The American Association for Homecare will honor founder of DME manufacturing giant Invacare Corp., A. Malachi “Mal” Mixon, III with a Legislative Advocate Lifetime Achievement Award.

Pat Tiberi (R-OH), will present the award to Mixon at the 2015 Washington Legislative Conference, slated for May 20 and 21 in Washington, D.C.

Mixon, who stepped down from his role as chairman of Invacare’s board in December, actively worked on behalf of the HME industry while leading Invacare. The AAHomecare award is to thank Mixon for his efforts in that regard, and to inspire the next crop of industry advocates, according to AAHoemcare president and CEO Tom Rya.

“Mal’s tenacity and compassion are admirable,” Ryan said. “It is important that we, as an industry, recognize his contributions. He has certainly set a high bar for what it means to be an impactful business leader."

After a leveraged a buyout of the DME manufacturer, Mixon grew Invacare’s revenues from $19 million to nearly $2 billion, and during that growth Mixon became heavily involved in legislative and regulatory issues impacting the industry.

“I realized nobody was representing my industry in Washington,” Mixon explained in his autobiography. “So I started to get active, holding fundraisers and so on. I got involved deeper and deeper. I became close to some politicians — both Democrats and Republicans. I just wanted them to see the issues as I saw them."

“Mal understands how to bring integrity to the conversation while building relationships in Washington,” said Robert Steedley, president of Barnes Healthcare Services and chairman of AAHomecare’s board of directors. “And our integrity is what gives us credibility as an industry."

Mixon will receive the Legislative Advocate Lifetime Achievement Award at a reception during the Washington Legislative Conference from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on May 20m and all conference attendees are invited to the complimentary event.