Norman Resident Receives Commendation from Governor

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Norman resident Jeremy Pool 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.

Jeremy Pool has worked for three years as a janitor at Tinker Air Force Base through the Dale Rogers Training Center. He is so good and moves so fast at work that he has earned the nickname “Taz” because he reminds everyone of the cartoon character, the Tasmanian Devil. Pool is famous for having the cleanest janitor cart and closet on base. In fact, he has even been seen cleaning the wheels of his mop bucket. One Tinker customer commented that Pool and his partner are some of the best they have ever seen. Pool was awarded the employee of the quarter by Dale Rogers for his superior performance and customer service. Pool currently lives with his mother but his goal is to live on his own. He knows that employment is the road to his independence and he is committed to his work and achieving his goals.

“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.