50th Anniversary Luncheon a Superb Celebration

We held a 50^th celebration event at Indian Summer Golf and Country Club yesterday and it was a very positive event.  George Le Masurier was our emcee for the event and did a masterful job of introducing Ralph Munro.  Ralph was honored for his contribution to assisting individuals with disabilities not only at Morningside but throughout the entire state.  Ralph was a former Morningside board member recounted his experience in raising funds for our building on Ethel Street.   He told of Percy Bean tearing up a $200 check and told to meet with the woman who gave it to Ralph, Al Brooks and Jerry Buzzard and say she needs to contribute more money.  She thought about it for a minute and wrote a check for $500.  Up to that point in the local fundraising effort a very small portion of the $15,000 match money was raised so every dollar was valuable.  Well they raised the match and the rest was history. 

His story points to how the Olympia community came together to support Morningside.  I tell local business owners and friends how fortunate we are to live in a community that is so supportive and accepting.

Hidden Disablity Quandary

In September my friend Sara shared the article link below on Facebook from the New York Times.  Sara is a wonderful woman who lives and works in a very supportive community in Chicago.  Sara also happens to have a disability labeled Epilepsy.  Sara confided that she does not reveal her disability when hired but only after she is offered the job does she talk with the employer about limitations she has.  It certainly flies in the face of the ADA (Americans with Disability Act) which says that a person must not be discriminated against if they can do the job with reasonable accommodations. 

I often speculate if we can lump employer fear, doubt, preconceived bias as a “reasonable accommodation” to take into account when hiring an individual with a disability?  Will we ever overcome this fear?

Yesterday I had the opportunity to present the Office of Governor Inslee with an Outstanding Employer award from our state association Community Employment Alliance (CEA).  We nominated the Governor’s office because of how supportive they are and how they have included our client in their family.  The Governor’s Office was one of approximately 15-20 employers receiving such an award.  What I heard repeatedly from this throng of employers was how positive the experience was even when they were doubtful at first to hire an individual with a developmental disability.  I wish I could bottle all the positive statements up and when someone expresses doubt unscrew the lid and unleash a little bit of this enthusiasm to convince the skeptic to just try it.

Unfortunately most of the clients we serve do not wish to disclose their disability – they have had too many experiences whereby someone has immediately closed the door before it could be opened.

Here is a link to the article:  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/business/quandary-of-hidden-disabilities-conceal-or-reveal.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2