OKLAHOMA CITY -- A Shawnee employer received a commendation from Gov. Brad Henry and Lt. Gov. Jari Askins on October 6 during the Governor’s Disability Employment Awards at the Governor’s Mansion in Oklahoma City. October is national Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Josh Quigley is the franchise owner of Service Master, a commercial cleaning service in Shawnee. Over the past year, Quigley has hired two young men through the Dale Rogers Training Center. He has been extremely flexible with these employees, adjusting schedules and job duties to ensure their success. Quigley has taught both of these employees a good work ethic and excellent customer service skills. When one of the employees experienced some personal challenges, Quigley did not give up. He continued working with the young man on his issues in order for him to remain employed. When Quigley’s cleaning contract with one of his large customers ended, he could have laid off some of his workers. Instead, he created a position within his personal office for one of the supported employees so he could continue working. As a young business owner, Quigley has made a commitment to the community of Shawnee and to his employees that his business will continue to grow and he will employ more people. 

“It is employees and businesses like these that have put Oklahoma ahead of every state in the nation at employing people with disabilities,” said Director Howard Hendrick of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

“For the past three years, Oklahoma has led the nation in assisting people with developmental disabilities to find competitive jobs and become working taxpayers," Hendrick said. “Today, 60 percent of individuals with developmental disabilities served by the OKDHS Developmental Disabilities Services Division participate in supported employment services.”

The Governor’s Disability Employment Awards are co sponsored by Gov. Brad Henry and Lt. Gov. Jari Askins, along with OKDHS/DDSD, the Department of Rehabilitation Services, and the Oklahoma Association of Persons in Supported Employment.

###

Editors Note: To see Oklahoma’s ranking as compared to other states in regard to the numbers of persons with developmental disabilities in competitive jobs (supported employment) go to, www.statedata.info (link opens in new window). This web site is a project of the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston, supported in part by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under cooperative agreement with additional support from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education.