Marriott Foundation Honors Three Employers, Student

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities recently honored three area employers and one graduate of its “Bridges…from School to Work” progam at its annual gala, which raised over $550,000 for youth programs. The gala was held at the Marriott Wardman Park hotel. Over the past 12 years, more than 950 area employers participating in the Bridges program have facilitated successful school-to-work employment opportunities for 1,790 high school youth with disabilities. Richard Marriott, chairman of Host Marriott Corp. and the Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities, was joined by U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch and Lou Holtz, head football coach for the University of South Carolina, to salute the four honorees who included: the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, named Employer of the Year; the office of Dr. Granville Small, D.D.S., P.A., Small Business Honoree of the Year; John McIlveen, director of human resources for the American Institute of Cancer Research, Leadership Award Honoree; and Corisa Davis, Bridges Graduate and Youth Achievement Award Winner. “The common denominator with all of our honorees is that they are generating ‘win/win’ situations,” Marriott said. “Employers gain talented new employees for their workplace, young people gain an avenue to a productive and fulfilling future, and all of us gain from living in a society that draws upon the talents of all of its citizens.”