Ardmore Media Professionals Receive Commendations from Governor

OKLAHOMA CITY--Two Ardmore media professionals received commendations from Gov. Brad Henry and Lt. Gov. Jari Askins on October 6 during the Governor’s Disability Employment Awards at the Governor’s Mansion in Oklahoma City. October is national Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Shelby Levins of KXII-12 and Marsha Miller of the Daily Ardmoreite were nominated for the awards by Sunshine Industries in Ardmore. Their reports have positively influenced public perception and have increased employment opportunities for people with disabilities in south central Oklahoma.

Shelby Levins is a tenured reporter for KXII News. Channel 12 reaches south central and eastern counties of Oklahoma as well as north central and eastern counties of Texas. Levins’ reports show a genuine concern for the abilities, successes and joys of people with disabilities. She actively seeks out stories that highlight issues related to the fair treatment and employment of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Levins covered Sunshine Industries “R” Word campaign which sought to raise public awareness about a particular derogatory word and bring respect to people with intellectual disabilities. Levins’ uses respectful language about people in her stories and allows them to tell their stories in their own words. 

Marsha Miller is a reporter for the Daily Ardmoreite and has published more than 30 articles this past year featuring people with disabilities and the programs that serve them. Miller’s stories emphasize that people with disabilities who receive vocational training bring talent and diversity to their workplace. When Sunshine Industries submits news releases about events, Miller is sensitive to the presentation of the story and edits the information to enhance reader interest and understanding. More than 12 articles including Sunshine Industries’ 40th anniversary celebration, their employees of the quarter and Governor’s Disability Employment award winners garnered front-page attention.  

“It is employees and businesses like these that have put Oklahoma ahead of every state in the nation at employing people with disabilities,” said Director Howard Hendrick 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," Hendrick said. “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 Gov. Brad Henry and Lt. Gov. Jari Askins, along with OKDHS/DDSD, the Department of Rehabilitation Services, and the Oklahoma Association of Persons in Supported Employment.

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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, http://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.