Co-op manager receives award for ADA employment practices

Neomi Lauritsen, general manager of the Springfield Food Co-op, was awarded the 2015 Spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Employer award and Special Recognition award yesterday by the Vermont Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (GCEPD).
http://eagletimes.villagesoup.com/p/co-op-manager-receives-award-for-ada-employment-practices/1424278

Co-op manager receives award for ADA employment practices By CAMERON PAQUETTE | Oct 08, 2015 Photo by: Cameron Paquette Amanda Moore (center, right) of Health Care and Rehabilitation Services hands the 2015 Spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Employer award to Springfield Food Co-op General Manager Neomi Lauritsen. Cooler A $20,000 walk-in cooler is currently being installed just outside the Springfield Food Co-op to allow the business to keep more of some foods that expire quickly. Pictured here is the completed floor of the cooler. (Photo by: Cameron Paquette) Enlarge... SPRINGFIELD — Neomi Lauritsen, general manager of the Springfield Food Co-op, was awarded the 2015 Spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Employer award and Special Recognition award yesterday by the Vermont Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (GCEPD). For the last two years, the award has been presented to individuals and businesses that reflect the spirit of the ADA in employment practices, including accessibility, recruiting, hiring, accommodating and support of a person(s) with disability as an overall employment strategy. The award went to five businesses across the state in its inaugural year last year, and Lauritsen represents one of 12 across the state to be recognized in 2015. “What [employees with disabilities] do is really valuable to the store and also to my staff,” said Lauritsen after receiving the award from several members of the 23-person committee. Of the co-op’s 20 or so employees, three are disabled. When they first start working, they are shy and timid, but once they’ve had some time with Lauritsen and the staff, they open up. “We’ve had some people so shy they didn’t even want to say hi, and now they’re all good,” said Lauritsen, who likes to hold daily morning meetings with her staff to make everybody familiar with each other and the tasks that must be carried out at the business. Lauritsen was nominated for the award by Amanda Moore of Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS) of Southeastern Vermont for being “the epitome of what we seek” in working with and in hiring clients. Lauritsen currently employs four HCRS clients. “I think it’s important to see all the key components that go into supportive employment,” said Moore. “There’s so many things that have to fall into place. When we have an employer like [Lauritsen] that provides such amazing support for our clients … our clients benefit the most from it.” Lauritsen enjoys seeing her employees with disabilities develop as they grow more confident in their work. “They start just doing basic things and the next thing you know they’re doing packaging and labels and other things,” she said. A 'cool' addition Just outside the co-op, as Lauritsen received her award, workers from Steigers Supply of Rutland, Vermont put the finishing touches on the base of a new walk-in cooler that is being constructed to house excess produce. Construction of the $20,000 unit started last week and is projected to take another week or so to complete. Lauritsen says the cooler will allow the co-op to stock more of some organic products that expire quickly, allowing them to store more of the products for a longer time so as not to run out due to high demand. Between the new cooler and the award, Lauritsen says “It’s been a big week.”