Promoting the Hiring of Persons with Disabilities

(l-r) Mark Gruenheid of the GVBLN; Kimberlee LoCicero, HR Director of the Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver; Mark Wafer, Guest Speaker

The GVBLN held its annual Employer Recognition Breakfast on November 3, 2010 at the beautiful Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver.  The event was well attended by business members and invited guests. 

Our guest speaker, Mark Wafer spoke of his work in promoting the hiring of persons with disabilities through his own efforts as owner of seven Tim Horton’s franchises in the Greater Toronto area, and through his involvement with Rotary at Work, a program he has developed in Canada and abroad.

Mr. Wafer discussed the challenges he faced in finding employment from personal experience as he is deaf, and walked the audience through some do’s and don’ts  in the pursuit of an inclusive workforce.  The presentation was very well received and positive comments have been flooding in.

Also present at the event were three successful GVBLN clients who have found work through the program.  They have all been featured on the new GVBLN promotional DVD which was premiered at the event.  The DVD was filmed and edited by Marc Murray of CTV.  It too received praise from those who attended the event.

This year’s Best Practices Award was presented to the BIV Media Group for their long standing involvement with the GVBLN and their commitment to hiring and promoting persons with disabilities in their organization.  Dennis LeBlanc, Operations Manager, accepted the award on behalf of BIV.  His message to the audience members regarding hiring staff through the GVBLN was “just try it – you’ll be pleased with the results”.

Special thanks go out to the Shangri-La Hotel for providing the venue and breakfast; TD Canada Trust, Home Depot and Canada Safeway for covering extra costs, providing door prizes, gifts and volunteers; and the BC Centre for Ability for sponsoring Mr. Wafer.