Florida BLN Steering Committee
CHAIR
Sue Moore
Walt Disney World Co
PAST CHAIR
Sharlyn Lauby, SPHR
ITM Group, Inc.
VR LIAISON
Eladio Amores
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
HR FLORIDA LIAISON
Catherine Mallozzi, SPHR
Florida Metropolitan University
BIG BEND BLN CHAIR
Sarah Butters
Holland & Knight
BREVARD BLN CHAIR
Douglas Barclay
Mercedes Homes, Inc.
BROWARD BLN CHAIR
Steven McCarty
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
EMERALD COAST BLN CO-CHAIRS
Sheryl Hollarn
MTI/MTC Technologies
Gail Waller
Ft. Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce
FIRST COAST BLN CHAIR
John Wagner
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida
FT. MYERS BLN
Erin Wilkinson
SunTrust Bank
GREATER ORLANDO BLN CHAIR
Mayra Hernandez
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida
MIAMI-DADE BLN CHAIR
Bob Bromberg
Bromberg & Associates
PALM BEACH BLN CO-CHAIRS
Rita Barreto Craig
The Craig Group
Rose Lee Archer
Rose Lee Productions Inc.
PANHANDLE BLN CO-CHAIRS
Lara Burnside
The Studer Group
Jennifer Grove
Gulf Power Company
POLK COUNTY BLN CHAIR
Karen Mitchell
Lakeland Regional Medical Center
TAMPA BAY METRO CHAIR
Angela M. Rosario
JOBING.com
About the Florida BLN
The Florida Business Leadership Network is a peer-to-peer membership group of employers seeking resources to recruit, hire and market to persons with disabilities. Members include small and large businesses who recognize that success in the 21st century hinges on a diverse workforce that includes employees with disabilities. For more information about the Florida BLN, visit www.floridabln.org. To suggest an article or upcoming event to be included in this newsletter, e-mail the editor at kristen@abletrust.org.
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Message from the Chair
The summer is over and the fall is gearing up to be a busy season with events and other opportunities to improve your business' disability employment efforts. This monthÕs newsletter features great information and tools to help you in that process.
In this monthÕs issue, you will learn more about the 2007 Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) Kick-off and Career Fair. The Able Trust is happy to host the highly anticipated DMD kickoff event and career fair in Orlando in conjunction with the USBLN conference. The Florida BLN will also host its annual meeting for the steering committee and local chapater chairs as part of that event. We look forward to sharing our plans with you about goals and activities anticipated in 2008.
Also included in this issue are many helpful resources that are available on the Web for employers looking to expand their staff to include people with disabilities. The Office of Disability Employment Policy offers a video on the topic, while the Southeast ADA Center offers a training resource center, in addition to other resources.
Please be sure to visit our Florida BLN website at http://www.floridabln.org/ for additional helpful resources and information. If you have an event or best disability employment practice you'd like to share with the membership, please email or call Kristen Knapp at the Florida BLN at Kristen@abletrust.org or toll-free 888-838-2253.
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The Able Trust Names Big Bend Business Leadership Network Chapter of the Year
As a result of their commitment and outstanding record of success in two short years, the Big Bend BLN was honored by The Able Trust and the Florida BLN as the 2007 Local Chapter of the Year.
"We're really excited about the award and about all of the support The Able Trust is giving us," said Sarah Butters, president of Big Bend BLN. "They do such great work-- for them to honor us is really something."
The Able Trust annually recognizes outstanding achievements in six different categories, including nonprofit leadership and employment placement programs, outstanding entrepreneurs and youth leaders with disabilities, employers of the year and the media award representative.
The Big Bend BLN is dedicated to raising disability awareness among their membership and among Tallahassee businesses. With more than 20 internships in place, they have been very successful in their efforts to place students and job seekers with disabilities in the work place. Participating businesses include Premier Bank, Mainline Information Systems, Pennington Law Firm, and the Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology.
The Able Trust established the Local BLN Chapter of the Year award to recognize a local chapter that has demonstrated outstanding practices, such as member recruitment, disability awareness, employer relations and job placement.
How to Improve ROI: Employment Solutions for Small Business
This short video provided by the Office of Disability Employment Policy is a roundtable discussion with three small business owners and the former Assistant Secretary of Labor. Discussions surround how small business can tap into available resources and increase return on investment by hiring people with disabilities.
To view the video, please visit http://www.dol.gov/odep/newfreedom/coc2007/videos.htm
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Expand Your Knowledge with the ADA Training Resource Center
The Disability & Business Technical Assistance Centers for Americans with Disabilities Act, or DBTAC-ADA, are funded by the National Institution of Disability & Rehabilitation Research to provide information, technical assistance, materials and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA Training Resource Center is your one-stop for courses, events and tools.
You can find more information at http://www.adacourse.org/.
Cornell University's Employment and Disability Institute Offers Online Courses
EDI online provides high quality online training to managers, practitioners, advocates and policy makers in the disability field in order to improve and enhance effectiveness in supporting employment outcomes for people with disabilities.
These are online professional development courses and certificate programs in Disability, Workplace & Employment Support Practice. Each course consists of interactive multimedia presentations and downloadable PowerPoint course materials.
Go to http://www.irl.cornell.edu/edi/ to register.
At Your Service: Welcoming Customers with Disabilities
This is a free, accessible, self-paced web course for people interested in discovering best practices for working with customers who have disabilities. This course has recently been revised and expanded in response to requests from more than 10,000 participants who have taken the course. It was funded with federal dollars for training local public customer service representatives, but has been found to be a valuable training tool for the private sector.
For more information, visit http://www.wiawebcourse.org/.
Upcoming Events
2007 USBLN Annual Conference Offers Discounted Registration Rate to Florida Employers
The USBLN Annual Conference will take place on September 24-26, 2007 at the Lake Buena Vista Palace in Orlando, Florida. The theme will be Building the New Workforce-Inclusion and Innovation. The Annual Conference & Career Fair is the preeminent national event for business, community leaders and BLN chapters that have an interest in hiring, retention and marketing to people with disabilities.
This year's event promises to provide informational and educational opportunities of the highest quality. The USBLN is pleased to announce its scheduled keynote speakers for its Annual Conference & Career Fair. The conference keynotes include:
- Karen Czarnecki of the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), U.S. Department of Labor
- Andy Imparato of the American Association of Persons with Disabilities (AAPD)- invited
- Olegario "Ollie" Cantos of Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice
- Thomas Kuntz of Sun Trsut Bank
- Dinah Cohen of the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP), U.S. Department of Defense
- Christine Griffin of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
- Luke Visconti of DiversityInc Media
- Randy MacDonald of IBM
- Daniel Gade of The White House Domestic Policy Council - invited
- The Honorable Ric Keller, U.S. House of Representatives - invited
Discounted registration rates are available to Florida employers. To learn more about the USBLN Annual Conference go to http://www.newworkforceconference.org/.
Broward County Chapter of BLN Hosts Third Annual Career Fair and Workshop Series for Individuals with Disabilities
The Broward County BLN career fair will take place on October 12, 2007 in the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entreprenuership at Nova Southeastern University.
This event features a job fair showcasing 50 employers, recognized speakers and "best practices" workshops. Reservation of a booth is only $250 for up to two attendees, lunch and workshops. Each additional guest is $50. Admission is free for jobseekers.
For more information call or e-mail Howard Watson at (954) 722-6400 or hwatson@cilbroward.org.
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