Honoring the 'champions' of disabled employees

ETTRICK -- Dante Murphy was born premature, at just one pound and nine ounces, leading to an upbringing that involved a lot of physical therapy to develop his motor skills.

Around the time Murphy was in fourth grade, teachers recognized that he also had a disability and failed to reach certain benchmarks. He also had a lisp, which shied him away from having conversations with people.

Despite those circumstances, Murphy is coming into his own. He is now employed by Standard Motors in Disputanta, helping stock vehicle parts and keeping the facility functioning smoothly.

Murphy and Standard Motors are just one example of the success stories that the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) hears on a daily basis. DARS serves around 20,000 employees and hopeful workers across the state, helping find them jobs that are beneficial to them and their employers.

DARS recognized four employers Monday for stepping up to the plate and being a "champion" for people with disabilities. Dinwiddie County, Skookum Contract Services and the Petersburg YMCA were all honored with Standard Motors, along with their respective employees.

"My son is a very intellectual young man," said Murphy's mother, Tieshsea Murphy. "In the last three years Dante has grown so much ... he has legitimate conversations that he never had before, and he was so scared to talk to people."

Standard Motors described Murphy as a tireless worker. He usually knows what his bosses need done before they even ask. When they do, it's unheard of that they have to ask a second time for things to get done. His upbeat attitude and willingness to try new things has become his calling card at Standard Motors.

"The exciting thing about his story with us is that it's still ongoing," said Alan Griffin of Randstad, the on-site team at Standard Motors. "Taking on all the duties he's earned so far, he's now on production quotas, and he's on his first step toward full-time employment with Standard Motors."

YMCA-goers may recognize employee James Geter. YMCA Executive Director Marco Callender said his story was one of perseverance.

Geter started working there helping with towel service. That ammenity got cut, so he moved to cleaning windows on the front of the building. Then last year the YMCA renovated the entire front of it's building, and nearly all of it's windows that Geter cleaned. YMCA worked to outfit his wheelchair with an attaching mop. Now he is an integral part of keeping every inch of the modern facility clean, from it's exercise rooms to its hallways.

Callender said Geter is an unmissable personality around the Y. The two but heads over their sports football sports rivalry between the Redskins and the Cowboys.

"He has his uniform on, he has his name badge, but then he wears this Cowboys lanyard, I keep telling him you're out of compliance," Callender joked. "He just rolls by my office, and looks at me as he's going by."

Likewise Dinwiddie County was recognized, along with employee DiAngelo Savage. He started out working in the Parks and Recreation Department when he was in high school. Around the time he graduated, the department came together with DARS as Savage started showing difficulties keeping up with a role that wasn't conducive for him.

"So many things were coming at him, the challenge of life itself, trying to figure out which way to go, how to make money, what to do, and also part of getting his first job, these were some of the challenges he faced," said J. Rayfield Vines, III director of Dinwiddie Parks and Rec. "We had to get our support teacm together, saying here are some of the things I'm, having challenges with and continuing to work with him. It's going to take some time for him to get it, so eventually we worked together to get to the point where we did."

Savage has now moved into the public works department, cutting the grass at the baseball fields, meshing with his huge love for baseball at a facility that he always admired so well. He also has his grandfather as a coworker, to add and extra layer of support.

"He has a passion for people and he's just the sweetest young man in the world," Vines said. "You see that radiating through his smile. When he comes in, he's just happy and that helps us when our days are rough and we're feeling it bad. You see him smiling and you can't help but smile."

Skookum Contracting Services was also recognized. The company has hired 85 workers over the past seven years working in tandem with DARS. Their employees maintain the grounds at Fort Lee.

DARS Workforce Development Specialist Donna L. Grumiaux said that these companies are thinking outside the box in order to fill their workforce needs, putting their trust in DARS to bring them qualified pre screened candidates. DARS provides counseling, goes with candidates to interviews, and supports them after they've gotten the job.

"Most of the employees I work with do not have the ability to advocate for themselves," she said. "I know that they're good workers but they don't have the ability to go out and sell themselves, so I go out and become their voice."

A lot of that involves problem solving. One example of that is a "situational assessment," or having a potential employee work the job for a trial period to prove they have what it takes to do that role. DARS also works to follow up with companies after employees are placed to make sure that everything is going according to plan.

Referencing Savage in Dinwiddie, Grumiaux said. "At times, he faultered, he slipped. We came together to say 'Look, what can we do here, what can we do to make you successful?'"

The award ceremony recognized four individual stories from companies with multiple success stories among them.

Murphy said that he doesn't view his disability as a hinderance, just a learning curve, that he shows up and does the same work as everyone else, just with different solutions to make it happen.

"Do not let the past define you," Murphy said. "If you stay with the past, you will not be able to become your true future self."

Sean Jones can be reached 804-722-5172 or sjones@progress-index.com

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