At Roundup, we take pride in the relationships we have with the people we serve and support. One of those people, Tony Jackson, came to our agency at the age of 7. Tony had been in the state system since he was an infant. When our state began deinstitutionalizing children in the mid 1970’s, Roundup was asked to open a home for children with developmental disabilities. Roundup answered this need and continued to open more homes for children with disabilities over the next several years.
Tony is the person Roundup has supported the longest. He is a part of the Roundup family, living today at our Evan’s House and attending Roundup’s Community Participation Program.
Anyone who has ever met Tony knows what a joyful heart he has. He is always ready to greet you with a giant smile and a high five. Some of his favorite activities involve sound and movement. Tony loves trains, planes and buses. He loves to go places. He loves music and singing. He has a keen sense of hearing and identifies many things by their sounds. Tony does the best impressions of animal sounds that I have ever heard. I think back to the 1980’s and the time we took Tony camping with some of our friends. We all had such an awesome time. We had a contest around the campfire making animal noises. Tony won hands down! He is a joy to know and I feel very blessed to have been a part of his life these many years.
– Mary Anaya