Resume of Denny Wood
 

EDUCATION

  • 1969-1971 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, School of Social Work. Master's Degree in Social Work.

  • 1965-1969 University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, College of Arts & Sciences. Bachelor of Arts Degree.

  • 1962-1963 Blufton Mennonite College, Blufton, Ohio.

  • 1962 Archbold High School, Archbold, Ohio. Graduated.

EMPLOYMENT

1983-Present, President, One Stop Service By Denny Wood, Inc. A business that screen prints T-shirts & Signs, does Printing and sells Advertising Specialties including Photo T-shirts, etc at 18818 S. Dixie Hwy 33157, Perrine.

1972-1983 Publisher of community based newspaper S.W. Monitor and owner of, S.W. Monitor, Typesetting and Printing business.

1971-1972 Clinical social worker at Jackson Memorial Hospital Rehabilitation Center.

1964 Northwest Silo Company, Archbold, Ohio. Silo construction worker where I sustained permanent disability after a 32 foot fall.

1962-1963 Summer jobs, one driving alfalfa trucks, another as a YMCA Camp Counselor at Camp Nelson Dodd, Ohio.

ACTIVITIES

1960-1962 High School Junior Class Vice President, lettered in football,  wrestling and track in Junior and Senior year. Broke the school record in the half mile.

1962-1963 Lettered in football and track as a freshman at Bluffton  Mennonite College.

1966 Founded the University of Toledo Student Handicapped  Association, and was president until graduation.

1969 Became nation's first Certified Scuba diver who was  paraplegic.

Religion: Protestant

HOBBIES

Breeder of Black Lace Angel Fish.

APPOINTMENTS

1973-1974 Member, Mayor's Housing Symposium, chaired by Commissioner  Harvey Ruvin, appointed by Dade County Mayor Jack Orr.

1974-1977 Member, Governor's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped  Executive Council, appointed by Governor Askew. Resigned due to health.

1975-1977 Member, Spinal Cord Injury Council, Appointed by the Secretary  of Heath & Rehabilitative Services. Served one term.

1975-1980 Member, Florida Board of Building Codes & Standards, appointed  by Governor Askew, re-appointed in 1978. Resigned in 1986.

1975-1986 Member, Dade County Board of Rules & Appeals, nominated by  Dade County Commissioner Harvey Ruvin, appointed in 1975 by Metro Dade County Commission, re-appointed two more terms. Resigned in 1986.

1977-1979 Member, Council for Exceptional Children. Appointed by  Education Commissioner Turlington.

OFFICES

  • 1960-1961 Vice President, Junior Class, Archbold High School.

  • 1966-1969 President, University of Toledo Handicapped Association.

  • 1974-1976 President, Florida Council of Handicapped Organizations.

  • 1985-1986 Board of Directors, Florida Paraplegic Association.

  • 1985-1998 President, Dignity for the Disabled, Inc. Also served as Secretary/Treasurer.

CIVIC ACTIVITIES

1973-1974

At the direction of Commissioner Harvey Ruvin, at the Mayor's Housing Symposium, I was asked to create a committee and work with the Metro Dade County Board of Rules & Appeals to rewrite Section 515, Accessibility Section, of the South Florida Building Code. This ordinance passed April 2, 1974.

Also, our ordinance concerning anti-discrimination in employment of the disabled in all work places, public or private, passed that same day.

1974 Legislature

  1. CS/HB 3659, a bill that mirrored Section 515 of the South Florida Building Code, which would provide new construction access features for persons with disabilities. This law provided leadership for the rest of the nation.

  2. HB 3619, a bill prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities in public and private employment and housing.

  3. CS/HB 3619, a bill that prohibited auto insurance discrimination against people with disabilities.

  4. SB 588, a bill creating a registry of all new disabilities to HRS within 15 days, so HRS could advise disabled of the their eligibility rights.

  5. An amendment to HB 3231, Minimum Standard Building Code, which placed a person with a disability on the Florida Board of Building Codes & Standards.

    Assisted in the complete lobbying of the following 1974 session bills, which were introduced, but did not have lobbyists working them. These bills also went to the desk of the Governor.

  6. SB 128, a bill creating a license plate with the international wheelchair symbol on it for non-veterans.

  7. HB 4356, a bill creating an HP code that non-wheelchair disabled persons would have for disabled parking privileges.

  8. HB 1837, a bill requiring that the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind shall have at least one blind person and one deaf person on its Board of Trustees.

  9. A bill giving disabled/handicapped persons an additional $5,000 Homestead Exemption.

  10. SB 227, a bill sponsored by Independent Senator Lori Wilson, creating curb cuts in all repairs or new construction of curbs.

  11. A bill to require 3 story buildings to have an elevator that would accommodate an ambulance stretcher.

  12. SJR 917, an amendment to the State Constitution which prohibits discrimination due to one's physical handicap. This was drafted in our motel room after reading about a similar measure drafted in Texas. Larry Hawkins is given credit for having the leadership to resurrect it on the last night of the 1974 state legislature. It was presented to the electorate, who ratified it that fall in November.

1975 Legislature

  • When I arrived at the state capitol in 1975, I was advised by the new Speaker of the House that I would never have a year like 1974. He asked me to pick a few priorities and his office would help me with them.  In 1974 we had 17 separate pieces of legislation and I was just trying to get them all passed. I did not know that getting 12 bills through the Legislature was history making, nor did I know that Special interests, no matter how good, were on an unwritten "quota" system.

  • Prime Lobbyist on the following bills that are now Florida Law:

  1. SB 664, a bill prohibiting refusal to renew or sell a life or disability policy, or charge an unfair discriminatory premium or rate solely on a person's disability.

  2. HB 1827, a bill making the reporting of Spinal Cord Injury immediately to HRS.

  3. SB 950, a bill tying the accessibility law into Chapter 553, Part V State minimum Standard Building code as well as restoring the  90% multifamily housing units that was removed in the 1974 law by a harmful amendment.

1976 Legislature

  1. An election year. I was the prime volunteer and unpaid lobbyist on the following bills sent to the Governor and were made law: 1. HB 4059, a bill prohibiting insurance discrimination for the mentally and physically handicapped in life and disability insurance.

  2. SB 84, a bill removing sales tax on prosthetic and orthopedic appliances.

  3. SB 815, a bill preventing tax appraisers from penalizing building owners by being taxed additionally for renovating buildings to provide accessibility for the disabled.

  4. SB 235, a bill requiring that all polling places be accessible to the elderly and physically disabled.

  5. HB 4059, a bill mandating that HRS establish a plan of Spinal Cord Injury Management for the State of Florida and set up a Council of professionals and disabled consumers to insure that rehabilitation was "close to home."

  6. SB 235, a bill allowing a total Homestead Exemption to the blind and those confined to wheelchairs if their total income did not exceed $8,200.

1985 State Legislature

  1. 1.  I returned with issues needing remedy. One was a necessary rewrite of Chapter 553, Part V, which I failed to accomplish until 1989. I was able to pass other important issues but the big one took five consecutive sessions. These are the following bills I pursued as the prime lobbyist. Please note that this session I simply got sponsors to offer amendments to solve issues:

  2. SB 806, amendment, created a label for self serve gas pumps advising operator and attendants of law requiring service at self serve gas pumps for those with disabilities. The bill assigned these duties to the Fire Marshall.

  3. SB 865, amendment raising the cap on fines from $100 to $250 for parking in disabled parking spaces.

  4. HB 1392, amendment to require the adoption of Federal Standards on all future curb cuts in Florida.

  5. HB 1392, an amendment requiring 36 inch straight path on sidewalks where bus benches and bus shelters are placed.

  6. SB 1041, allows local government to require 29 inch clearance in bathroom and toilet room doors in single family homes.

  7. SB 33, called for color coding, annual renewal, one time certification of parking permits of disabled persons, allowing local option to use 2/3's of parking fines in disabled parking for architectural barrier removal and education, created reciprocity for disabled drivers from out of state.

1986  Legislature

Once again full time, unpaid volunteer lobbyist for disabled issues. I was the prime lobbyist on the following two bills that became law:

  1. HB 1260, which stripped the Fire Marshall of jurisdiction of the placing of the blue decal on self serve pumps and assigned the statute to the Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services, which worked.

  2. Lobbied against HB 769, a bill that would delete annual and insert biannual renewal of disabled parking decals. I was effective in getting "annual" restored so that fraudulent disabled decals would be "weeded out" of the system.

  3. Unsuccessful in getting CS/HB 1102 passed, a 21 page comprehensive bill, which revised the 1974, as amended in 1975, Chapter 553, Part 5, State Access Law.

1987 Legislature

  1. Successfully amended the Florida Lottery bill to insure that all lottery retailers would provide access to wheelchairs and all other disabilities.

  2. Helped lobby SB 177, which was gutted in the Senate, but still included giving persons with upper arm disabilities who use special driving aids exemptions at tolls due to their difficulty handling money.

  3. Access to wheelchair users and all other persons with disabilities.

1988 Legislature

  1. Our bill, sponsored by Rep. Art Simon, providing access to every commercial business was recalled from its trip to the governor's office, gutted, and returned to the House. We had to accept it as it was the last day of the Legislature. Intact was the disabled parking section requiring blue disabled parking striping.

  2. Also, the lottery amendment of 1987 was removed. Both losses in this bill and the above major effort bill would become moot as we were pursuing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

1989 Legislature

  1. HB 543, my fifth consecutive year, to pass chapter 553, Part 5, was successful. This bill gave the disabled interests everything that we came to the Legislature at that time in new construction and remodeling of commercial buildings. We also got the 29" clearance in single family housing in the master bedroom bathroom. Rep. Glickman was the sponsor, but the disabled advocates and the opposition worked together to get this fine law passed. Its passage was somewhat ceremonial on the House Floor, and ended my 5 year mission to upgrade this Florida Access Law.

  2. I was invited to the White House for the Americans with Disabilities bill signing by President Bush. I'm sure others who worked harder on this issue were not invited and I followed this by publishing the ADA story, complete with photos in a first issue of Dignity, and mailed it to every address I had of People With Disabilities.

1992 Legislature

  1. I emerged as the volunteer coordinator of the Perrine Plaza food and supplies distribution center in front of Winn Dixie in the days that followed Hurricane Andrew. My assumed job was administration, to make our distribution system work smoothly, to use the emergency phones to bring donations of ice, clothing, water, food and other basic goods to distribute to our neighbors. I supervised the unloading of semi trucks and smaller trucks. The two major entities I worked with were Metro Emergency Management and the Salvation Army. It was the Salvation Army who came through with a continued supply and many truckloads of donated goods. Many of the volunteers who willingly put in long hours every day were neighbors I recruited to help out. Some of our best help came from men sent by the U.S. Air Force who arrived and asked what they could do. This fine unit made the distribution process run smoothly. Finally, the County sent a Parks Administrator to help out. This resulted in getting only one badly needed (and daily requested) pallet jack, which helped unload the trucks, especially long semi-trucks, faster. Hand operated pallet jacks are a vital necessity at volunteer food and supply distribution centers. Keep that in mind for the next national disaster!

1993 Legislature

  1. I returned to the legislature as the State wanted to make the Chapter 553, Part 5, Access Law conform to the Americans With Disabilities Guidelines. With a 60 day uphill effort we were able to retain the fine Florida Construction Standards, improve these standards as well as adopt the fine standards in ADA.

1994 Legislature

  1. I returned to the legislature, mostly to do defensive lobbying to protect Chapter 553, Part 5.

  2. I became one of the prime lobbyists on a bill that added $1.00 to auto registrations, that money going to the Special Transportation Service Programs for the disabled .

  3. Also, I got another bill amended that created the voluntary contribution listed on all auto registrations for the Special Transportation Service fund. This is the language that appears on all mail registration forms.

1974 or 1975 Legislature

  1. I was "recruited" by Martha Beech Association for Retarded Citizens, to assist in getting an 8 million dollar appropriation to fund the Bill of Rights for the retarded. Martha, appeared desperate, as if the Senate subcommittee vote was crucial. And key legislators were from my county. I had recently toured the Suniland facility for the retarded, and had written a letter to the editor expressing my outrage at the conditions at the Sunniland facility.

  2. The subcommittee vote hinged on turning around key senators who wanted the money for other projects. My testimony challenged the senators to go out to Sunniland and see what I had observed. Sen. Holloway, one of the swing votes, did a bit of speech making in response to my testimony, but voted along with state Senator Graham, another swing vote, for the money for the retarded. Martha said I made the difference that day. And I think Martha and the Senators made the difference. I was just glad to have helped. The bill passed that session, with the money.

My dates, 74 or 75, are unclear and the amount of money may be slightly off, but the incident always stayed with me as how easy it sometimes was to get so much money, with one little emotional, from the heart, presentation. As a social worker I would always be amazed at how much good could be done at 60 days that legislative session. One could accomplish in 60 days, which a social worker in the field could not accomplish in 60 years. And that is why I went back, 10 times. It took a lot of cunning work, and it was not always easy, but I always regarded it as waving a "magic wand" for people who desperately needed some "magic."

1973 Legislature

  1. Organized the first real assault on the State Legislature with over 17 separate issues that needed legislative remedy. This included being elected president of the Florida Council of Organizations, which consisted of organizations from Pensacola to Miami, drafting the legislation and legislative goals and coming out of the 1974 state legislature with 13 bills on the desk of the Governor. I would return with little or no "expenses only" funding in 1975, 1976, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993 and 1994. And good things happened every year for Florida's disabled.

1975

  1. Assisted County Attorney Ginsburg in drafting Dade County Disabled Parking Ordinance, which was introduced by Commissioner Harvey Ruvin, and passed into law.

  2. Began Special Transportation Services (STS) by asking Commissioner Harvey Ruvin to place a million dollar issue before the Metro Commission for lift equipped buses as a referendum item. The commissioners decided to use the money to begin the STS door to door transportation for the severely disabled.

1987

  1. Led the effort to make sure all new public pay telephone installations would be accessible to all people with disabilities at the Public Service Commission. (A section of this 1987 rule was rolled back, where ADA law was misused, again, in an unadvertised, sneaky rule change, which could not be reversed with fair hearings and a presentation to the PSC. This dirty trick rule change by the PSC did not include a single notice to any disabled organization or entity. All of the Pay Telephone entities had ample information this rule change was proposed and going before the PSC.)

1989

  1. Worked with Peter Manhiemer to convince Metro Dade to stop buying buses without wheelchair lifts. Our efforts reversed County Manager's recommendation to purchase over 92 buses without lifts. Metro Commissioners Harvey Ruvin and Hawkins became the leaders of this Commission effort which included the goal of making the entire bus fleet lift equipped when new buses were purchased.

1994

  1. Served as a member of the Federal Dept. of Transportation "Handicapped Parking Regulatory Negation Advisory Committee which significantly contributed to establishing regulations to assure parking for persons with disabilities." (Quoted from the plaque from Samuel K. Skinner, Secretary of Transportation.)

1997

  1. Submitted a Federal Complaint against the Busway to the Civil Rights Division of the Federal Department of Transportation. This complaint is still pending, with only minor sections having been addressed. One section required the complete revisit to all the intersections in South Dade that run parallel to the Busway. Now safe, usable curb cuts are at every intersection. If further action is not forthcoming, I will take the issue into the Federal Court.

Closing Resume Statement

This resume is incomplete. There is not enough room to list the Independent Review Complaints I initiated, demonstrations I helped organize, Letters to the Editors I have had published, Government bodies I have testified before, meetings I have attended with goals that were achieved, or list the newspaper articles I was featured in.

CURRENT MEMBERSHIPS

  • Florida Paraplegic Association, Inc.
  • Dignity For The Disabled, Inc.

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