Concord, NH – During the statewide Employer Recognition Breakfast held October 14, 2010 at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord, five New Hampshire businesses were recognized with an Employment Leadership Award for demonstrating exceptional leadership, innovation and/or a commitment to adopting hiring practices that improve employment opportunities for workers with disabilities in New Hampshire.

The five recipients are: Brevan Electronics, Inc., Merrimack; CEJ Computer Business Systems, LLC, Merrimack; Hannaford Stores, Keene; Havenwood-Heritage Heights, Concord; and Johnson Precision, Amherst.

The five recipients were selected from a pool of 23 company nominees* submitted by employment providers and partners throughout New Hampshire.  Nominations were evaluated based on the company’s efforts to: create opportunities that assist people with disabilities to develop the skills they need to obtain competitive employment; adopt inclusive hiring practices that allow people with disabilities to fairly compete for employment; and engage community partners to become a more diverse workplace.

Among those on hand to congratulate the recipients for their collective diversified employment practices were: NH Governor John Lynch; Denise Sleeper, Director, Granite State Employment Project, Bureau of Developmental Services; Roy Duddy, Interim Director, NH Division of Economic Development; Jim Hinson, Statewide Program Coordinator, Corporate Relations for NH Vocational Rehabilitation; Teresa Rosenberger, President, FairPoint Communications; and Craig Beck , Administrative Director Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic Nashua.
“All the businesses nominated and recognized today are clear examples that workers with disabilities are a positive and productive part of a skilled workforce. We invite more businesses to look beyond disability as a limitation and focus on how workforce needs can be met with skilled workers that include people with disabilities,” remarked Denise Sleeper, Director, Granite State Employment Project, Bureau of Developmental Services.

The Statewide Employer Recognition Breakfast and the Employment Leadership Award, now in its second year, acknowledge the efforts of Granite State businesses that are actively implementing disability employment practices.  The event was made possible by the Granite State Employment Project, LinkAbilities* and the Monadnock Center for Successful Transitions*, and was held in October in part to celebrate National Disability Awareness Month.

The mission of the Granite State Employment Project is to improve the employment for people with disabilities in New Hampshire by establishing two pilot models that will create leadership, collaboration with the community, outreach to employers, businesses, and school systems, build capacity for training and staff development, and support the information technology and employment database needs of the projects.http://www.nhletsworktogether.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=3