Making sure everyone has an equal access to the workforce - and dignity of work - was emphasized Oct. 29 at a luncheon at The Ridge recreational complex in Laurens.
Celebrating its 80th Anniversary, the Disability Employment Awareness Month luncheon was a collaborative of School Districts 56 & 55, the Laurens County Disabilities and Special Needs Board, and Vocational Rehabilitation. They combine efforts through an Interagency Committee.
“Everybody has value,” said guest speaker Alphonso Richard, a Clinton High graduate and member of two state championship football teams, a 1992 Clemson graduate and Tigers football player, former manager at the nuclear industry’s Savannah River, Hanford, and Tennessee Valley Authority, and now owner/operator of Chick-fil-A Cleveland Avenue in Atlanta.
This year’s celebration is themed “Celebrating Value and Talent, National Disability Employment Awareness Month.” At the lunch, the Interagency Committee presented an acknowledgement to Carolyn Beasley Shortt, who is retiring as the District 55 transition coordinator, and presented the award named in her honor as a champion for disability workforce inclusion to Dr. Jody Penland, District 55’s superintendent.
Richard said, in business. you always want to recognize the value of people. He found Scripture that validates that view in Ephesians 2:10 that describes Christians as God’s workforce. “I went from the construction field to owning a Chick-fil-A and it was the hardest thing that I had ever done in my life,” he said, “because I went from working with folks that were 35, 40, 50 years old and I pretty much could say something and it would get done. Then I started working with 16 year olds, and you can’t just say it, there’s a little more work that comes along with that. So what I’ve had to learn is that leadership is as much about inspiration as it is relation. You can’t influence somebody that you’re not talking to, right?
“Communication is the lubrication for productivity. If you’re not talking, you’re really not working.”
Richard shared a personal story that in his business he set a routine of walking and talking to each employee - but the one day he didn’t, the entire staff thought he was mad at them all. He said bosses have to understand the importance of a simply concept - Management by Walking Around.
The value of work, Richard said, is emphasized in 2nd Thessalonians 3:10 - “If a man or woman does not work, they do not eat.”
The verse shows that “the work that we do is very important. Work influences culture, and we see here that there is a strong culture of work in this community.”
Richard reflected that during the COVID pandemic, Chick-fil-A kept its drive-throughs open, but closed its in-restaurant dining. “We were very efficient at moving those cars around but we lost the hospitality piece, because we weren’t engaging with people on a daily basis. We had people that came to work, they fried chicken, they did the things that we do in the restaurant and they got the orders out but they didn’t talk to people.”
Chick-fil-A corporate now has a big initiative called the Winning Hearts Every Day Strategy. Richard said it’s based on 3 things: great tasting food, fast and accurate service, and a welcoming environment. The company had to re-train for the past three years on the value of that personal touch, greeting people when they walk in, “not greeting them, makes the customer feel like they’re not valued,” he said.
“One thing I tell my employees all the time is ‘I need you to come to work with a great attitude.’ If you have a great attitude, the world will open its doors for you. I’ll promise you that.”
Bad attitudes disrupt the learning and the environment. “It starts with the people we employ,” Richard said. “You are so valuable to the business. ... Every day, we have the ability to dig a little deeper for that treasure that lies within all of us.”
This observance is in conjunction with the Office of Disability Employment Policy, United States Department of Labor. Penland was emcee for the Laurens County program. The meal blessing was by Byron Smith, business development specialist SC Voc Rehab; welcome by Mindy Carter, district transition coordinator, D55, and Ashton Sorrow, D55 student; National Anthem by the Laurens District 55 High Student Choir; acknowledgements by Penland and by Spectrum representatives (see article left); awards by Jason Tavenner and Tara Glenn, representing Laurens County Disabilities & Special Needs Board; speaker introduction by Chad Ulmer, area supervisor, SC Voc Rehab; door prizes by Spectrum, and closing by District 56 Superintendent Dr. David O’Shields.
RELATED:
SPECTRUM ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL $25,000 DONATION
TO LAURENS COUNTY DISABILITIES AND SPECIAL NEEDS
BOARD THROUGH SPECTRUM COMMUNITY CENTER ASSIST
Laurens County Disabilities and Special Needs Board Kicks Off National
Disability Employment Awareness Month with Event and Check Presentation
GREENVILLE - Spectrum has announced Laurens County Disabilities and Special Needs Board (LCDSNB) has received an additional $25,000 through Spectrum Community Center Assist (SCCA), the company’s $30 million philanthropic initiative to revitalize local community centers and invest in job training programs in underserved rural and urban neighborhoods where Spectrum operates.
Spectrum funding will support LCDSNB programs that provide residential, career prep and employment services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, head or spinal cord injuries.
A check presentation took place at a LCDSNB luncheon to celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 11:30 a.m. at The Ridge at 301 Exchange Rd, Laurens.
“The long-term partnership we created with LCDSNB is making a real difference in the lives of local residents by giving them the skills, tools and updated facilities they need to improve their economic situation,” said Rahman Khan, Group Vice President, Community Impact for Charter Communications, which operates the Spectrum brand of connectivity services. “Already thousands of people around the country have participated in SCCA in the neighborhoods we serve, and we look forward to working with LCDSNB to provide essential job training in a safe and revitalized space.”
The $25,000 donation is the fourth for LCDSNB through the Spectrum Community Center Assist program, bringing total Spectrum support for the organization to $165,000 over the past four years.
Spectrum’s partnership with LCDSNB began in December 2022 at the Cypress Campus, where Spectrum employees and community volunteers made repairs and other physical improvements to the facility. Spectrum donated 25 new laptops dedicated to the new training and technology room and provided its advanced 1 gigabit-per-second internet service for the life of the program.
“Spectrum’s partnership with our agency continues to play a key role in the employment services we provide,” said Jason Tavenner, Executive Director, LCDSNB. “The Spectrum Community Center Assist Funding has provided equipment, software, and personnel to further customize workforce skills and independence training. We are excited for the opportunity to continue growing and improving employment goals for those living with disabilities and special needs.”
Spectrum launched Spectrum Community Center Assist in 2021 and will invest $30 million to benefit 100 community centers and job training programs in underserved areas across the company’s 41-state footprint. At each location, Spectrum invests in the community center’s job training efforts with cash grants and in-kind contributions, improves physical classroom spaces, sponsors rebuilding events with volunteers to repair and enhance the physical buildings, and provides new equipment, including laptops and furniture.
