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The Able Trust Honored as an Exceptional Leader by US Business Leadership Network

(September 25, 2007)

The Able Trust was announced the winner of the 2007 Exceptional Partner Award at the annual US Business Leadership Network (BLN) national conference in Orlando last week. The recognition was part of the USBLN's annual Exceptional Leadership Awards, which recognize innovative employers, chapters and partners that emulate disability best practices.

"We're honored to receive the Exceptional Partner Award," said Richard Cole, an Able Trust board member. "I volunteer my time to make sure that people in the disability community have employment opportunities. I think it's wonderful that we are being recognized nationally for our work to enhance the lives of the people we serve."

The Able Trust received the Exceptional Partner Award for its outstanding support of the Florida BLN chapters. In 1998, The Able Trust established the Florida BLN as an information clearinghouse to promote diversity employment policies that include persons with disabilities and to provide businesses with disability employment resources. Since that time, over 1,200 Florida employers have joined the Florida BLN, and The Able Trust has been working to grow the local chapters and promote the network.

"The Able Trust staff and volunteers are the reason why there has been tremendous growth in the Florida BLN chapters," said Cole. "The support and commitment we provide to our 13 regional chapters helps increase disability employment awareness among Florida businesses and employers. The Able Trust is making our workforce in Florida more diverse."

This year The Able Trust developed an extensive Florida BLN Web site (www.floridabln.org), which provides free downloadable resources to employers, including an extensive disability hiring guide and hundreds of links about accommodations. The site also has a section for local BLN chapters to access resources such as strategic plans and membership recruitment tools to help attract members.

The Able Trust was also honored for its effort to promote and coordinate Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) in Florida. The Able Trust reaches out to its BLN members to develop statewide partnerships to provide job shadowing opportunities to more than 700 students each October. In 2006, over 300 Florida businesses participated in DMD. Several mentorships resulted in student internships, volunteer opportunities and ongoing mentor relationships through The Able Trust e-mentoring program.

During this year's USBLN conference, The Able Trust hosted Florida's first-ever statewide career fair for students with disabilities. The event served as a kick off for National Disability Mentoring Day. Nearly 600 high school and college students connected with potential employers, many of whom are members of the Florida BLN.

"The Florida BLN is doing incredible work and providing us with access to employers so we can create additional employment opportunities for people with disabilities," said Kristen Knapp, vice president of public relations for The Able Trust. "As more companies become involved in the state and local chapters of the BLN, we will see an increase of employees with disabilities in Florida's workforce."