Nathan Madison of Oklahoma City receives commendation from Governor Mary Fallin

Oklahoma City – Nathan Madison of Oklahoma City received a commendation from Governor Mary Fallin on October 10 during the Governor’s Disability Employment Awards at the Governor’s Mansion in Oklahoma City.

If you ask Nathan Madison what he wants from his life, he’ll tell you good friends, family and a job to support himself. By all accounts he has succeeded. Nathan has worked as a Records Technician for Chesapeake Energy Corporation for over a year. Since becoming an employee at Chesapeake, Nathan has thought more about his future goals. He moved into an apartment with his brother and is now exploring the possibility of owning a home of his own and researching the purchase of a more fuel efficient car. He receives full benefits, including retirement, stock options and paid leave. Nathan has taken advantage of the leave by going on several short vacations.

Nathan is very active in his church, including singing in the choir. He regularly attends local sporting events with one of his many friends. His supervisor at work says Nathan was offered the position in the Records Department because of his outstanding work ethic. If you happen to run into Nathan on the Chesapeake campus, he will greet you with a smile and he’ll tell you that he is excited about the future.

Rep. Jason Nelson of Oklahoma City offered welcoming remarks at the awards ceremony and announced that October is national Disability Employment  Awareness Month. “It is employees and businesses like these that have put Oklahoma at the forefront in the nation for helping people with disabilities find jobs and become working taxpayers,” said Nelson who serves as chairman of the House Human Services Sub-Committee on Appropriations and Budget.

“In Oklahoma, 60% of individuals with developmental disabilities served by the OKDHS Developmental Disabilities Services Division participate in supported employment services as compared to the national average of 20.1%.”

Rep. Nelson added that it was important to recognize the skills that people with disabilities bring to our workforce. “Their talents and contributions are vital to the strength of our state, our nation's workforce and our future prosperity,” said Nelson.

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Editors Note: Go to http://www.statedata.info/ (Link opens in new window) 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). This website 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.

Nathan Madison (left) receives a Governor’s Commendation for his outstanding achievements in employment from Rep. Jason Nelson. The award was presented during the Governor’s Disability Employment Awards of Excellence at the Governor’s Mansion on October 10.