Trinity Services employee earns top Illinois honors for work with special needs

A direct support professional at Trinity Services in New Lenox will be honored for her outstanding service to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Valarie Woodkirk, a direct support professional at Trinity Services, was named the ANCOR 2024 Illinois Direct Support Professional of the Year. The ANCOR awards ceremony will take place Wednesday in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

“Her incredible dedication and desire to go the extra mile for the people she supports makes Valarie an extraordinary member of the Trinity Services’ team.”

—  Thane Dykstra, president and chief executive officer of Trinity Services

Woodkirk said in the release that she’s “very fortunate” to earn this award.

“I’m just doing what I love to do every day,” Woodkirk said in the release.

ANCOR (American Network of Community Options and Resources) is national nonprofit trade association that to strengthens “the ability of community-based providers to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” according to the ANCOR website.

Thane Dykstra, president and chief executive officer of Trinity Services, said Woodkirk joined Trinity Services in 2011 and “is very deserving of this special honor.”

“Valarie is an exceptional DSP, a compassionate and caring person who seeks to provide services to those who struggle the most,” Dykstra said in the release. “Her incredible dedication and desire to go the extra mile for the people she supports makes Valarie an extraordinary member of the Trinity Services’ team.”

Woodkirk will join 54 other honorees in the 2024 edition of ANCOR’s annual DSP of the Year Award program. This year’s award received 492 nominations.

ANCOR has recognized “outstanding direct support professionals” with its annual DSP of the Year awards since 2007, according to the release.

For more information, visit trinityservices.org and ancor.org.