The Oklahoma City Mayor’s Committee on Disability Concerns has selected the following individuals/businesses as our award winners for 2023. We congratulate all winners and thank all of our nominees for their submissions.
Don Davis Award: The Don Davis Award recognizes an individual for extraordinarily meritorious service which has substantially advanced opportunities for people with disabilities by removing social, attitudinal, and environmental barriers in the greater Oklahoma City area
Eddie R. Beesley
George Lewis Advocacy Award: This award recognizes an Oklahoma City area resident with a disability who has performed outstanding and notable feats to enhance the empowerment and/or employment of individuals with disabilities by rising above his or her own disability and encouraging others with disabilities to do the same. This individual displays these principles through community involvement and in his or her area of employment. This individual has also promoted overcoming social, attitudinal, and environmental barriers to enhance the lives of all persons with disabilities and shown good citizenship in his or her everyday activities.
Magan Rowan
Public Personnel Employee Award: This award honors an outstanding public agency employee for contributing to the removal of social, attitudinal, and environmental barriers for individuals with disabilities in the agency in which he or she is employed. Any individual in a local, state, or federal agency (including a public college or school) is eligible.
Brandon "Trey" Lewis
Pam Henry Media Award: The award recognizes excellence in media materials about persons with disabilities, which were produced and placed in the media (radio, television, print, web) during the year. Commercial, governmental, and non-profit producers are eligible to compete.
Savannah Station
Inclusivity Award: This award recognizes an Oklahoma City area business, group, or public event that promotes activities with full accessibility for persons with disabilities. The services or activities must be fully accessible, including the location where the service, activity, or event is held. Examples may include social activities, festivals or concerts, businesses offering accessible recreation activities, or groups that host activities with full accessibility.
Sooner Success
Employer of the year: The award recognizes an Oklahoma City area employer, public or private sector, for outstanding achievements in enhancing employment opportunities for people with disabilities by eliminating attitudinal and environmental barriers. An employer, individual, or entity may be nominated. Any unit of a national company may be nominated if it is under separate management and physically apart from other units.
Mercy Hospital
Join us at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 24 at the Oklahoma City Council Meeting to celebrate as Mayor David Holt gives out the awards.
 Brian Montgomery, Laura Rees and Kim Lohr received Director's Certificates at the September Commission meeting.
Montgomery and Rees developed an initiative tool that can be used to provide dual contact information in one package. They found a way to put large print on their business cards and saw the back of their originals were blank. They stapled Ree's card onto Montgomery's to see that it made one card.
Once approved, Lohr contacted the vendor who makes our cards and had them make a mockup of the dual card idea and quote a price for ordering.
 Brian King, Collin Jenks and Marka Simms were given Director’s Certificates for their work at the Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
The circulation department at the Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped worked for 11 months on the "Beyond Recall" project, a result of the library's collection having gone digital. Melanie Ulfers, Jenks, King and Simms carried out the project, which consisted of packing boxes with books every day to send off the entire physical book collection of 150,000 books in total.
 Tom Patt, April Story, Tommy Pham and Caryn Mitchell all received Director's Certificates at the September Commission meeting.
DRS Human Resources recently received new duties for applicant reviews for all current and future vacancies in Workday. This meant HR had to take on this role for their own vacancies for more than 300 applicants.
April Story, Tommy Pham and Caryn Mitchell were instrumental in developing a new plan to clear back logs and move the applicant further on the application process. Pham and Mitchell began by reviewing applicants for vacancies and determining which vacancies were the highest priority.
Story, Pham and Mitchell then worked with HCM in transitioning these applicants from HCM review to HR's review, which entails clearing the vacancies and moving all applicants to the screen phase. Pham reviews the applicants that are sent to screen to ensure they meet the required minimum education and experience. He has accomplished numerous reviews in a matter of a few days. Mitchell researched approximately 30 job requisitions that were previously closed with applicants at the screening stage and composed and sent emails to the hiring managers urging them to act on the candidates.
 Craig Glasscock, Brenda Knutson, Tonya Garman, Barbara Reed and Stephanie Roe received Director's Certificates at the September Commission meeting for the work they put into the HOPE training.
Mark your calendars! The Commission for Rehabilitation Services has set their 2024 Regular Commission Meeting schedule. Starting next January, Commission meetings will be held on the second or third Wednesdays of each month at 10:30 am in the 2nd floor conference room at 3535 NW 58th Street, Okla. City.
Meeting Dates for 2024:
January 10, 2024
February 14, 2024
March 13, 2024
April 10, 2024
May 15, 2024*
June 12, 2024
August 14, 2024
September 11, 2024
October 16, 2024*
November 13, 2024
December 11, 2024
* Meeting is on third Wednesday of the month.
We have a few new publications to tell you about. Newly added is Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired’ s Introduction Letter and the Oklahoma Library for the Blind’s Oklahoma Telephone Reader received an overhaul. Both publications are created in the format of a flyer for you to print out as you need or you can request Materiel Management print them.
If you do have the old trifold of the Oklahoma Telephone Reader we ask that you throw them away.
Order: https://www.okdrs.gov/order-brochures
Download standard print or accessible files of the Oklahoma Telephone Reader: https://oklahoma.gov/okdrs/information/promo/pub/oktelephonereader.html
Download standard print or accessible files of the SBVI Introduction Letter: https://oklahoma.gov/okdrs/information/promo/pub/sbvi-intro.html
Here are some of the new people you may meet soon at an upcoming event. Take some time to welcome the following to their new positions and see who's retired.
New hires or new jobs:
MSD – Administrative Programs Officer Jana Hernandez began the new job on Aug. 15.
MSD – Administrative Programs Officer Sara Seabolt began the new job on Aug. 1.
OSB – School Counselor Ashton Frisby began the new job on Aug. 7.
OSB – Direct Care Specialist Brightpath Reynolds began the new job on Aug. 1.
OSB – Direct Care Specialist Nancy Brice began the new job on Aug. 1.
OSD – Outreach Consultant Amy Shelby began the new job on Aug. 1.
OSD – Direct Care Specialist Terry Gregory began the new job on Aug. 13.
OSD – Teacher Sean Sledd began the new job on Aug. 1.
OSD – Teacher Jolene Reed began the new job on Aug. 1.
OSD – Principal Scharla Becker began the new job on Aug. 1.
OSD – Early Development Specialist Dawn Kellner began the new job on Aug. 1.
OSD – Teacher Jennie Higgins began the new job on Aug. 1.
OSD – Teacher Assistant Katie Hall began the new job on Aug. 7.
OSD – Counselor Storee Olive began the new job on Aug. 1.
OSD – Teacher Savannah Hester began the new job on Aug. 1.
VR – Rehabilitation Technician Sandra Cook began the new job on Aug. 7.
VR – Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist Josephine Gatewood began the new job on Aug. 15.
VR – Job Placement Specialist Alisha Norwood began the new job on Aug. 7.
VR – Rehabilitation Technician Amanda Barron began the new job on Aug. 21.
SBVI – BEP Operations Coordinator Christopher Brannaman began the new job on Aug. 1.
 30th anniversary celebration set for Oct. 17
Are you ready to celebrate DRS?
A little over a month remains until DRS staff celebrates the 30th anniversary of the agency from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 17 at the state office.
Staff can go to the registration page to reserve their spot at the event.
Also, a special shirt has been designed to celebrate the event.
First person to correctly identify the people in the photo below will receive a $10 Braum's gift card. Good Luck
Tiffany Davis was the first to identify Kim Lohr, left, and Janie Ball in last edition's contest photo.
Do you have a former client that is building a life of independence?
We want to share their stories with DRS Commissioners and in the DRS Annual Report.
Email Brett Jones at bjones@okdrs.gov, and tell us their story.
Taken from client submitted Success Story Form:
Bartlesville’s Gabriel Reyes who has autism and ADHD turned to DRS for services.
Services she received included help with making a resume and applying for jobs. She also learned workplace etiquette.
Reyes works as a member of the floor staff at Regal Cinemas.
“I fee more secure taking care of my needs,” she wrote.
From the DRS news archives
Courtesy of The Canton Times
Date: September 15, 2011
Sept. 18 marks the start of Deaf Awareness Week, celebrated each year during the last full week in September.
"In Oklahoma, DRS' School for the Deaf and Services to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing plan activities and awareness campaigns to recognize contributions by the deaf, celebrate their rich cultural heritage and educate others about deafness," explained Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services Director Michael O'Brien.
O'Brien said that nearly 14,000 Oklahomans are deaf, while more than 162,000 are hard of hearing, according to U.S. Census-based estimates developed by Gallaudet University.
Gallaudet University, a liberal arts university for students who are deaf or hard of hearing, is located in Washington, D.C.
Oklahoma School for the Deaf Superintendent KaAnn Varner said, "...we prefer to call this week 'Deaf Pride Week' because we should instill pride in our young, deaf students and educate other people about that pride."
Deaf Pride Week activities include a visit at 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 21 by Patience and Whiskey, deaf dogs trained by Bill Thomas from Bridge Creek. The dogs respond to hand signals created by Thomas-known as “home signs” in the deaf community. The dogs frequently visit children’s hospitals and veterans’ center. This will be their first visit to OSD.
OSD provides residential, early intervention and outreach education services at no charge to students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The school offers preschool programs at regional sites in Edmond and Chickasha, and partners with the state Department of Education on an early intervention program called Enriching Children’s Communication Opportunities for parents of deaf children, ages three to six.
The school also provides free outreach services for deaf or hard or hearing students attending local public schools. These services include audiological, speech and language, and other assessments; in-service training programs; and recommendations for adaptations to the students' educational environments.
OSD operates the Oklahoma Equipment Distribution Program, which provides special equipment at little or no cost for people with hearing or speaking problems that prevent them from using the telephone. The school administers a Senior Citizens Hearing Aid Program for Oklahomans who are at least 60 years of age with a 35-decibel hearing loss and limited income.
Services to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is a program in DRS’ Vocational Rehabilitation division.
“We offer a variety of programs and information services to Oklahomans who are deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, deaf-blind and those with speech impairments,” Programs Manager Hope Crumley explained. “Deaf Awareness Week is always a fun time for us.”
Services to the Deaf will host Deaf Crazy Olympics from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept.17 in at Whiteside Park, 4009 S. Pittsburg Ave. in Tulsa. Lunch will be provided.
Services to the Deaf staff coordinate with Vocational Rehabilitation staff to help clients reach employment goals. Three counselors, based in Oklahoma City and two in Tulsa, have specialized training in hearing and speech disabilities enabling them to communicate directly with clients using sign language or other techniques. As a result, job with barriers to employment become taxpayers, eliminating or reducing their need for disability benefits and social services.
People in the program may receive evaluation, guidance and counseling, medical assessment, training, rehabilitation equipment or devices, and job placement, supported by sign language interpreters and real time captioning through the Interpreter Services Program.
A Transition program is available for high school students with hearing loss that prepares them for post-secondary education and employment.
Services to the Deaf staff manage the Oklahoma Quality Assurance Screening Test (QAST) program, which evaluates and certifies the proficiency of interpreters for the deaf in Oklahoma.
Today's riddle:
Who lives in the scary Hundred Acre Wood?
Answer?
Winnie the Boo
Send your answer to bjones@okdrs.gov
Last edition's riddle:
What do you get when you drop a pumpkin?
Answer:
A squash
Those getting right included:
1. Carol Brown
2. Renee Skocdopole
3. Laura C. Prater
4. Kristy O’Neal-Nelms
5. Jonathan Weary
6. Susan Young Mock
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