Ardmore residents, businesses receive commendations from Governor

ARDMORE, OKLA. -- Two Ardmore residents and two businesses received commendations from Governor Brad Henry and Lt. Governor Jari Askins Oct. 22 during the Governor’s Disability Employment Awards at the Governor’s Mansion in Oklahoma City.
James Jefferson and Jeff Ray Phillippe were recognized for overcoming personal challenges to find and maintain employment and for their outstanding work.

Jefferson has worked as a bus boy at the Casa Romo restaurant in Ardmore for the past year and a half.  Until this job, Jefferson was very shy and withdrawn, having little self-confidence. Now, he is very outgoing, has confidence in his abilities and has many friends at work. Jefferson works a few hours each day Monday through Friday and even comes in to work evenings and weekends if they need him.

Phillippe has worked as a crew member for Taco Bueno in Ardmore over the past two years. During this time, Phillippe has received a substantial pay raise thanks to his hard work and determination.  Phillippe is very proud of his work and the financial freedom he now has to do the things he enjoys.  This job has also helped Phillippe to become much more self-confident and willing to try new things. Southern Oklahoma Supported Employment, a program of Sunshine Industries, says Phillippe is a devoted employee and a great example to all of the individuals they serve.

Casa Romo, a family-owned restaurant, hired Jefferson a little more than a year ago through Big Five Community Services. They needed someone to serve as a host and bus boy and Jefferson fit that need.  Since his hire, Jefferson has been integrated as part of the Casa Romo family. The management of Casa Romo has been understanding and patient, spending extra time with Jefferson to ensure his success on the job.

Vasant Patel, owner of LaQuinta Inn and Suites, has been hiring persons with disabilities for years through the Southern Oklahoma Supported Employment. Patel first hired a crew of housekeepers from SOSE to work in his Hampton Inn. He was so impressed with their dependability and dedication to their work that when he sold the Hampton and opened a LaQuinta Inn, he asked for another crew to come to work. Patel has also opened up his property to SOSE to provide on-the-job training to potential employees as well as others who might want to work in the field.  This training opportunity has paid off for Patel as he now has trained crews for another one of his properties nearby.

“It is employees and businesses like these that have put Oklahoma ahead of every state in the nation at employing people with disabilities,” said Howard Hendrick, Director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

“For the past three years, Oklahoma has led the nation in assisting people with developmental disabilities to find competitive jobs and become working taxpayers, “said Hendrick. “Today, 60 percent of individuals with developmental disabilities served by the OKDHS Developmental Disabilities Services Division participate in supported employment services.”

The Governor’s Disability Employment Awards are co sponsored by Governor Brad Henry and Lt. Governor Jari Askins, along with OKDHS/DDSD, the Department of Rehabilitation Services, and the Oklahoma Association of Persons in Supported Employment.

Editors Note: To see Oklahoma’s ranking as compared to other states in regard to the numbers of persons with developmental disabilities in competitive jobs (supported employment) go to, www.statedata.info (Link opens in new window).  This Web site is a project of the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston, supported in part by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under cooperative agreement with additional support from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education.

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