Celebrating the employment of citizens with disabilities, Harford County’s Office of Disability Services and Commission on Disabilities honored several individuals and organizations in a virtual celebration of their annual Employment Recognition Awards. Each year during the month of October, and to coincide with National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Harford County recognizes employees with disabilities who have exhibited exceptional ability and determination in the workplace and the organizations who support those with differing abilities.
The 2020 awards were presented privately due to COVID-19 restrictions to the following individuals and organizations:
Large Employer of the Year: UMUCH Environmental Services
Medium Employer of the Year: United Souvenir & Apparel
Small Employer of the Year: Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna
Employee of the Year Award: Harley Davidson
Employee Awards of Merit: Eric Dowell, Tara Fersterman, Evan Flaherty, and Shanise Johnson
Essential Employees of the Year: Peter Ballard and Byron Wainwright
Student Worker of the Year: Julianna Lupaccino
Volunteer of the Year: Austin Heuer
Media Award: Nathan Rhodes
Accessibility Award: Epoch Transport
Ruth Helen Thompson Memorial Award for Community Service: Niki Barbour Biggs
County Executive Barry Glassman congratulated awardees with a video message that shared his vision for making Harford County a place where everyone can live and work and be supported by the community. He also thanked local employers for making it a priority to hire citizens with disabilities into good jobs.
A photo gallery of this year’s awardees and their achievements is available at: http://www.harfordcountymd.gov/1815/Disability-Employment-Awards.
The Harford County Office of Disability Services and its partners offer an array of programs to connect businesses with motivated, dependable staff, and to connect employees with disabilities to on-the-job training, modification and technology assistance. For more information on employment opportunities, tax credits or other available incentives for businesses that hire individuals with disabilities, please contact Rachel Harbin, director of the Harford County Commission on Disabilities at [email protected] or call 410-638- 3373.
