US States News, October 5, 2007 Friday

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US States News

October 5, 2007 Friday 2:51 AM EST

HEADLINE: DISABLED WORKERS AND EMPLOYERS TO BE RECOGNIZED AT ANNUAL BREAKFAST

BYLINE: US States News

DATELINE: WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.

BODY:
The Westchester County Executive issued the following press release:
Disabled employees who have excelled in their jobs and the employers who believed in them will be recognized at the 21th Annual Achievement Awards Breakfast on Tuesday, October 9.

This year's event will involve 148 employees and 105 employers - more than ever before. The Yonkers Raceway will also receive a statewide award from VESID (Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals With Disabilities) for its accomplishments in the hiring of the disabled.

The breakfast, which will begin at 8 a.m. at Doral Arrowwood in Rye Brook, is Westchester's official celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. This year's event will be co-sponsored by the Westchester County Office for the Disabled, the Westchester Employment Network, Doral Arrowwood and Diana Gould Ltd.

Dr. Hannah Rudstam, an expert in topics related to the disabled community and employment, will be the guest speaker. As training director at the Northeast ADA & IT Center with the Employment and Disability Institute at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., she has planned, delivered and evaluated programs on a broad range of topics related to disability and employment.

Also speaking will be Regional Coordinator Mark Ridgeway, Theresa Toussaint and Gwen Canfield of the White Plains VESID (Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals With Disabilities) office, Doral Arrowwood General Manager Steve Mabus and the director of the county's Office for the Disabled, Evan Latainer. Rebecca Cort, deputy commissioner of VESID, will present the award to Yonkers Raceway.

Each year the Westchester Employment Network, a group of vocational placement counselors and rehabilitation professionals, canvasses local employers for nominations of disabled workers who have distinguished themselves in the workplace. Every worker nominated is invited to the breakfast and presented with a Certificate of Achievement from the County Executive. Their employers also receive certificates to thank them for promoting diversity in the workplace.

For more information, call the Office for the Disabled at 995-2956. Doral Arrowwood is at 975 Anderson Hill Road, just west of King Street in Rye Brook.

Contact: Susan Tolchin, 914/995-2932; Lynne Bedell Smith, 914/995-3106.

LOAD-DATE: October 8, 2007