Ten Washington employers honored for hiring people with disabilities

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Ten Washington employers honored for hiring people with disabilities

OLYMPIA – The Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues & Employment (GCDE) honored 10 Washington employers last week for their exemplary work recruiting, hiring, retaining and advancing workers with disabilities.

The Washington GCDE hosted its 32nd annual Governor’s Employer Awards on Oct. 18 at the Kitsap Conference Center in Bremerton. They honored small employers (one to 99 employees), medium-sized employers (100 to 499 employees) and large employers (500 to more than 2,000 employees).

Recipients of the 2024 Governor’s Employer Awards Program are:

  • Mr. Fix Auto Service, Grandview - Youth Employer of the Year
  • Central Washington Disability Resources, Ellensburg - Small Nonprofit Employer of the Year
  • Washington Vocational Services, Everett - Small Nonprofit Employer of the Year
  • The Hearthstone at Green Lake, Seattle – Medium Nonprofit Employer of the Year
  • Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland - Large Nonprofit Employer of the Year
  • ProStar Insurance, Bothell - Small Private Employer of the Year
  • POSDATA Group, Inc., Gig Harbor – Small Private Employer of the Year
  • Allegro Pediatrics, Bellevue - Medium Private Employer of the Year
  • Red Robin (Division 3 Marketing Team 2), Federal Way - Large Private Employer of the Year
  • Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, Richland – Large Private Employer of the Year

Direct Support Professional of the Year Award

The committee also acknowledged Renae Voth with the Direct Support Professional of the Year Award. Voth is an employment consultant in the Skagit County office of Washington Vocational Services (WVS).

In only three years on the job, Voth is known for her success in connecting people to jobs. Her success rate is high even though most of the people she helps live in rural areas where employers are not plentiful, and transportation is often a barrier. As a result of her success, WVS often calls on Voth to help with caseloads in Whatcom, Snohomish and Island county offices.

About the awards and GCDE

Washington businesses, agencies, organizations and individuals submitted the nominations. See a list of all nominees on the Employment Security Department website. A panel of GCDE members, business representatives and previous award recipients selected this year’s honorees.

“This year, Washingtonians nominated 30 employers for these esteemed awards,” said Yvonne Bussler White, chairperson of the GCDE Employer Awards subcommittee. “This recognition highlights how hiring a diverse workforce leads to business innovations, benefits and improvements for all employees."

The GCDE advises the governor, Legislature, state agencies and other policy makers on issues important to people with disabilities.

For photos of the award recipients, see the Flickr photo album. For interviews with the award recipients, email media@esd.wa.gov.