Welcome to SMG eNEWS™
2005, Sept 6th

The Solutions Marketing Group's eNews is a bi-monthly communiqué that connects business to the market of people with disabilities.

Special Report: MURDERBALL
"I saw this documentary and loved it. It demonstrates that there is life after disability. The filmakers have woven together a poignant story that is funny, transparent, gritty and empowering. Check it out -- you won't be disappointed."
-- Carmen Jones, Solutions Marketing Group, President
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Profiles in Excellence
Profiles in Excellence is a regular feature, published by SMG, that spotlights companies and organizations that demonstrate leadership in accessibility, employment, customer service and marketing to the nation's 54 million Americans with Disabilities.

Good Vibrations at the Positive Vibe Café
By Joan Leotta

Richmond, Virginia's new Positive Vibe Café is about more than quality food. In establishing the café, founder Garth Larcen and his son Max created a first-ever venture--a community-backed experiment in providing workers with disabilities a chance at a career in the restaurant industry. And the early reviews are in: for good food and good opportunities, the café definitely has a positive vibe. ...
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Accessibility
sponsored by Universal Design Newsletter

TDI Commends FCC for Adoption of New Rules on Video Relay Service (VRS) and Quality of TV Captioning From tdi-online.org

The unprecedented rules issued on July 14 establish mandatory speed of answer requirements for VRS, require VRS to be offered 24 hours a day, seven days a week and permit VRS providers to be compensated for providing VRS Mail. The FCC has also initiated an assessment of the current state of closed captioning and is asking for comments on compliance and quality issues. ...
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New Products From the Universal Design Newsletter

Apartment door entry system, Aquatic lifts, Under-counter dishwasher, Low vision thermostat. ...
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Customer Service
sponsored by W.C. Duke Associates, Inc.

Disabled Dilemma
By Peter Blais, GolfBusinessMagazine.com

The golf industry and federal regulations take up the debate of providing better customer service at America's golf course. If there is a hot-button issue among golf course owners involving the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is the ongoing federal Department of Justice deliberations on whether to require courses to provide accessible or single-rider golf cars to make facilities more usable by people with disabilities. ...
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Employment

New Resources Will Ensure Safety During Emergencies for Workers With Disabilities

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor Roy Grizzard, who heads the department's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), announced a comprehensive guide and related Web site to ensure federal government workplace emergency plans address the needs of individuals with disabilities. ....
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Quadriplegic Conductor Learns New Ways To Lead By Sabine Kortals, Special to the Denver Post

Driving to Aspen from Santa Monica, Calif., Mario Sergio Miragliotta fell asleep at the wheel. The promising young conductor woke up a quadriplegic. That was 2001. Today, the 39-year-old is picking up the pieces with the stuff that real superheroes are made of: courage, perseverance and plenty of pluck. ...
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Marketing

Report: Disability Travel Is Up
By Allan Richter, hotelinteractive.com

Americans with disabilities spend more than $13 billion a year on travel, and hospitality and other travel service providers could see those revenues double if they removed obstacles and made their hotels, restaurants and transportation systems more accessible, a new study has found. ...
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Breaking Barriers

Georgia Teen With MS Crosses Country in "Darrius Goes West" Adventure
By Patricia Guthrie, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Darius, a 15-year-old boy whose body is slowly slipping away to muscular dystrophy, completed a three week, 7,800-mile trip in a wheelchair-accessible RV. The "Darrius Goes West" adventure showed a teenager who'd never been out of Georgia, and commemorated the 15th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act. ...
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Announcements

Hurricane Relief for People with Disabilities

Youth Advisory Committee for the National Council on Disability Seeking New Members

AXIS Dance Company Auditions For Dancers With Physical Disabilities

DOJ Project Civic Access -- First Steps Toward Solving Common ADA Problems

Raising The Bar Exhibition: New Horizons in Disability Sport, at the United Nations

Americans with Disabilities Act Reaches 15

2006 Henry B. Betts Award -- Call for Nominations