Welcome to SMG eNEWS™
2006, Sept 11th

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

Message From The Founder

SMG Employment Survey—Let Us Hear From You!
By Carmen Jones, Founder and President

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month and the Solutions Marketing Group wants to hear from employers! We'd like to know if employers — ranging from large companies to small business owners — have used employment programs to attract, recruit and retain employees with disabilities. We'd also like to know if the programs offered by the Federal Government have proven to be useful to help your company advance employment-related issues for people with disabilities.

Click here to participate in our employment survey >>
or follow this link directly:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=456722539147

At SMG, we understand employment is the great equalizer in leveling the field for people, and for those with disabilities it is a gateway to a myriad of opportunities and experiences. Periodically, we will conduct surveys to provide fresh insights that enable us to more effectively meet the needs of our clients. The survey will only take a few minutes to complete and I invite you to visit the "Newsroom" section of our Web site in November 2006 for summary results.

Warm regards,

Carmen D. Jones
President/Founder
info@disability-marketing.com

Profiles in Excellence
Profiles in Excellence is a monthly article, published by SMG, that features companies and organizations that demonstrate leadership in accessibility, employment, customer service and marketing to the nation's 54 million Americans with Disabilities.

Microtel Inns and Suites: Going the Extra Mile For Accessibility
By Carmen Jones

Remember Sisyphus, that Homer's mythical character doomed to forever roll a boulder up the mountain? Each time he got close to the summit, he would lose the boulder and it would roll back down the hill. Too often, travelers with disabilities feel like Sisyphus pushing the boulder of inaccessibility. Yet one company, Microtel Inns and Suites, truly "goes the extra mile" to earn the business of people with disabilities. Microtel, geared to the economy market, currently has 262 facilities open worldwide with numerous others in the pipeline. Many corporations have disability information on their Web sites. Generally it takes a treasure map to find them. When I went to the Microtel site I thought my traveling dream had come true....
[ more information about this ]

Featured Article
Special to Disability-Marketing.com

Making Progress in Employee Training By John Kemp, Disability-rights advocate

It's a simple maxim of corporate management -- find good people, give them direction and provide them with the support it takes to get the job done. In the arena of disability, however, many companies have ignored this advice, in favor of a focus on simple compliance with the law, rather than business success. Employee support is not limited to having an accessible physical plant, and customers need more than just access to your business. Employees with disabilities need to know that they are accepted at work and that you have considered them in everything from advancement to building evacuations. Customers with disabilities need to feel valued at your business, and know that your staff is trained in how best to serve them.....
[ more information about this ]

Featured Article
Special to Disability-Marketing.com

Testimony Before the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission By Joyce Bender, President and CEO of Bender Consulting Services

"As a young adult who has always believed in civil rights and freedom for all people, I would never have imagined that I would have the great honor to give testimony before a Federal Commission that strives to protect freedom and equality for all Americans. It is my great honor to speak before this wonderful group of Patriots today, about fellow Americans being excluded from economic freedom in America -- Americans with significant disabilities. I thank you for giving me, a woman with epilepsy and a hearing-loss, an opportunity to speak on behalf of my fellow Americans who are being left out of the American dream --economic freedom. I also commend the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for taking a stand for all of us in America...."
[ more information about this ]

Accessibility
sponsored by Universal Design Newsletter

Wheelchair Access Evaluated: Douglas Works to Identify Trouble Spots By Steven H. Foskett Jr., Worcester Telegram & Gazette Corp.

The Americans with Disabilities Act didn't take effect until around 87 years after the Simon Fairfield Public Library was constructed. The 103-year-old Main Street landmark's steep front stairs don't exactly exude accessibility, and plans for a multimillion-dollar renovation and expansion fell through last year. Complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act has been a struggle in town, and residents and town employees will be invited to a public hearing this month to examine where the town stands in accommodating people with disabilities....
[ more information about this ]

Customer Service
sponsored by W.C. Duke Associates, Inc.

GM Mobility Helps People With Disabilities From TheCarConnection.com

There used to be an advertising tagline that said, "We bring good things to life." Bringing good things to life is just what automobile manufacturers have been doing for seniors and people with disabilities. There are currently 80 million people in the United States over the age of 50, and more than 50 million people with some form of disability. And for them, the transportation options have only become more varied. ....
[ more information about this ]

Employment

Strictly Business
By Jennifer Rich, HeraldToday.com

When Bobby arrives at 10 a.m., Laurrie Anne Hartwick knows the Steak 'n Shake employee is ready to work. Whether it's cleaning the freezer, washing dishes or sweeping the parking lot, Bobby will be working hard for the next five hours. "He's very detailed, and he does everything to the best of his ability," said Hartwick, general manager of the Sarasota restaurant. Bobby is developmentally disabled, a client of Community Haven for Adults and Children with Disabilities Inc. For the past three years, Bobby has been a porter at the restaurant, doing the detailed cleaning and the ordinary jobs that keep a restaurant afloat. He also has become a role model for other Steak 'n Shake employees....
[ more information about this ]

Marketing

Around the World on Ossur's Prostheses From MarketWire.com

Ossur, global developer of more scientifically advanced prosthetic innovations, is delighted to congratulate Sarah Reinertsen on her selection as the first amputee to take part in CBS's Emmy-winning reality series, "The Amazing Race." Reinertsen, previously a marketing manager for Ossur North America, is also a member of Team Ossur, a group of elite amputee athletes sponsored by the company. She paired up for the show with good friend and former work colleague, Peter Harsch, CP, an Ossur clinical prosthetist whose many responsibilities include looking after Team Ossur members....
[ more information about this ]

News & Announcements

CEO Council Director Sought by National Organization on Disability
From N.O.D.

Registration for SCI Summit 2006 Open, But Filling Fast
From www.spinalcord.org

Citigroup Fined for Claiming Hedge Funds Customers Were 'Disabled'

Lt. Governor Hopeful, Media Take on Role of Blindness By Jaime Malarky, Mediatalk