Welcome to SMG eNEWS™
2007, Jul 23rd

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

The ADA Can Improve Your Bottom Line
By Carmen Jones, Founder and President

Frequently when I first work with a corporation, I hear many myths, fears, and misconceptions about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Some business leaders wish they could take the ostrich approach: stick their head in the sand and make it go away. They equate ADA with dollars flowing out of the business when savvy compliance with the law coupled with targeted marketing can impact a company's bottom-line. Since personal stories often lend a layer of understanding to an issue that is not otherwise available, it might be helpful if I offered my history with the ADA.

Click to view the newest entry in SMG's Equal Access ad campaign

In 1990 I worked as a counselor for an independent living center in Newport News, Virginia. One day my supervisor directed me to contact consumers on my caseload and ascertain good candidates to go with us to Washington, DC and visit our congressmen and senators to ask them to support the ADA. Just disabled for a little more than 3 years, I didn't know much about the technical aspects of the ADA. All I knew was it provided protections for people with disabilities. The employment portion of the bill resonated with me since I had been told by countless recruiters that I was under/over qualified for positions that I was clearly suited for.

Working for the ADA's passage conjured up memories of my worst interview experience. A recruiter who was visibly uncomfortable with my disability interviewed me. He could not sit still and was practically squirming. After asking the standard questions, he looked me dead in the eye and asked if I could wiggle my toes. I was shocked and felt violated by his inappropriate question. However I was inexperienced and did not fully know my rights so I sheepishly answered. As I geared up to take my clients to DC, I knew the ADA would've protected me from such offensive and humiliating questions....

Read the rest of this month's message from the Founder >>

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.

HP Means High Performance for People with Disabilities
By Joan Leotta

Technology to improve quality of life has long been central to the mission of the multi-faceted, multi-national Hewlett-Packard Company. HP’s expertise and commitment to innovation characterizes every aspect of this high-technology firm. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California and with facilities in more than 170 countries, HP excels in setting up frameworks for success, both with its product line and with internal processes for customers and its approximately 156,000 employees worldwide. Through it all, HP works hard to make accessibility a reality....
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Featured Article
Special to Disability-Marketing.com

“Let’s Keep it Real” By Joyce Bender, President and CEO of Bender Consulting Services

This year, many of you watched American Idol and saw a 17 year old young woman go from high school to great fame, as she was named the American Idol, Ms. Jordin Sparks. Randy Jackson, one of the judges, has a quote he uses frequently when maintaining the integrity of the show and to say what he really thinks about the singer who performed. He does not want to “sugar coat” a mediocre performance, and often says, “Let’s keep it real” and follows up with what he really thinks about the performance.

I am going to use this quote in reference to the high unemployment rate of Americans with significant disabilities that continues to soar, with only 35% of Americans with significant disabilities gaining real employment. This is a national disgrace! This is a tragedy! In addition, minorities with significant disabilities experience the highest unemployment within that group! So – what are the reasons people with significant disabilities are unemployed in the United States? I would like to “keep it real” and look at some of those issues....
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Accessibility
sponsored by Universal Design Newsletter

Polls Still Off-limits to Disabled By Ruth Padawer, Published in Justice For All Listserv

Two in five polling sites in New Jersey were inaccessible to disabled voters over the past three years, a violation of state and federal law, according to a scathing report by the state Department of the Public Advocate. Investigators inspected one-third of the state's 3,500 polling sites. Officials concluded that some 600,000 registered voters had been assigned to a polling place with limited accessibility, often lacking ramps, easy-to-open doors or handicapped parking. It's unclear how many people couldn't vote.....
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Customer Service
sponsored by W.C. Duke Associates, Inc.

Customer Service Issues for People with Disabilities

Poor customer service can ruin the stay of a guest with disabilities, even if the hotel facility itself is fully accessible. Here are a few examples of ways hotels and lodging establishments can turn guests with disabilities into satisfied, repeat customers.....
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Employment

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Office of Disability Employment Policy Leaves
U.S. Department of Labor

Dr. W. Roy Grizzard, assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), will leave his post. Grizzard has led the office since its inception in 2002. Grizzard, who established the first ODEP office, has been a tireless advocate for helping Americans with disabilities succeed in the workplace...
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Marketing

RadioShack Announces Point of Sale, Web Site Initiative for Customers with Visual Impairments

In a move praised by state and national blindness organizations, RadioShack announced it has undertaken a nationwide initiative to improve services for RadioShack’s customers with visual impairments. As part of the program, RadioShack will install new point of sale equipment with tactile keypads to protect the privacy and security of visually impaired shoppers and will make improvements to its Web site that will benefit visually impaired shoppers and other customers with disabilities....
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News & Announcements

Be Part of Disability Mentoring Day, Oct 17, 2007

Survey Looks at Veterans' Care Problems
By Hope Yen, source: Associated Press/AP Online

The Digital Revolution Has Made TV More Ubiquitous Than Ever -- Except for Viewers Who Need Captioning
By James Hibberd, Source: TVWeek - News

Menus That Talk™ -- Restaurant Menus Get Table Smarts
From MenusThatTalk.com

How the News Media Handicap Those with Disabilities
By Susan M LoTempio, Poynter Online

AT&T Expands Wireless Offerings for Customers With Disabilities