. They saw a need for services for Genie, who was a high achiever on the Down Syndrome spectrum, and other persons with special needs, after high school graduation.
The Easons were part of a steering committee that formed in 1970, and the sheltered workshop opened in 1973. It was renamed Genesis Development in the mid 1980s. At that time Genesis served 12 persons with a staff of four and a $120,000 budget. Genesis now has a $17.5 million budget and is located in eight communities and four work centers. It served 2,143 persons in 2012.
Shirley Stapleton, a retired special education teacher, was part of the organizing group. “What separates the Easons from all the others is that they didn’t wear out. They stayed with Genesis all those years,” she said Friday.
At the program Friday, executive director Terry Johnson, who has been with Genesis since 1979, gave a brief history of the organization. Board president Phil Nelson of Alta spoke on behalf of the board of directors. Attorney Tom Polking handled the incorporation and other matters pro bono in the early years. He thanked the Easons for the experience. “It made me more knowledgeable and more compassionate,” he said.
Behn thanked the entire Genesis staff for all they do and noted the Easons’ importance in the community. Baltimore also spoke. “We all, when we have children, hope and pray that one day they will make an impact. Genie clearly did, and it was because of her parents,” Baltimore said.
Genie and Sen Daryl Beall, who represented Greene County prior to re-districting after the 2010 census, knew each other well. Beall was not at Friday’s event, but sent along a letter to be read. He called the Easons “tireless pioneers in initially demanding what was right and fair for their daughter and her education, and then worked to help Genie and other Genies receive the respect and dignity due all of God’s children through Genesis Development. Their vision, courage, passion and commitment never diminished, even when confronted with obstacles, ignorance, lack of caring, and sometimes even open hostility.”
The Easons, as is typical of them, both worked to deflect the kudos offered them. “There are people who have passed from this world who were as much help as I was,” Curly said, and named Lois Bradley as an example. He named legislator Ray Fisher, and he called Polking an “integral part” of the project.
“We did nothing but what needed to be done,” Helen Eason said.
Amy Eason Bruns said it was fitting that her parents be honored with the naming of a room that has in it a large table. “My dad would go to a meeting and come home and sit down at the dining room table and tell what had happened and they’d talk about what needed to be done. They modeled for us how to sit at a table and talk. That was very important,” she said.
A plaque honoring the Easons now hangs next to the conference room door, and large letters above the doorway designate it as the Eason Room.
To read more about Genie and the impact Genesis Development had on her life (and on the lives of other persons with special needs), click here to read a tribute presented by her sisters at the Celebration of Life held after Genie’s passing last April.
To learn more about Genesis Development, visit www.genesisdevelopment.com
Two of the Easons three living daughters and two granddaughters were able to be with them Friday. Pictured are (back, from left) Amy Eason Bruns and Elizabeth Bruns, Carol Eason, Madeline Bruns and Mike Bruns. The Bruns family lives in Natick, MA, while Carol Eason lives in Herndon, VA. Rebecca Eason Opalinski, who lives in Parker, CO, had recently visited her parents and was unable to be with them Friday.
