Ardmore Resident Receives Commendation from Governor

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Ardmore resident Doris Duncan received a commendation 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.

Since 2008, Duncan has worked as a housekeeper for the State of Oklahoma at Lake Murray State Lodge. Duncan’s friends at Southern Oklahoma Supported Employment in Ardmore say they have been amazed at the transformation in her personality since going to work on this job. Duncan was a shy and withdrawn young woman when she worked in the sheltered workshop. Today, Duncan is friendly and outgoing, making friends among coworkers and attending the church of her choice.  She is a hard worker who has been praised several times in the Lake Murray Lodge newsletter for her outstanding performance on the job. 

“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.