2022 -- S 2986

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LC006018

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

CONGRATULATING DENNIS ROY, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF

THE EAST BAY COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM (EBCAP), ON RECEIVING THE

"2022 VISION AWARD" FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND STAFF OF EBCAP

     Introduced By: Senator Louis P. DiPalma

     Date Introduced: May 31, 2022

     Referred To: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar

     WHEREAS, Dennis Roy holds a Bachelor's degree in political science from Providence

College and a Master's degree in political science from Boston College. He began his

distinguished public service career as a Vista Volunteer with the Economic Opportunity Agency

in Arkansas, an experience that launched his distinguished career as a passionate advocate and

champion dedicated to the proposition that all lives can be transformed and all communities can

be improved; and

     WHEREAS, From 1979 to 1988, Mr. Roy worked as a Senior Community Coordinator at

the Coalition for Consumer Justice, followed by the position of Executive Director at the Rhode

Island Public Interest Group, and later at Common Cause of Rhode Island. In 1988, he was

appointed CEO of Self Help, Inc., before becoming the CEO of New Visions for Newport

County, Inc., in 1997; and

     WHEREAS, In 2002, thanks to his exemplary leadership skills, Mr. Roy helped two

well-established community action agencies to merge which established the East Bay Community

Action Program. Since the merger, Mr. Roy has worked tirelessly and successfully to advance the

agency's core mission of providing high-quality, comprehensive and accessible health and human

services to assist people in need; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Roy has had many accomplishments during his stellar tenure as

EBCAP's President and Chief Executive Officer including, mobilizing EBCAP's health and

human services team in Middletown to support evacuees from Louisiana following Hurricane

Katrina, forging a partnership with two other community organizations that still continues today

in support of the Ronald McDonald House Charities for the Molar Express mobile dental van, and

refurbishing EBCAP's facility to house a Head Start classroom, food pantry, and offices for WIC

and Social Services; and

     WHEREAS, Other achievements during Mr. Roy's tenure have included opening the

EBCAP building in East Providence to house two Head Start classrooms and six service-enriched

apartments as part of EBCAP's East Bay Coalition for the Homeless Program, securing three

million in federal aid in 2010 which led to the 2013 opening of a new EBCAP state-of-the-art

health center in Newport, which was appointed by the Rhode Island Department of Health to

serve as the backbone agency for the Healthy Equity Zones of East Providence, Bristol and

Warren from 2019 through 2021; and

     WHEREAS, From 2020 to the present, thanks to the outstanding leadership provided by

Mr. Roy, EBCAP has been working around the clock in support of the State of Rhode Island's

COVID-19 response, including administering 55,000 COVID-19 tests in 2021, hosting vaccine

clinics, and providing social service supports including emergency food distribution, remote

learning and community outreach and education. In 2021, EBCAP East Bay Recovery Center

partnered with the Bristol Police and the East Providence and Warren Fire Departments to open

safe stations in order to provide 24-hour support for people in need of substance use recovery

support; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby congratulates Dennis

Roy on receiving the "2022 Vision Award" from the Board of Directors and staff of the East Bay

Community Action Program, and thanks him for his thirty-four years of tireless service and

advocacy in support of improving lives and communities; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Mr. Dennis Roy.

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LC006018

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