Awards
UOTA Eunice Chen Mentorship Award
Purpose: To provide recognition to an occupational therapy professional who has demonstrated excellence in mentorship related to the profession of Occupational Therapy in the state of Utah.
2023 Recipient: Gabe Byars, MS, OTR/L, LSVT-BIG, MSCS
Gabe has taught at SLCC for many years, educating and mentoring students in the OTA program. He is an incredible teacher and mentor to his students. While there are many examples of his commitment to the OT profession and his students, one recently completed project really stands out. Gabe completed an incredible project spending countless hours working with and mentoring SLCC students over multiple years to complete an occupational therapy textbook – “Occupational Therapy Skills Physical Dysfunctions”. Not only did they complete a remarkable text, but Gabe has generously shared this resource with his students and others in the OT community as an Open Education Resource accessible online. Gabe truly embodies the mentorship spirit of Eunice Chen by demonstrating excellence in his guiding and shaping future clinicians and researchers. We are grateful for the hard work and commitment to education that Gabe has consistently demonstrated over the years and know that he will continue to be an asset to OT practitioners, both current and future, in the state of Utah and beyond.
UOTA Excellence in Practice Award
Purpose: To give recognition to an Occupational Therapy professional that has demonstrated excellence in- practice, research, education and/or collaboration, and who has contributed to the enhancement of the profession of Occupational Therapy in the state of Utah.
Beth has been an incredible advocate for occupational therapy in the State of Utah. She has produced substantial and valuable research that has been present at the State and National level. Over the last year, Beth has worked extensively on a research study involving upper extremity overuse injuries in gastroenterologists. She has brought together gastroenterologists, occupational therapy students, and a CHT for consultation on the project that has produced incredible findings. She and her team of students from the University of Utah are preparing to publish their work soon. This is merely one example of the many different research projects Beth has been a part of and published. As a professor of occupational therapy at the University of Utah, Beth has developed expertise in course design and teaching effectiveness, she mentors new faculty in these methods and her work is well appreciated by students and the university. She has volunteered with AOTA, NBCOT, and UOTA on many levels, and continues to contribute to and advance the work of these organizations. She is great at collaborating with and bringing together students and clinicians to enhance and bring notoriety to our profession. These are only highlights of some of the amazing work that Beth has done to enhance the profession and practice of occupational therapy in regards to research, education, and collaboration.
UOTA Bonnie Held Award of Service
Purpose: To give recognition to an Occupational Therapy professional that has demonstrated excellence in service to- OT practice, the UOTA organization and the community.
Travis' hard work with the UOTA Continuing Education Committee has been impressive. He asks for UOTA member feedback and works hard to secure continuing education courses in Utah to meet the needs of UOTA members. He has especially gone above and beyond in getting relevant pediatrics courses arranged for the past two years (e.g., Handwriting Without Tears, The Get Permission Institute pediatric feeding course), spending countless hours behind the scenes working on the logistics for these courses ahead of time, and then seeing them through on the day of the course. Travis has also volunteered his time, knowledge, and research to the UOTA Government Affairs Committee, working toward a statewide school workload cap. His background knowledge and experience have been invaluable as the committee has moved forward over the past few years. He is unfailingly generous and his talents deserve recognition. He is very deserving of this award for his efforts.
UOTA OT/OTA Partnership Award
Purpose: To give recognition to an occupational therapist and an occupational therapy assistant residing and working in the state of Utah, who exemplify the professional partnership through collaborative efforts that promote the occupational therapy profession, and to provide motivation for OT/OTA partnerships throughout the state to contribute to the innovative progression of occupational therapy through OT/OTA partnerships.
Rhonda and Lauren work together at Children in Motion in Murray, UT. Together, they demonstrate excellence in partnership as Children in Motion grows as a practice. Rhonda demonstrates this by giving Lauren autonomy and freedom in her role as an Occupational Therapy Assistant. Rhonda is supportive of Lauren and encourages her to find her area of interest and develop herself professionally within that area. Lauren reciprocates this by being reliable and taking the initiative to get things done. Both have mutual respect, they trust each other’s experience and expertise, and foster an amazing workplace culture, which is fun and collaborative, while exploring evidence-based, effective intervention options that will best serve their clients and families. Their collaborative approach is shown to parents and community members. They demonstrate the ideal example of what an OT/OTA relationship can be.
UOTA Lifetime Membership Award
Purpose: To give recognition to a retired UOTA member who has been dedicated to the OT profession and UOTA over the years.
