Michael Spencer of Tulsa receives commendation from Governor Mary Fallin

Oklahoma City – Michael Spencer of Tulsa 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.

Michael Spencer’s motto is: “Provide people with a great service and everything else will take care of itself.” He has always been motivated to succeed from playing on two University of Oklahoma national championship football teams and having a successful career as a salesman. When a visual disability suddenly got worse, Michael was temporarily sidelined.  The Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) provided a way to get back to work and he functions quite independently.

Michael is now a successful, self-employed food service business owner, who operates a restaurant in the Tulsa County Court House, a sub shop in the federal building, and vending machine routes as a franchisee in the DRS Business Enterprise Program. Last year he was named the DRS Client of the Year and he lives his motto everyday.

The Governor’s Disability Employment Awards are co-sponsored by the Office of the Governor; The Developmental Disabilities Services Division of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS); The Department of Rehabilitation Services, and The Oklahoma Association of Persons in Supported Employment.

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.

Michael Spencer (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.