Chris Flynt, this year's Disabled Employee of the Year.
Ann Haynes address the crowd during Tuesday's ceremony.
Awards
from page A1
from sidewalks to increas
ing mobility of persons with
disabilities, to working environ
ments that suit their needs.
"I think it's a necessity in
any city or town," said MCPD
President Ann Haynes. "People
need to understand the barriers
(persons with disabilities) face
and also to look at them as peo
ple first."
Britt says that the MCPD
will prove valuable for his
beloved students someday,
though they don't know it yet.
"They're advocating for
things that will be important to
our children 20 years from now,
as opposed to necessarily right
now, but that's huge for us," he
commented. "Our children are
going to need the kind of
employment these folks are
going to promote and they're
going to need accessibility to
public buildings and those kinds
of things and that's what the
Mayor's Council is all about.
We're thrilled to be in partner
ship with them."
The banquet and awards
ceremony that accompanies it
have become one of the MCPDs
best known events.
"This is in honor of
Disability Employment
Awareness Month, which is a
national thing ... to help people
realize how much people with
Photos by Jae<on Pitt
Mayor Allen Joines poses with students from Carter Vocational.
disabilities can help in the
employment community and
how able they are," stated
Bowman. "This is what we do
to honor it and that way we
honor all of our citizens."
A handful of citizens and
organizations were recognized
for their efforts by the organiza
tion this year, including Jerry
Mintz, who took home a
Helping Hand Award for an
Individual; the WSFCS
Transition Team, the 2007
Organizational Helping Hand
honoree; along with Employer
of the Year Chick-fil-A of
Kemersville; Volunteer of the
Year Award winner Randall
Scott; and Lifetime
Achievement Award honoree
Denise Corey.
Willie Bradwell, Jr., Lucy
Robinson and Dudley
Shearburn were each recog
nized with special certificates,
as were Doug and Doris
Jackson, Marshall Parker,
Graylyn International
Conference Center and First
Assembly of God's
Transportation Ministry.
Chris Flynt was honored as
this year's Disabled Employee
of the Year.
A program manager at
Services for the Blind for more
than four years, Flynt oversees
a project known as A Brighter
Path.
"Our mission is to enhance
the lives of the visually
impaired, educate the
lives of the visually
impaired and to cre
ate awareness in the
sighted community,"
explained Flynt.
When asked if his
resolve was strength
ened by the unex
pected recognition,
Flynt was matter-of
fact.
"Well yeah, but I
like what I'm doing anyway,"
he said. "This (award) is just a
bonus."
Mayor Allen Joines issued a
proclamation designating
October as Disability
Employment Awareness Month.
He has become a familiar face
at the event.
"The work of the Mayor's
Council is tremendously impor
tant to our city, bringing recog
nition to the fact that our dis
abled community really adds a
tremendous economic benefit to
our community as well as a cul
tural benefit," he said of his
motivation to support the non
profit. "This is a great cadre of
workers and a great cadre of
volunteers for our other organi
zations, so it just makes sense
for our city to be a supporter."
Joines is well known
amongst MCPD members and
volunteers as well. Bowman
praised the mayor for his obvi
ous compassion towards and
dedication to local persons with
disabilities.
"Mayor Joines
has been wonderful,"
she declared. "He is
absolutely amazing
in his support of dis
ability issues."
Marguerite
Hutchinson-Rhodes
brought a group of
students from the
Carver Vocational
School to lend their
expertise to the event. Though
it is a deviation from the stu
dents' normal routine, the
luncheon provided a much
needed opportunity for them to
gain real world experience in an
environment that is patient and
understanding of the youth,
Hutchinson-Rhodes says.
"This is not a typical kind of
thing, but we did it last year ...
and it was just really beautiful
and the students terribly
enjoyed it," she remarked.
"This gives them that experi
ence in the field that they are
wanting to pursue later on."
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