Gerald Homme: Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition and Technology at Bender Consulting Services

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host, Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guests, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Hi everyone, welcome to the show. I hope everyone is doing well today. And hello to all of my friends around the world. Yes, Singapore is still in second place next to the United States, and it keeps going up. Singapore, whoever you are out there, you are just so awesome. Now listen, I need you to go to other organizations. You know I live with epilepsy, so an epilepsy association or a disability rights Rights organization and tell them about this show. You know why? So Singapore can move up, up, up, up, and that way I can have one of you on my show. So yes, I have done shows at night, other you know, and pre-recorded whatever I had to do. So. You're, you know, you're awesome. Okay, so we have these 143 countries with listeners, but today I want to talk about number 36, Pakistan. Pakistan, you're growing in listeners. I am overwhelmed by that. I want to just thank you so much for your dedication. I know it's remarkable what you're doing. So I just wanted to say thank you. And then of course, all of my listeners, all of my other listeners, I mean, I love all of you. And in one minute, I have a big announcement, but first, my shout out. To Yoshiko Dart. Hello, Yoshiko! And as you know, Yoshiko, over 10 years ago, lost her husband Justin Dart, the great Justin Dart. Yoshiko is now carrying the torch. I love her so much, and I'm gonna make sure you remember. Who he is, and make sure you remember who Justin Dart is. So anyway, thank you and thank you, Highmark. What a great company you are, Highmark. What a great company you are supporting this show all this time. I just can't thank them enough. Hats off to David Holmberg, Karen Hanlon, and. Everyone at the top, 3rd largest insurer in the United States. And you know what I have to tell you about them? They hire people. And folks, that's where the rubber meets the road. Now, before I talk about that part a little more, I want to talk about— in a few days, it's October 1st. Can you believe it? unbelievable. And it is National Disability Employment Month. That's what I call it. I know the full name is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, but hey, we've had enough awareness in this country. Let's start hiring people with disabilities. So that's what I wanted to talk about for a few minutes. You know, we could celebrate this forever. We could put posters up. We can do webinars. We can have trainings to celebrate next month. But you know what? That's not what's important. Employment is what's important. And in case you don't know, 70% of people with disabilities are still not counted in the workforce today. 70%.

I mean, That's shameful.

And here I am, the CEO and founder of Bender Consulting Services, and I have been fighting the fight for 31 years. That's when I started the company in 1995, only 5 years after the ADA was signed into law, and it wasn't implemented to the next couple years. So, you know, I was there. It was horrific. It was like 90% of people with disabilities were not counted in the workforce. But if you had said to me then, Joyce, in 31 years, it will be 70% not counted in the workforce, oh, I wouldn't have believed it. I would not have believed it. I would have Thought 50 was large. You know, what is the deal here? I'll tell you what it is. It's stigma. People are afraid of people with disabilities. You all know my story. I, when I was growing up, I had these weird faints. And when I got in my 20s, they were worse. And when my husband and I went to the doctor, He misdiagnosed what was wrong. He said, "Oh, that's just some female hormonal problem." Can you believe that? Now, what a bizarre thing! But guess what's worse? I believed him. Why? I was in my twenties. He's a doctor, so I assumed well he would know. But he didn't know. And in 1985, I went to see. The movie Amadeus. And at the intermission of the movie, I had a seizure and I hit the floor so hard I fractured my skull, had an intracranial brain hemorrhage, broke the bones in my right inner ear, and I was rushed to the hospital and had life-saving brain surgery. And against all odds, I had this miraculous recovery. I mean, imagine you go to a movie theater and you end up having brain surgery because see, when I fractured my skull, I had an intracranial brain hemorrhage, a subdural hematoma to be exact, which resulted in a craniotomy. And then guess what? Surprise, surprise. I got the news. Joyce, you're living with epilepsy. Now I have to tell you, when they first told me, I thought, oh no. Oh no, because I had a real strong feeling how people would think about epilepsy, which of course I was right about that then. But I started taking medication. Way back then it was Dilantin, now it's Lamictal. And that I'm very lucky because that has pretty much, you know, kept all seizures away. But I do take it every day. Well, do you know that 1 in 26 people will have epilepsy in their lifetime? 1 in 26. But you see, people are ashamed to admit they live with epilepsy because of the stigma attached. And I am not demon possessed. I am not. And I do not have a mental health disability. But epilepsy is the most misunderstood of all Disabilities. So that's how it all started. And when I come back, I'm going to tell you a little bit more about that night. But right now, I'm going to go to break. If you just joined us, this is Joyce Bender telling her story. On Disability Matters at voiceamerica.com. Don't go away, I'll be right back.

At Highmark Health, we believe what makes us unique makes us better. Our differences broaden our perspectives and foster a variety of skills to complement each other, creating a stronger and more more vibrant workforce. It's this belief that earned us recognition as the best place to work for the 10th year for individuals with disabilities in a survey by the American Association of People with Disabilities and Disability:IN. We'll continue to celebrate and benefit from the inclusion of all people. To find out more, visit HighmarkHealth.org.

Since 1985, Bender Consulting Services has served as a national leader in advancing employment of people with disabilities including veterans with disabilities, with private sector companies and federal government agencies. Bender assists customers with achieving their diversity and workforce inclusion initiatives by tapping into a talent pool of individuals seeking professional positions, including those in the STEM fields. In addition, Bender services include disability employment consulting, training in technology accessibility through their HI-TEST line of service. For more For more information, please visit www.benderconsult.com.

Streaming live, the leader in internet talk radio, voiceamerica.com.

You're listening to Disability Matters. Now please welcome back the host of Disability Matters. Here's Joyce Bender.

Well, welcome back, and I hope you're enjoying my story. And I will be having someone join in a couple moments that's part of that story. But as I told you, okay, so that night at the movie theater when I had that seizure, of course I was unconscious. And my husband came out of the men's room and he was, oh my God, hysterical. Oh my God. Uh, but do you know a doctor came out of nowhere? I mean, he just appeared and he told my husband, I'm a doctor, let me take over. And he did. And he called the hospital, paramedics, everything. He called everyone and stayed with me until the ambulance came. This is who saved my life. Now, I was just looking at the Reader's Digest article from years ago where they talked about this. You know what they said?

No.

Her angel at the movie theater. I never found this person. He got up, left. We never found him. Now, since then, I know you all know I've received the President's Award at the White House from President Clinton, an award from the Bush administration at the Department of Labor, worked a lot with the Obamas and President Biden. But that's not all. I've been on TV. Uh, national newspapers. I speak everywhere for 31 years. Never found her. Isn't that amazing? That was my angel at the movie theater. That is what I think. But what happened after that is I got back to work. And what I did for a living was executive search, executive search and information technology. And when I got back, there was a school here in— well, it wasn't a school, it was a program at Allegheny Community College, the Institute of Advanced Technology, that trained people with disabilities how to be COBOL developers. So you know this, guess what? The majority had college degrees, but they went back. To get this experience. Remember I told you earlier how horrible the unemployment rate was? One of those people was Jim Homie. I'm gonna come back to that. What ended up happening? Well, we could talk about this a little later, but Highmark, the sponsor of this show, is the company that stood behind me to get started. But when I went to that school, I met this gentleman. He's blind. And oh, I was so impressed with him. I said, I'm gonna— this is who I'm gonna try to help personally, try to help. And, you know, getting a job if you're blind was, oh, forget it. It's hard enough today. It was horrible back then. And it's so funny. I said back then, We're going back now. We're going back to before I even had started Bender Consulting Services. I was doing this just as a volunteer helping this school. And I said, Jim, when you go on an interview, you have to wear a gray pinstripe suit, white button-down shirt, burgundy tie, and black shoes polished. You know what? When he did come in to interview in my office, That's exactly how he was dressed. Exactly what I told him. And I did end up finding employment for Jim. And he still works for me today. And he worked for quite a while at Highmark and then came back to work with me again. But I have someone now I want you to meet as the story continues. And that would be Gerald Helmy.

Gerald Helmy.

And Gerald, would you mind sharing with everyone how you know me?

Hi, Joyce.

And what you do right now.

Thank you, Joyce, for having me on the show. First, I have to share something with you. So, you know, I keep this little page-a-day verse, Bible verse and prayer calendar on my desk, a gift from our friend and colleague Paula Balog. As you were talking about the angel in the movie theater, for the first time I flipped, finally got a chance to flip to today's. And it's Psalm 121:3. He will not let your foot slip. He will watch over you, will not slumber. So you've— he maybe missed on the slipping part because he definitely fell, but he's definitely watching out and watching over you, Joyce.

Wow.

All the time. So I had to share.

Gerald, you always surprise me.

So I had to share that with you really quick here.

Uh, thank you. Thank you for doing that.

Yeah, well, thank you, Joyce, for having me on the show once again. It's always a pleasure to be on here and an honor to work here as well. As Joyce shared, my father, Jim, the very first person with a disability that Joyce ever placed into a job. And, you know, the impact that had on me as a child, you would not believe, because, you know, growing up, my dad was the bread earner for my family. And to put that in perspective, I was born in 1990. I was born on Friday the 13th in July, which is why 13 is my lucky number, because 13 days after I was born, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law. And here I am while the ADA is being signed into law. My father already works into, uh, in IT. So growing up, my, um, mother took early retirement because my grandmother got sick. She moved back into the house with us and my mom took care of her and we were okay. All this was only possible because my dad not only had a job, he had a competitive—

Competitive.

job. He worked in information technology as a software developer, and we got to live the American dream. I still remember in 2000 when we were going on our first vacation to Disney World, the first time I got to go to Disney World, and it was time to get a new family car. We went shopping for all these cars, and all the salesmen ignored my blind dad and just sold to my mom. And were really frustrated that my mom didn't work. And finally one asked her, well, how are you going to pay for this car? And my dad spoke up from the back seat and said, well, I have a job. And as a child in the 4th grade, when I got diagnosed with dysgraphia, when they started teaching, um, cursive and I couldn't learn the cursive, and I went from a straight-A student to a straight-D and F student because they graded me on my handwriting skills. So even though I was getting all the right answers and rewriting my hand— right, my assignments till like 2 in the morning every night trying to get them legible for my teachers, they told my parents I was lazy. I knew they were wrong, not me, because I knew what was right. Because every year I would go to this fantastic company picnic, the Bender family picnic, where I would go there and I would see all of these successful people with disabilities who worked, that worked for Joyce or were placed by Joyce at a company. I would hear the stories of how having a great attitude would make you successful, like the story of Tony DeBase. A man whose disability was he had 9 heart attacks and still had an incredible attitude.

Mm-hmm.

And that carried with me throughout my life. And luckily in high school, I got the chance to start an internship working for Joyce 2 days a week after school. And that was it. I never left. Now, 19 and a half years later, I'm still here and I get to lead the teams that do our work. Placing people with disabilities into jobs all over the U.S., mentoring people in their roles, running technology behind the scenes that keeps the Bender machine moving, helping with that piece. I have what I like to call a nice collection of hidden disabilities, including dysgraphia. I've got dyslexia, PTSD, anxiety disorder, depression, migraines, And boy, do I love working here. It's so incredible that every day what my father got, what we got as a family, that I get to fight to give other people with disabilities that chance at the American dream for them and their families. I'm eternally grateful to be on this crusade with you, Joyce. And it means the world to me.

And now here you are, Senior Manager, Talent Programs and Acquisition. He's a leader here at Bender Consulting. And look what he's doing now. He's giving back.

And still happy to make the coffee and shred the documents or whatever else it's needed to.

Yes, that's right. That's right. But you know what? One of the reasons I wanted Gerald is because of that attitude. Grateful, humble, but you know, he didn't have to do all of that, what he was telling her. But he did, never complained, he did it all. Uh, and that meant so much to me. And Gerald, if you recall, I went to a dinner. You were not working for me yet. I went to this dinner in Harrisburg. I think it was with Secretary Johnny Butler, the Secretary of Labor under the Ridge administration. And Mary Paula and I, we sit down at this table, and this man looks at me and he says, what do you do? And I told him, and this is when I first started, so I only had 6 employees with disabilities, one of which was Jim, Gerald's father. And I said, well, I just started. And I told him, he said, 6? We have 400. I thought, wow. Wow. I'm embarrassed. Look at this guy. I said, you have 400? What? Yes. And they're all blind. I said, what? I said, what do you do? Oh, we have a facility where they make brooms.

Mm-hmm.

And as Gerald will tell you, way back then, there was this thing called sheltered workshops. And sadly, although many have been closed, they have not all been shut down. And this is where they pay people with disabilities a Pittance. Maybe 10 cents. Maybe it's gone up now to a dollar. But they're paid very, very little to do work like that. So in other words, if the military called this organization and said, hey, we want to order brooms from you for all across everywhere. All of our locations are military stations. They pay this place normal money. And it reminds me of slavery. Do you know that?

Yeah.

Why did the slavery landowners, the big landholders, why did they not want To be united. Why did they want to be separate? You know why? I'll tell you why. They're greedy. Yeah, you can make a lot of cotton if you have 100 slaves working for free. Well, that's what this reminds me of.

You're right.

That's what it reminds me of.

And just think what it says to the person, right? Or just to people with disabilities in general. It's okay to pay a person minimum wage, right? But, oh, you have a disability? We'll pay you less. That means you're less than a person.

That's right. That's right. Less than. And I'm telling you, there are still some of those today. I was going to get shirts made, I told Jim, with the circle and the line through them with a broom, a drawing of a broom, because I could not believe it. But Gerald, I'm sure You heard about that from your father?

Yeah. When, you know, he went to the Pennsylvania School for the Blind, and it's a lot different now, so completely different people. So we love the Pennsylvania School for the Blind, don't get me wrong. But a long time ago when he was there, I could say that about my dad because he's my dad, but he grew up going there and, um, he was the valedictorian of his class. And they said, Jim, you're doing so well here. We see a high potential for you. We have this job in mind for you. You should go work in the broom factory. That's what they thought the great potential was for the valedictorian, a sheltered workshop job. Oh, thankfully, Joyce, you saw other potential for him when you met him in that class.

Well, that's why in 1999, When I received the President's Award at the White House from President Clinton, I only had 6, maybe 7 employees, but I was the only one in the country focused on competitive employment. In other words, they— all of my employees were working in information technology, not stocking, You know, at a Walmart or working at a pizza shop or maintenance or busboy, girl, all of that. Or like we were talking about, making brooms at a shelter workshop. That's the reason. Now, here today, I found employment for thousands of people with disabilities, but I know Our news anchor is here. It's time for Mathis on the Mic. But I also know that this person knows Tony Coelho, who was in fact the chair of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities when I received that award. So I want to tell you about Holly. Holly is our Awesome. I have no other word. Awesome. Awesome. And she is the CEO of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, bazelon.org, B-A-Z-E-L-O-N. And if you care about what's happening in this country to people with mental health disabilities that, as Holly will tell you, could be institutionalized, you will make a donation Today, baselon.org. And I'm so honored to be on the board of directors, which such a great organization and a former Pittsburgher. How much better could it be to have Jens on the show today? And welcome to the show, Holly, Holly O'Donnell.

Thanks so much for that introduction, Joyce, and I'm happy to be here. Um, I have Brendan, my brother, who, you know, is visiting and hanging out with us today. Oh, hello, Brendan.

Let's give Brendan the shout out. Hi, Brendan. Hi.

Okay.

Hi.

Um, well, thanks for having me. Um, I know, um, usually Jennifer Mathis is the person that does Mathis on the Mic, but she's traveling today, so I have the honor of being here. Hi, Gerald. So thank you so much, and thank you to everybody who is listening. In terms of the news, we have talked about Texas v. Kennedy on this news show before. I know Jennifer has talked about it, and I actually think I have too when I've substituted for her. In that case, Texas and 16 other states sued To challenge Health and Human Services Section 504 regulations that were updated in 2024. The lawsuit focused on the provisions of those regulations that are about Olmstead and the right of people with disabilities to live and receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate. Along the way, Thanks to strong advocacy from the disability community, many states dropped out. But as we've talked about on the show and people have seen in the news, in June, the Justice Department changed its decades-long position and now believes that there's simply no integration mandate in either the Americans with Disabilities Act or Section 504. So this brings us to August 31st. The Justice Department, which represents Health and Human Services in the lawsuit, joined the 5 states that were left in the case, Texas, Florida, Alaska, Louisiana, and Montana, and asked the court to vacate, which means to get rid of, the parts of HHS's 504 rule that talk about community integration. That brings us to last— when now? Last Wednesday, the court granted that request.

Oh, no.

So there will be no more references to the integration mandate in HHS's rule. It is, and we've talked about it here at the Bazelon Center. We've talked about it with our disability rights colleagues across organizations. It's shocking to see the government ask a court to eliminate its own rules and turn back on a core obligation that it has enforced for decades. And for which it's actually been the lead enforcer. But it is important to understand that the decades of law establishing the integration mandate still remain. The court ruling takes the references of the integration mandate out of the regulations, but it makes no findings on the law.

It—

so this should not stop a future administration that has a different view of the law from acting to reinstate the integration mandate into these regulations. And I will say, you know, I am not the expert that the attorneys at the Bazelon Center are. So I anticipate that Jennifer will be able to answer your questions in a much— with much more expertise and depth than I can. But that is the important news that we wanted to share with you this week.

I have just a couple basic questions. Does this mean that it's only in those states? Or because of those states, does this mean across the United States?

I think it means across the United States.

Oh, not just Montana or Louisiana.

Again, again, as you know, I've been in the depths of, um, a lot of— oh, I don't want to answer these things incorrectly.

So I saw a memo from from AAPD that said this should— is applied to all states.

Oh, yeah. Okay, next question. The law stays, what changes? Is it because there won't be money going to this, you know, supporting this? Like Pennsylvania, for example, do they have to abide by this, or would they not be able to abide by it Because of not having money, or—

I think it will depend, and I don't think it's all based on money.

Um, because that's how it hurts the most.

Mhm.

If you don't— so it's sort of like, Holly, if I understand you, sort of like the Civil Rights Act that right there on the wall behind me, uh, that photograph. That say they did something like that, they can't change the Civil Rights Act, but they could do something saying we will no longer fund programs in areas to help the underprivileged. I mean, I'm just making that up, you know, from the Black community or whatever. They could say we're not going to do this anymore. But The law would still be there. So I think if I understand you right, you're meaning if we had a new president, which at some point we will here, and they would say, oh, this is— I'm changing, they could do that. The rules—

the law has not changed. Um, so it would be a reinstatement of it again. Um, I don't know all those details. What I do know is that it is going to be really important for everybody to vote. That is what I know.

And I hope you are all listening. Remember what I've said before, that you think it could never be you, but let's look at me. I'm really very fortunate that I lived through that accident that resulted in a craniotomy. However, I could have lived and still had a traumatic brain injury, that, that which I did, but that impacted my mind, my intellect, my ability to talk. See, these things can happen to any of us. And if I had been one of those people, uh, you know, Gerald, when I spoke at that brain trauma conference this past year, I remember saying to you, well, you know, Right. I'm so fortunate, and I really want to help everyone because they had memory loss. You know, total memory, the inability to write, so many things. What could have happened? That could be me. You know, I could have been somewhere in a community home, and now I'm facing this. So why am I telling you that story? You need to vote. That's why I'm telling you, you need to vote. This could be you. You need to vote. You need to get out there and vote. Don't sit back and say, oh my God, that's terrible. I don't know what I'm gonna do. I'm telling you what to do. Go vote. That's what you need to do. And this is not good news, but you know what I always say? You have the power. You can vote. You have the power. We still have the power. Go vote. And now we need people like Bazelon. So once again, bazelon.org. There's a little donate button right there, right at the top. Holly, we love you, and thank you so much.

Thank you for having me. Bye, Brendan.

I'm saying goodbye. Bye-bye.

Bye, Holly. Bye, Brendan.

Bye.

Bye-bye. Thanks, Holly. Oh, she is so awesome, Holly. She's so awesome. And this is so terrible, Gerald.

It's awful, Joyce. It really is. I mean, to— if you need these services, the fact that you have to go into an institution to get them.

Or skilled nursing home. I mean, those states that were adamant about this, how do I know? That there will be no community living and that those people will end up and they will be in a skilled nursing facility or— yeah, this could— do you know Jennifer Mathis way back? Now I'm meaning like, let's see, uh, maybe 2022, 2023. Was telling me, I'm really worried that someday, you know, some group will try to move to the— put people in institutions again.

Yeah.

Can't remember, some senator had been talking about. Now here we are. Folks, you've got to vote.

And if you're sitting there and you're asking, where's the disability power to vote? You got— need to check out Rev Up. Rev Up is a national movement by AAPD to register, educate, use your power. Register, educate, vote, use your power. So aapd.com, you can learn about Rev Up. There's coalitions in a ton of states to connect with other voters with disabilities, and we're stronger together. We, the Bender Leadership Academy, helps run the Coalition for the state of Pennsylvania. So you can go to vendorleadership.org to join if you're in Pennsylvania, our local coalition, to learn about what's going on in our state to get the disability vote out. So bipartisan groups all over the country to make sure disability issues get voiced and our power gets used. And we have our access to vote. So.

Thank you, Gerald. Um, and we're going to go to break, but when we come back, we'll give you our final thoughts. What a pleasure it is today to be with you. If you just joined us, it has been Joyce Bender and Gerald Homi telling our stories today. Right now though, we're going to go to break before we end the show. This is Joyce Bender, Disability Matters with voiceamerica.com. I'll be right back.

Since 1985, Bender Consulting Services has served as a national leader in advancing employment of people with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities. With private sector companies and federal government agencies. Bender assists customers with achieving their diversity and workforce inclusion initiatives by tapping into a talent pool of individuals seeking professional positions, including those in the STEM fields. In addition, Bender services include disability employment consulting, training in technology accessibility through their HI-TEST line of service.

For more information, please visit At Highmark Health, we believe what makes us unique makes us better. Our differences broaden our perspectives and foster a variety of skills to complement each other, creating a stronger and more vibrant workforce. It's this belief that earned us recognition as the best place to work for the 10th year for individuals with disabilities in a survey by the American Association of People with Disabilities and Disability Rights USA. At Highmark Health, we believe what makes us unique makes us better. We'll continue to celebrate and benefit from the inclusion of all people. To find out more, visit highmarkhealth.org.

Follow Voice America at facebook.com/voiceamerica for juicy updates from your favorite radio shows and podcasts.

You're listening to Disability Matters. Now please welcome back the host of Disability Matters. Here's Joyce Bender.

Welcome back. It's me, Joyce Bender, with Gerald Homi, my manager of talent programs. But before we go any further, such beautiful music to bring us back on. Gerald, how did we get that beautiful music?

I don't know. You probably just had AI generate it or something.

No, I didn't have AI. No, I had Gerald Homie. That's who composed this. Gerald is very musically talented and plays the saxophone, but actually is also in a group. Gerald, what's the name of that group?

Oh, the Sun Champs. If you want to check us out, thesunchamps.com. We got an EP, a live album, and a regular album out there. Um, jam band if you like improvisational stuff.

Listen, is that, uh, also on Spotify and everything, right?

Spotify, Apple Music, wherever streaming music happens, and some live stuff on YouTube too.

So he wrote that, everyone. That's where I got that. Just wanted to make sure I acknowledged Gerald Happy to do it for you, Joyce. Well, Gerald, I'll tell you, we've talked about a lot of things, but you know what I want to talk about one more time? REV UP— Register, Educate, Vote. Again, run by AAPD, AAPD.com. But what about here? Bender Consulting. We have a pretty big Group here, correct?

Yeah. So in partnership, Bender Consulting and the Bender Leadership Academy runs the statewide coalition for RevUp in Pennsylvania. Thanks to you, Joyce, making sure we kick that off in PA and have representation here as part of this national effort. So we've got people from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, in Harrisburg and a bunch of other counties part of this organization, a ton of disability organizations part of this, voting-related organizations, civil rights organizations, and actual representation from our state government that show up to our monthly meetings every week to ensure the disability vote counts. to ensure that our polls are accessible and that what matters to our community, to ensure that our voices are heard and that we can vote fairly and included, happens. I mean, it's incredible when you actually get the support of your government to make sure it's included locally here in the state. So shout out to everybody, shout out to everybody on the Rev Up Coalition for their involvement in that. And what they're doing to help get that out. I know we had a big push during National Voters Week recently. So if you're interested in joining that movement, anybody can join. You just need to go to benderleadership.org and click on the Get Involved link and then Rev Up, and you can get involved.

Well, Gerald, I was Telling my listeners the big surprise, and that is that in 2027, there will be, at the end of the year, Fan of the Year.

Oh.

Fan of the Year. And the Fan of the Year is— and I'm actually— so I'll kick off the next year with this person at some point. Maybe what I'll do, I have to think this Maybe I'll end it in November so I can have them on in December. I think that is what I'll do. But the person has to have listed the top 10 radio shows to them of this year and why, and then their favorite show of all time and why. And if they win, If they've done the most, it's going to be who does the most. Because you can do more than 10, but you have to do at least 10. Whoever does the most is going to be on my radio show the full hour.

You know what I would love to hear from them, Joyce? And maybe I'm just throwing a wrench in this right away, which you mean maybe I'll be in trouble with my boss right here on this live on radio. But, uh, I'd love to hear from those fans. What are you doing in whatever country you're in to advocate for people with disabilities for employment? Because that's what this is all about. That's what Joyce's mission, her crusade is all about, the competitive employment of people with disabilities. And if you're a listener to this show, you know that. So what are you doing in your country, wherever you are, to advocate for competitive employment for people with disabilities because of this show? That's what a real fan is going to do.

Yes, that's true. No, I'm not mad at you at all.

Hey, I dodged the wrench there, guys.

Um, I mean, we have to get— we're going to get all of our rules, all of this together, and we're going to have this out Starting soon so that you can get ready because nothing's going to prevent you from starting listening to all these shows. I mean, favorite past show of all time. To win this, you have to listen to 10 shows next year. 10 shows. So, and as Gerald said, show, demonstrate your advocacy. So we'll start putting it out there. But in addition, To having you on for an hour, we're going to advertise you with PR on LinkedIn, everywhere, all the social media, our website, and Voice America. So how about that? You are going to be famous. So you know. Oh, and by the way, my email is jbender@benderconsult. If you have any questions, I'll make sure someone gets right back to you. jbender@benderconsult.com. But we're going to make you famous around the world. So, uh, look for those roles coming out soon, and you'll know what's going to happen. Hey, Gerald, what, what message you want to leave with our, uh, listeners today?

A call to action that Joyce always gives: if you can, hire someone with a disability, because that's where rubber meets the road.

That is so true. Yes, it is. Um, well, I end every show with a quote, and today I love this because it's Elizabeth Barrett Browning. And the quote is, light tomorrow with today. Oh, I love that. Light tomorrow with today. How true that is. And get ready, get ready next week. You're going to have a dynamic— hi, Mark— Jason Fauner on the show, manager, director, vice president who hires people. With disabilities. So in the words of Mary Brocker, when you get up tomorrow, choose joy. You won't be disappointed. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. Talk to everyone next week.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific Time and 2 PM Eastern Time for another installment of Disability Matters, right here on the Voice America Variety Channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. voiceamerica.com.

Thank you.