IDB Employment Specialist receives Commissioner's Award PR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              Contact:       Shoshana Hebshi
Oct. 9, 2009                                                                                                          515.281.1338
 
Iowa Dept. for the Blind Job Placement Specialist receives Commissioner’s Award
 
DES MOINES, IA – Brenda Criswell, a job placement specialist with the Iowa Department for the Blind, received the Commissioners’ Award today during a ceremony at the state Capitol for her work in helping blind and visually impaired Iowans seek and retain competitive employment.
 
The award is presented as part of the Governor’s Annual Awards Program through the Iowa Commission of Persons with Disabilities and in conjunction with Disability Employment Awareness Month.
 
Criswell was chosen to receive the award for her 31 years of dedicated service in her role at the Department for the Blind. She works as a liaison between employers and blind and visually impaired clients seeking work, often using her persistence and personable demeanor to place clients in well-suited, career-oriented jobs.
 
“The Commission is honored to be bestowing this award on Brenda Criswell,” said Jackie Wipperman, disability counselor with the Division and Commission of Persons with Disabilities. “Brenda puts those ideals into action every day in the work she does.”
 
Criswell’s co-workers filled rows of chairs during the afternoon ceremony. Joe Weigel, who nominated Criswell, said she is an inspirational person, whom he uses as a model for his own work. “She positively impacts all who are around her—clients, co-workers, service providers and employers,” said Weigel, a rehabilitation counselor for the Department for the Blind. “She has never-ending energy, and she is dedicated to the Department.”
 
Criswell said she felt honored and humbled to have received the award, saying, “It is a joy to do what I do. I see this as not really about me, but as a reflection of all of us who work in the business of bettering the lives of persons with disabilities.”
 
Criswell added that it is essential to promote equality in the workplace, and these awards highlight the accomplishments of breaking down barriers and getting people back to work who want to work.
 
The Department for the Blind celebrates 50 years of integrating its many services and providing Iowans with exceptional vocational rehabilitation and independent living services. The milestone will be honored Oct. 30 and 31 with an Open House and Transportation Forum in Des Moines.
 
For more information about this award or the Iowa Department for the Blind’s vocational rehabilitation services, contact Shoshana Hebshi, communications specialist, at (515) 281-1338 or Shoshana.Hebshi@blind.state.ia.us. Find out more about the Department at www.IDBonline.org
 
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