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OMCA Brings Christmas
Cheer to Children with Developmental Disabilities
The excitement and anticipation
of the moment hung in the air so thick you could
spread it like butter. The smiles were so large
that you thought their faces might break under
the strain…and that was just the members
of the Oklahoma Municipal Contractors Association.
In a tradition that may
go back almost 50 years, Rudolf the red nosed
reindeer, Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus and members
of OMCA dressed as Santa's elves brought Christmas
cheer to the inpatients of the J. D. McCarty
Center for children with developmental disabilities
in Norman. The OMCA's annual Christmas party
for these children was held Tuesday, December
16 in the conference center at the McCarty Center.
While bringing gifts to
the children, OMCA also presented a gift to
the J. D. McCarty Center Foundation. Brian Brewer,
president of OMCA, and Rick Moore, executive
director of OMCA, presented a check in the amount
of $46,579 to Curt Peters, director and CEO
of the McCarty Center. The money will go into
the foundation's general fund to grow interest.
The donated money is proceeds
from the OMCA's 23rd annual charity golf tournament
held in September at the Twin Hills Golf and
Country Club in Oklahoma City. This is the third
year in a row that OMCA has presented the McCarty
Center with a check exceeding $40,000.
The Oklahoma Municipal
Contractors Association is the state's trade
organization that represents contractors who
work on local, state and federal municipal projects.
The J. D. McCarty Center
is Oklahoma's center of excellence in the care
and treatment of children with developmental
disabilities from birth to age 21. Established
in 1946, the hospital treated only one diagnosis…cerebral
palsy. Today the McCarty Center has treated
more than 70 different diagnoses in the developmental
disability category. The McCarty Center is the
only hospital of its kind in the state. In an
average year, the hospital will see children
from 70 of Oklahoma's 77 counties.
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