The Arc to honor outstanding businesses, employees

T

he Arc of Monmouth and its Business Advisory Council will hold an Employer Appreciation Breakfast at Lane Hall, Fort Monmouth, May 18 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. to honor employers who believe in the abilities of people with disabilities.

Five awards will be given to employers who have hired people with mental retardation or supplied subcontract work to be performed at The Arc’s Work Opportunity Center (WOC), Long Branch, and by students in the Dorothy B. Hersh High School at the Arc Center. An award also will be presented for Employee of the Year.

Employer of the Year will go to Eatontown Public Works Department which has employed three people with developmental disabilities for the past 12 years. The Most Supportive Employer of the Year Award will go to J.C. Penney in Freehold Raceway Mall for not only employing individuals with developmental disabilities, but instituting measures to make it easier for them to learn their tasks.

The Outstanding Contractor of the Year Award will be presented to St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick. For nine years, the WOC has provided operating-room suction canister kits to St. Peter’s.

The Subcontractor of the Year Award will go to BUCA Inc., Neptune. A wholesaler in the rapidly growing wireless industry, BUCA has provided the WOC with a range of packaging and assembly work. In the past year, WOC has assembled or packaged 75,787 units for the company.

Pathmark, Freehold Township, will receive the Most Accommodating Employer of the Year Award for consistently hiring people with developmental disabilities for many areas of the store and for going out of its way to see that these workers are successful.

Employee of the Year is Bill Hindman, who works at Foodtown in Wall collecting shopping carts. He will receive the award for making the transition from a sheltered workshop to a competitive job in the community and for successfully holding that job for 13 years.

According to Arc executive Mary E. Scott, the Employer Appreciation Breakfast each year serves as an excellent opportunity for the local business community to network and learn the benefits of a diversified workforce.

"We urge everyone to call upon Arc if they have any employment needs in which we can assist," Scott said. "We have a team of experienced job coaches, some of whom have been with us since we began these programs 15 years ago.

"Persons with disabilities may be just the answer to an employer’s hiring problems. They take great pride in their work and often have outstanding attendance records."

Employers and potential employers are invited to attend the breakfast. For further information, call Isis McDonald at (732) 493-1919, ext. 555.