1980s
The Full Story
1983
SourceAmerica opens a new national headquarters building on Cedar Lane in Vienna, Virginia.
Also in 1983, the Javits-Wagner-O’Day (JWOD) Program statistics continued to demonstrate dramatically the need for expanding employment opportunities for people with disabilities. By year’s end, more than 8,600 individuals were employed on JWOD contracts in producing work centers. A regional office was added in the Northwest, specifically in Seattle, to help meet the growing need to bring NISH’s (now SourceAmerica) service closer to the community.
The 1983 National Conference program was held in Orlando, Florida and—for the first time—the Program was expanded to run three days.
1984
The NISH National Conference was held in San Francisco, California. NISH had grown to a staff of 67 employees and a Regional Office was established in Atlanta. An important innovation occurred this year—the creation of an interest-free revolving loan fund to assist Work Centers with capital investments.
Both the Defense Logistics Agency and the Air Force Logistics Command initiated major programs of support for JWOD in 1984. The Council of Work Centers joined with NISH in conducting the first of the regional seminars which have become so popular in recent years. Last, but far from least, the word “computerization” found its way to NISH’s lexicon, as a member of the staff brought in a Commodore 64. We’ve expanded our system a bit since then!
1985
Mardi Gras was the theme for the NISH National Conference in New Orleans from March 17 – 20, 1985. John D. Kemp, Director of Affiliate Relations and Resources for the National Easter Seal Society, set the tone in an excellent keynote address.
A new NISH National Award, the Distinguished Service Award, was presented for the first time, and went to the Honorable Clyde C. Cook, Director of the Office of Procurement and Supply of the Veterans Administration, who had served as Chairman of the CPBOSH (now the U.S. AbilityOne Commission) for seven years. The award recognized outstanding contributions to the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Program and people with disabilities that it serves.
The Program continued to grow, providing employment for 11,432 people with disabilities, more than double the number employed only five years before. Work Center sales under JWOD rose to $95.4 million, an increase of $10 million from the previous year. A total of 241 Work Centers in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico were producing under the Program by the end of 1985.
1986
First military resale item, pipe cleaner, added to Procurement List. Custom Manufacturing is the producing agency.
Army Materiel Command issues a new initiative which describes a high level of commitment and support to AbilityOne projects.
Interest-free loans to nonprofit agencies surpass $250,000.
The NISH National Conference hopscotched back to Florida—this time Miami. In the NISH Board of Directors meeting held in conjunction with the conference, the Board created a new national award in recognition of Senator Jacob K. Javits to be presented to a legislator who makes an outstanding contribution to the JWOD Program and the community of people with disabilities it serves. This award and the continuing achievements of the people served by this Program represent a living memorial to one of our nation’s strongest advocates for people with disabilities.
Coincidentally, on June 1 of 1986, the Federation of the Handicapped began its new JWOD custodial service at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City—an office complex named the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building. More than 100 people with disabilities were to be employed on the contract.
1988
50th Anniversary of the original legislation creating AbilityOne.
Defense Logistics Agency creates a long-term contract initiative to facilitate employment and steady production of supplies for the government.
12,297 people with disabilities work on SourceAmerica projects.
Records fell by the wayside in 1988, on a variety of levels. The National Conference continued to grow in 1988, reaching an all-time high of 637 attendees. Held in Orlando, Florida, the conference also drew the largest assembly of procurement officials ever for a NISH conference. It was only appropriate, then, that the Keynote Speaker was James Barone, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Contracting and Manufacturing for the U.S. Air Force Logistics Command. He delivered an exceptional message which drew upon both his procurement background as well as his personal experience with disability issues.
The 1988 Conference marked the second presentation of the Distinguished Service Award, this time to Charles W. Fletcher, who was retiring from Federal Service after sixteen years as Executive Director of the President’s Committee.
This year’s accomplishments are reported in detail in the 1988 NISH Annual Report, to be distributed at the 1989 National Conference. But we’ll repeat the most important figure in the report here—12,297. That’s the number of people with disabilities who were employed on JWOD contracts in 1988.
