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888-838-ABLE
(toll-free in Florida)
850-224-4493 Voice or TDD
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Email:info@abletrust.org
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The Able Trust hosted the Third Annual Symposium on Disabilities, September 28 -October 1, 1999 at the Clarion Plaza Hotel in Orlando. This year's Symposium was quite a success with over 350 people in attendance. The theme for this year's event was "Windows of Opportunity."
The Symposium offered a variety of workshop tracks, which covered topics on employment, technology, development, policy, and services for persons living with disabilities. Several presentations focused on employing persons with disabilities with specific topics concerning a business perspective, self-employment opportunities, assistive technology in the workplace, and The Able Trust grants programs.
Other activities included a welcome reception with guest speaker Fred Grandy, former actor on television's "The Love Boat", and Congress Representative from Iowa. Grandy now serves as the President and CEO of Goodwill Industries International, Inc. The keynote luncheon featured Dr. JR Harding, Executive Director of Occupational Access and Opportunity Commission. Other keynote speakers included Executive Director of the PCEPD John Lancaster and Assistant Director Ken McGill of the Social Security Administration's Office of Employment Support.
Sponsors for the Third Annual Symposium included the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Division of Blind Services, SunTrust Bank, Abilities of Florida, Henter Joyce, Inc, and Goodwill Industries of Central Florida. The Symposium on Disabilities will begin taking place every other year, with the next event being held in fall 2001. A specific date and location will be set by spring 2000. If you are interested in serving on the volunteer steering committee, exhibiting or sponsoring the event, please call Kristen Knapp at 888-838-2253 or send an email to kristen@abletrust.org.
Top corporations will make vital connections with thousands of experienced professionals with disabilities through Resume-Link©, a technology that debuted at the Virtual Career Fair sponsored by the NBDC on October 25 in Redmond, Washington at Microsoft's© Corporate Headquarters. This innovative recruiting event, which will run from October 25, 1999 through February 29, 2000, will be an extension of the 22nd Annual Conference of the National Business & Disability Council. The NBDC is a leading national resource group whose goals are to promote training and placing of people with disabilities into rewarding jobs while raising the awareness of business leaders that people with disabilities represent an untapped pool of talented labor.
The NBDC Virtual Career Fair will enable leading companies from around the world to reach thousands of professionals with disabilities in one convenient setting. Companies will have the opportunity to purchase a virtual "booth" including job postings for up to 10 positions that can be updated, revised or changed throughout the course of the event, a company description on the Career Fair website, company name on website promoting the event, recognition certificate of participation and access to a fully searchable resume database for 4 months of unlimited hiring. Professional candidates with at least a 2-year degree can now register, free of charge, through a specially designed web registration system located at http://www.resume-link.com/res/soc/vcf/nbdc.htm. Candidates who register for the Virtual Career Fair will also be included in the NBDC year-round Resume Database System, maximizing their exposure to potential employers.
Participating companies will include Fortune 500 firms with various needs. Individuals registering for the career fair are high quality professionals representing a wide range of industries such as engineering, accounting/finance, information technology, business/management and more. Companies interested in participating in the NBDC Virtual Career Fair can contact Kelly Walker at 1-800-299-7494, ext. 328.
The NBDC is a leading national resource on all issues related to the successful employment of persons with disabilities. Services include an on-line information "hotline," monthly information updates, a newsletter, customized staff training programs, accessibility surveys, conferences and a National Resume Database which debuted nearly a year ago. For more information, visit the website at http://www.business-disability.com.
On Thursday, September 30, The Able Trust honored several individuals and organizations at the 1999 Ability Awards Banquet. The banquet took place at the Clarion Plaza Hotel in Orlando, in conjunction with the third annual Symposium on Disabilities. Award recipients were recognized for their efforts toward the employment of Florida's citizens with disabilities. There were four award categories at the banquet, including, the Beverly Chapman Award for Outstanding Employment Placement Program, The Able Trust Award for Outstanding Entrepreneur, the Employer of the Year Award and the Media Award.
Special guests for the evening included vocalist Jenna Feci, a sophomore at Flagler/Palm Coast High School. Jenna is a participant in the VSA Arts October 1999 campaign, which highlights the power of the arts and education in the lives of people with disabilities. Mr. Loren Shriver, Deputy Director for Launch and Payload Processing at NASA, served as the banquet keynote speaker. This year's Beverly Chapman Award, which recognizes outstanding job placement programs for people with disabilities in Florida, went to Abilities, Inc. of Florida (Clearwater).
Anna L. Baker (Ellenton), founder of her own Acupuncture and Chinese medicine practice, was named the 1999 Able Trust Outstanding Entrepreneur.
The Employer of the Year Awards recognized businesses for outstanding leadership in the employment of persons with disabilities. Pizza Hut #012131 (Niceville) was awarded Employer of the year for 1-49 employees, Link Staffing Services (West Palm Beach) was awarded Employer of the Year for 50-99 employees, and Avis Rent-A-Car (Miami) and Convergys Corporation (Jacksonville) were named Employer of the Year for 100+ employees.
The Media Award recognized a nonprofit agency and a member of the press for outstanding promotion of Floridians with disabilities. The agency award went to the Sal Bosco Memorial Scholarship Foundation (Coral Springs) for its outstanding program "Disability Speaking." The award for a Media Professional went to Clearwater Mayor Brian Aungst, Sr., who was acknowledged for his public service announcements that raise awareness for the contributions and achievements of people living with disabilities. Each winner competed on a state level and received a Commendation from Governor Bush for their achievements. The Able Trust would like to congratulate all of this year's nominees and award recipients.
Another Web-based employment resources has come to our attention: DiversityDirect, a service that works with a variety of major companies to fill their hiring needs with individuals of diverse backgrounds, including people with disabilities. For information, visit the website: www.diversitydirect.com.
For a variety of general employment resources, visit the President's Committee's JAN website's "Points of Interest" page: http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/links. For specific companies throughout the United States, visit the Presidents' Committee's Job Links page: www.pcepd.gov/pcepd/joblinks.htm.
