NELSON HOOPER ACHIEVES NYSID’S MOST PRESTIGIOUS PEOPLE-CENTERED HONOR
In its eighth year, NYSID’s Joslin Awards Program annually recognizes Outstanding Performers as submitted by our member agencies, with 367 individuals celebrated over time. From this year’s group of 54 New Yorkers with disabilities achieving personal success, Nelson Hooper of F•E•G•S was chosen to receive the final William B. Joslin Outstanding Performance Award at our annual membership meeting in Sept. 2011.
Nelson came through the F•E•G•S Porter Training Program after referral from ACCES/VR (formerly VESID)
in 2004 and was placed as a custodian at the Perry G. Duryea State Office Building in Hauppauge. A resident of the Bronx, this presented a great challenge to Nelson in the form of more than two hours of commuting on both ends of his day. Yet he’s achieved perfect attendance over seven years, outside of rare weather delays, an exemplary trait for any employee. “Although he travels 2½ hours, he gets here early and is anxious to start working even before his shift starts,” said Nelson’s F•E•G•S Supervisor, Mike Fahey.
It didn’t take long for Nelson’s work ethic and dedication to become apparent to his co-workers and supervisors, and even the State Office Building’s superintendent, who recommended him for the Joslin Award. In 2007, Nelson was promoted to team leader, directing a crew of two to four people in ensuring efficient and effective completion of the daily work routine. Walking the hallways of the state building with Nelson, you can’t help but be impressed with how the state agency tenants appreciate his consistent customer service efforts and engaging nature.
Through the Preferred Source Program, Nelson has learned professionalism and respect for others as well as himself.
“I love my job because every day is a challenge and a new experience,” he said. A video about Nelson can be seen at www.nysid.org and on our Youtube channel, NYSIDcreatesjobs.
Congratulations, Nelson, for epitomizing the NYSID job creation mission in a most meaningful way.
Read about even more 2011 award-winning people.
DEAR NYSID MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS: 
We are pleased to share with you the highlights of one of NYSID’s most successful job creation years. The employment challenges faced by New Yorkers with disabilities are especially acute during volatile economic times, making this year’s gains that much more gratifying. Thank you for doing your part!
In this difficult fiscal climate, the efforts of our network of 163 member agencies and private sector business partners in providing opportunities for individuals with disabilities to pursue meaningful work and careers – along with the support of our valued Preferred Source customers and the NYS legislature – has never been more important. Individuals with disabilities make incredible contributions to New York’s economic health each and every day. NYSID member agencies and private sector business partners successfully providing solutions to state and local government agency customers are proof that harnessing the employment power of people with disabilities makes good business sense.
Bottom line, NYSID jobs help improve our state’s economy and strengthen communities in every part of the state, a responsibility which we all share. 
Yet while we’ve achieved important job creation milestones this year, we also know that the challenges we face moving forward will be significant, and will require us to advance innovative strategies and cultivate new partnerships. With roughly 1 in 10 New Yorkers classified as having a disability, addressing the employment challenges among New Yorkers with disabilities while simultaneously helping state and local governments meet their procurement budgets plays a critical part in our state’s economic recovery.
Thank you again for your unwavering commitment to working with NYSID to meet these challenges, getting us closer to the important shared goal of a future where all New Yorkers with disabilities have the opportunity to be fully engaged members of our community.
Stephen Towler, Chairman
Ronald P. Romano, President & Chief Executive Officer
NYSID JOBS STRENGTHEN OUR STATE
Karen Toma, Center for Disability Services (Albany)
NYSID member agencies act as established economic engines throughout New York State communities, from sprawling urban areas to rural counties. In many cases, our member agencies are the largest employment opportunity available to surrounding residents, jobs for New Yorkers with disabilities and for those who support them.
Together, we are a collection of small businesses that serves as a united force for “Turning business opportunities into JOBS for New Yorkers with disabilities.”
At a time when numerous New York State businesses are struggling with marketplace losses, the 2011 NYSID job creation team of member agencies and private sector business partners met challenges head-on and sought new ways to support state and local government purchasing budgets.
New Opportunities
NYSID’s success in the Preferred Source marketplace has been built on decades of customer satisfaction. While many individual contracts have been in place for a decade or more, we also keep pace with technology in meeting our customers’ needs. Ultimately, this creates new jobs and broadens the career paths of Preferred Source workers.
Well over 500 new jobs were created this year from new contract relationships, including:
• 80 new custodial positions at the NYC Human Resources Administration
• 60 new digital imaging jobs at the NYS Office of the State Comptroller
• 75 new office temps for the Metropolitan Transit Authority
Increased Livelihoods
NYSID Preferred Source contracts employed 6,534 people in 2011, with individuals earning a total of $46.7 million in wages at a weighted average hourly wage of $12.90. Both figures are highest-ever wage indicators for New Yorkers with disabilities, a business performance measure which easily illustrates how job opportunities for New Yorkers with disabilities benefit New York State.
Those increased wages are then spent by taxpaying community residents in support of our state’s fiscal health:
New Yorkers supporting New York!
NYSID JOBS STRENGTHEN OUR STATE
Quinyon Payne, Rehabilitation Support Services (Altamont)
NYSID JOBS MAKE CONNECTIONS TO BETTER LIVES
NYSID jobs suggest something different to each New Yorker with a disability.
To some individuals, becoming employed on a Preferred Source contract is a first chance towards earning a livelihood. To others, their skills and self-confidence have grown over the years through new employment challenges and more independent living arrangements. All of them provide communities with services and products that are necessary for local economies. Their paychecks are a driving force as they develop self-respect and appreciation for their abilities, like any employed individual.
Workers with disabilities on NYSID contracts are a skilled cross-section of our state’s workforce. They are men and women of all ages. They reflect the changing landscape of diverse cultures. They are veterans returning to the workforce with newfound challenges.
We recently celebrated and recognized 54 ‘Outstanding Performers’ as nominated by NYSID member agencies and private sector business partners [opposite page]. “In their own words,” these New Yorkers give eloquent voice to what a NYSID Preferred Source job means:
“I am able to pay my bills and support my family. I like the people I work with, and I enjoy being a porter.”
~Anthony Gutierrez, NYSARC, Inc., NYC Chapter
“Hard work pays off. It got me to feel good about myself.”
~Justin Brower, The Arc, Oneida-Lewis County Chapter NYSARC, Inc./Progress Industries
“I never thought I would be nominated for an award. I just do my job and enjoy it.”
~Sandra Brown, J.M. Murray Center
These simple words speak to the ultimate worth of Preferred Source jobs: individual opportunity to succeed as an employed New Yorker.
Justin Brower, The Arc Oneida-Lewis County
Chapter NYSARC, Inc./Progress Industries (Utica)
NYSID JOBS GROW FROM A STRONGER NYSID
The 2011 job creation momentum is reflective of NYSID’s organizational strength and continued measures towards being competitive in the Preferred Source marketplace and beyond. Our mission to turn business relationships into employment for a deserving population of New York’s workforce will always present challenges and obstacles. Conversely, opportunities to improve employability of the individuals we serve and support the economic viability of New York are easily within our grasp.
Lorraine Hubbell, Ontario County Chapter NYSARC, Inc./Pathways (Canandaugua)
We initiated a new Interest-Free Revolving Loan Fund for member agencies (excluding corporate partners) looking to develop a new or expand an existing Preferred Source service offering, to support job growth. The new loan program will assist members in diversifying their businesses, and help others take on a first Preferred Source service contract. Loans may be used to assist with a portion of the costs that are incurred in performing Preferred Source services, including new equipment, supplies, transportation, and the initial cash flow (up to six months) to cover payroll. We’ve made it possible for members to borrow up to 50% of the required funding of a project, not to exceed $50,000, for a maximum of five years interest-free. What’s more, NYSID will absorb the first year of the loan repayment, so that ultimately members repay 80% of the borrowed amount in years 2-5.
In prior years, we have provided financial assistance to members looking to strengthen their manufacturing operation in the form of a matching grant, a program which remains available to commodity-producing members. As an example this year, we awarded Ontario County Chapter NYSARC, Inc./ Pathways a matching grant of $12,000 to purchase new state-of-the-art bottling equipment that helped increase overall efficiency in meeting customer demand for product, and allowed even those with the most significant employment challenges to take part in the operation.
We also took first steps towards exploring private sector markets by selling Preferred Source incontinent briefs from The Arc Otsego and other products to individuals and small businesses. This dovetailed nicely with improving commodity purchases and encouraging NYSID members to purchase from one another, which resulted in $100,000 in member-to-member sales, and ramped up operations through our Distribution Center, now in its sixth year.
In another move towards engaging private sector customers and growing jobs for New Yorkers with disabilities, we became a distributor of the SteamJet mobile vehicle washing machine which we plan to lease or sell to members and associate members to wash vehicles, shopping carts and other hard surfaces. Our vision is to facilitate mobile vehicle washing businesses among NYSID members across New York State, for both private and public sector customers, yet another skill set improvement for New Yorkers with disabilities.
Wayne Parks, Continuing Developmental Services/Unistel (Rochester)
We began engaging in social media through Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, for the purpose of a two-way ‘communication community’ within our 163-member network, reaching out to customers and prospective customers, legislators, government officials, small businesses in New York State, and others who have a stake in creating jobs for New Yorkers with disabilities. Through “real-time” events involving New Yorkers working on NYSID contracts, the story of how individuals are affected and changed by employment is brought to life in a most meaningful way.
Plans for next year include furthering these measures, as well as tapping into support from higher education centers in creating assistive technology that will benefit the lives of New Yorkers with disabilities. Our CREATE competition – Cultivating Resources for Employment with Assistive Technology – will partner teams of college engineering students with NYSID community rehabilitation member agencies to explore and design innovations that create greater access to employment or a greater quality of life through computer access, devices or systems that support greater earning potential, and more.
Lewis Gallup, Community, Work & Independence, Inc. (Glens Falls)
NYSID has helped serve as an economic force for employed and empowered New Yorkers with disabilities for several decades, and will continue to do so. The strength of our member-partner-customer team in taking existing collaborations and capabilities to new levels will power us towards the vision of:
10,000 Jobs By 2015!
NYSID JOBS ARE ALL OVER NEW YORK STATE
The 2011 Member Agency Employment report is based on Quarterly Employment Report data as supplied by NYSID member agencies for the period of July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011. PDF
NYSID JOBS DEVELOP FROM SUPPORTIVE CUSTOMERS
STATE AGENCY CUSTOMER OF THE YEAR
New York State Office of the State Comptroller
Thomas P. DiNapoli, State Comptroller
In order to meet a vital mission of service to New York State government operations at all levels and to taxpayers, the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) takes advantage of contract opportunities through the Preferred Source Program. One of OSC’s most critical areas of responsibility is administering the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) for public employees, more than one million members, retirees and beneficiaries and more than 3,000 employers. In recognizing the importance of turning voluminous paper retirement records into electronic files, NYSLRS entered into an agreement with NYSID in 2011 for six years’ worth of digital imaging services.
Due to the highly sensitive nature of the records, document scanning operations were established onsite at NYSLRS in Albany. Staffed by New Yorkers with disabilities from NYSID members Northeast Career Planning and Schenectady County Chapter NYSARC, Inc., with the support of NYSID private sector business partners Focused Technologies and Image Data, respectively, 60 new NYSID jobs were created for Capital District individuals with disabilities. Over the course of this first year of the ongoing project, over 125,000 retirement folders have been completed. Ultimately, the retirement records scanning project will top out at more than 2.1 million digitized records when complete in 2016.
In addition to the new contract, NYSLRS’ Riverview Center location in Albany is cleaned by a team of two custodians from The Altamont Program, a contract which has been in place for more than five years. OSC’s total 2011 NYSID procurement was also bolstered by the purchase of office products, janitorial items and custom apparel.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY CUSTOMER OF THE YEAR
New York City Department of Correction
Dora B. Schriro, Commissioner
The NYC Department of Correction, through its annual purchase of various commodities for Rikers Island, supports the vocational training and job creation efforts at NYSID member agencies. Rikers Island, a 400-acre complex of 10 jails with a combined capacity of some 12,700 inmates, utilizes numerous NYSID products in the course of its day: uniform apparel items, handsoap, toothpaste, dishwashing liquid, adult incontinence products, and examination gowns, all of which provide employment to New Yorkers with disabilities. In addition to the steady purchase of Preferred Source products, New Yorkers with disabilities employed by Fedcap Rehabilitation Services, Inc. in Manhattan provide custodial services at the Correction Academy and Health Management Division.
The 2011 total Preferred Source procurement by the Department of Correction was more than $900,000 in goods and services which make the Department of Correction an important contributor to NYSID’s fiscal health.
NYSID JOBS ARE MEMBER-DRIVEN AND PEOPLE-CENTERED
2011 MEMBER AGENCY OF THE YEAR
ACHIEVE and Country Valley Industries
Broome-Tioga County Chapter NYSARC, Inc.
Mary Jo Thorn, Chief Executive Officer
ACHIEVE and Country Valley Industries (CVI) have reaped the benefits of NYSID Preferred Source employment opportunities since 2003, partnering with Bates Troy, Inc., a Binghamton-based private sector industrial laundry company, to bring new skills to the New Yorkers with disabilities working at CVI.
The first laundry contract was in support of SUNY Health Science Center in Syracuse, and since then they have added eight additional contracts for the Greater Binghamton Health Center, the Broome County DDSO, numerous nursing homes, and other care facilities. These contracts provide a stable setting for individuals who thrive in the production center setting.
2011 marked another new venture for CVI’s workforce in the form of a partnership with SOURCECORP BPS, Inc., also a local private sector business. Under this NYSID Preferred Source contract, CVI workers with disabilities are employed in the community at the SOURCECORP office, preparing incoming mail for the NYS Workers’ Compensation Board in order to be electronically scanned.
Both Bates Troy and SOURCECORP have proven to be outstanding partners with the ACHIEVE organization in employing New Yorkers with disabilities to support customers and the local economy. All together, ACHIEVE/CVI Preferred Source jobs enhance the livelihoods of 289 Binghamton community members.
EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR
Carrie Bishop
Carrie Bishop is a member of the industrial laundry folding team at ACHIEVE’s Country Valley Industries employment center, where she has worked for the past 12 years. Carrie works to the best of her ever-growing abilities, despite the challenges of Cerebral Palsy, developmental disabilities, and a seizure disorder.
Initially very shy and with extremely limited communication and vocational skills, she struggled with interpersonal skills and adapting to change. When the opportunity to join the laundry folding team was presented, Carrie agreed to try something new.
Today, Carrie works diligently on the folding operation because she knows hospital and nursing home patients depend on it. She maintains perfect attendance and takes great pride in a job well done. The Preferred Source Program has made it possible for Carrie to make considerable employment strides and widen her social contacts.
“I feel good, happy and proud [about the award].”
Carrie Bishop
2011 MEMBER AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Seneca Cayuga Counties Chapter NYSARC, Inc./Seneca Cayuga Industries
Kevin Smith, Executive Director
Seneca Cayuga Counties Chapter NYSARC, Inc. delivered on 14 contracts for NYSID products and services throughout Fiscal Year 2011, continuing a momentum of job creation through Preferred Source opportunities that began more than 20 years ago.
From its first NYSID janitorial contract for the NYS Thruway Authority in 1988 to a 2011 groundskeeping agreement at the local NYS Division of Military and Naval Affairs building, Seneca Cayuga Industries has grown to be a key employer for New Yorkers with disabilities and those who serve them over two counties.
In addition to maintaining customer satisfaction on the above contracts, Seneca Cayuga workers were on the job in 2011 at the Central New York and Finger Lakes DDSO sites, the Elmira Psychiatric Center, and the Dick Van Dyke Addiction Treatment Center. What’s more, Seneca Cayuga’s on-site production team completed orders for wooden rulers and mesh laundry bags, also NYSID Preferred Source items – a total of 11 Preferred Source jobs for New Yorkers with disabilities in 2011.
EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR
Sylvia Kellogg
Throughout a 17-year association with the Seneca Cayuga agency, Sylvia Kellogg has grown tremendously in vocational and personal independence.
Today, she is a custodian for the agency’s Preferred Source contract at the Dick Van Dyke Addiction Treatment Center, where she is recognized as a hardworking, extremely dependable individual. The center’s staff has gone on record as considering her a ‘part of the family.’
Sylvia is quick to commend the Seneca Cayuga agency support team as a reason for her success. But through her own determination, she provides an outstanding role model for the entire Seneca Cayuga Industries workforce in support of Preferred Source customers.
“Thank you to NYSID for the job opportunity at the Dick Van Dyke Addiction Treatment Center. Since I began working there, I have learned more about myself. I have also developed longstanding friendships and have been able to earn an increased wage.”
Sylvia Kellogg
2011 CORPORATE PARTNER OF THE YEAR
American Maintenance
A. Christopher Alex, Presiden
American Maintenance is a private sector provider of custodial services, which began a successful association with NYSID in 2004 to leverage marketplace expertise in support of Preferred Source customers, growing jobs in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties.
Working in partnership with NYSID member agencies F•E•G•S and NYSARC, Inc., NYC Chapter, American Maintenance has grown from employing a single New Yorker with disabilities to providing more than 100 jobs at the close of Fiscal Year 2011.
The Preferred Source customers who are being served include a number of SUNY Stony Brook campus buildings, numerous Long Island DDSO group homes in Nassau and Suffolk counties, SUNY Purchase, SUNY Westbury, Westchester Community College, and the Brookhaven Town Hall, the largest town in the state of New York.
As the first recipient of ‘Corporate Partner of the Year,’ American Maintenance clearly sets a standard for performance and belief in job creation for New Yorkers with disabilities.
EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR
Maicol Cordoba
A custodian at the Town of Brookhaven town hall in Farmingville, Maicol Cordoba is a key player in the success of this complex janitorial contract. When this important customer switched to day cleaning services, the American Maintenance cleaning team became part of the daily landscape of the town building.
Maicol is considered the top performer in providing a first-class level of customer service, from keeping floors and windows clean to buffing floors and making offices shine. This requires great attention to detail in cleaning floorspace and offices without interrupting workflow. He has overcome the challenges of being an amputee, mastering cleaning tasks with efficiency and a positive attitude that is admired and commended by the building tenants and American Maintenance management.
“I love my job. It makes me independent from my family. I never thought I would be recognized for anything in my life.”
Maicol Cordoba
2011 REPORT OF CONTRACTS HELD BY NYSID MEMBER AGENCIES
OFFICERS
Chairperson Stephen Towler NYSARC, Inc., NYC Chapter
Vice Chairperson Robert W. Schwartz Schwartz Heslin Group, Inc.
Secretary Jacqueline Gentile The Altamont Program, Inc.
Treasurer Francoise Dunefsky Gateway Community Industries, Inc.
Immediate Past Chairperson James Flanigan Rensselaer County Chapter NYSARC, Inc. (retired)
President & Chief Executive Officer Ronald P. Romano
BOARD MEMBERS
Mohsen Badran Goodwill Industries of Greater NY/Northern NJ
Christopher Burke Northeastern Association for the Blind
Henry Cohen U.S. Foodservice/SOFCO Division (retired)
Kevin Crosley Herkimer County Chapter NYSARC, Inc.
Michael Decker Liberty, the Montgomery County Chapter NYSARC, Inc.
Carolina Cordero Dyer The Osborne Association
Alan Krafchin Center for Disability Services
Jack K. Manganello Phoenix Frontier, Inc.
Donald Siegel, Ph.D. SUNY at Albany
Frank Coco Ex Officio, VESID
Counsel Nixon Peabody LLP
CORPORATE OFFICERS
President & Chief Executive Officer Ronald P. Romano
Controller Margie L. Castellana
Human Resources Director/Attorney Eileen McCarthy
Vice President of Business Development Andrew J. Grosso
Vice President of Business Operations Tim Mott
Vice President of Contract Administration & Quality Management Karen L. DiBella
Vice President of Sales Joseph Messina
Back row: Christopher Burke, Carolina Cordero Dyer, Kevin Crosley, Henry Cohen, Michael Decker, Alan Krafchin, Donald Siegel. Front row: James Flanigan, Francoise Dunefsky, Stephen Towler, Ronald Romano, Jacqueline Gentile, Robert Schwartz. Missing from photo: Mohsen Badran, Jack Mangenello, and Frank Coco.
Above, Left to Right:
Kirk Playford, Schoharie County Chapter NYSARC, Inc./Toe Path Industries (Schoharie)
Nicholas Gouvakis, Focused Technolgies (Albany)
Carmela Fish, Rehabilitation Supoprt Services (Altamont)
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