The Iowa Job Honor Awards, an initiative aimed at recognizing Iowans who have overcome barriers to employment, has announced its top honorees for 2016. The awards celebrate Iowans who have overcome significant barriers to employment and the employers who hire them. ‘Read more’ for information on the winner from Clinton.
One of this year’s success stories is Jeremiah Machuca of Clinton-click the link to watch the video presentation from the Iowa Association of Business and Industry.
Link: Jeremiah Machuca video
‘Read more’ for further information on the awards.
Sharing employee honors is Michael Bean of Spirit Lake. Diagnosed at an early age with mental illness and chronic drug addiction, Bean’s barriers to employment made it unlikely he’d ever succeed in an integrated employment setting. Defying the odds, he’s now successfully employed at Rosenboom Machine & Tool in Spirit Lake. “It definitely builds character to recover from an addiction,” affirms Bean, “It makes you grateful for what you have, because most of us lost everything.” Along with the obvious benefit of gaining a dedicated employee, human resources generalist Craig Van Drunen observes “It’s very rewarding to know we’re not just giving somebody a paycheck, but we’re giving them an opportunity to get their feet back on the ground and make another life for themselves.”
Machuca and Bean each received $500 cash prizes and engraved crystal awards.
In the employer category, Owner Revolution in Atlantic and The ReWall Company of Des Moines were honored for their commitment to hire disadvantaged candidates, including people with developmental disabilities, past criminal convictions and histories of addiction. Heather Link, human resources manager at Owner Revolution, believes that people who overcome barriers often make exceptional employees. “They value this opportunity so much. They’re doing something that matters, and they’re valued. And to me, that’s success.” Jan Rayman, CEO at ReWall, agrees: “We’ve struggled to find people who would do a good job and show up every day, so we quickly arrived at the conclusion that it’s not about their background, it’s about their present and future. We want to be the company offering second chances.”
Lead sponsor of the Iowa Job Honor Awards is ManpowerGroup. Sponsors for the June 14 celebration included Iowa ABI and Central Iowa Works. Launched in Iowa in 2014, the awards are expanding nationally under the banner of America’s Job Honor Awards.
“Our society celebrates lottery winners, movie stars and professional athletes,” notes founder Kyle Horn. “We rarely hear inspiring stories of individuals whose lives are transformed through the hard work and perseverance that leads to meaningful employment. It’s time for a new kind of hero.”
About the Iowa Job Honor Awards:
The Iowa Job Honor Awards celebrates Iowans who overcome significant barriers to employment, and the employers who hire them. IJHA’s mission is to rekindle hope and energize the work ethic across Iowa, through the celebration of a new kind of hero. Lead sponsor of the Awards is ManpowerGroup, world leader in innovative workforce solutions. Honoree videos can be viewed at www.JobHonor.org.
About ManpowerGroup
ManpowerGroup® (NYSE: MAN) is the world’s workforce expert, creating innovative workforce solutions for more than 65 years. As workforce experts, we connect more than 600,000 people to meaningful work across a wide range of skills and industries every day. Through our ManpowerGroup family of brands – Manpower®, Experis®, Right Management ® and ManpowerGroup® Solutions – we help more than 400,000 clients in 80 countries and territories address their critical talent needs, providing comprehensive solutions to resource, manage and develop talent. In 2015, ManpowerGroup was named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the fifth consecutive year and one of Fortune’s Most Admired Companies, confirming our position as the most trusted and admired brand in the industry. See how ManpowerGroup makes powering the world of work humanly possible: www.manpowergroup.com
About the Iowa Association of Business and Industry
The Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) has been the voice of Iowa business since 1903. Its mission is to provide a strong, unified voice to business and industry on issues affecting Iowa employers. ABI is comprised of 1,500 member companies of all types and sizes in all 99 counties employing more than 310,000 Iowans.
