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Thursday, March 6th, Careers &amp; the disABLED Magazine along with various corporate and government dignitaries gathered at the Sheraton in Boston, Massachusetts. The purpose of the evening's events was to recognize 11 disabled individuals for their contributions to both their employers and the disabled communities they serve by recognizing them as the Careers &amp; the disABLED Magazine's Employees of the Year for the organizations they represent.

The 18th Annual Employee of the Year Award Dinner was truly an amazing event as I, was one of the eleven receiving an award. Nominated by my store manager in his 500-word essay, and the home office in Bentonville, Arkansas, I received Wal-Mart's disabled employee of the year award.<!--more-->

I am most thankful for all who have supported me in my efforts to help make life better for the disabled, including Wal-Mart, my family and friends. Without everyone's support, this evening would not have been possible. It is my hope that this will only be the beginning as I seek to continue working with Wal-Mart in order to improve the lives of the disabled everywhere through education and understanding.

It truly was an honor to share the stage with the 10 other award recipients whose efforts at their own employers had earned them similar recognition. Among the many employers represented at this year's Careers &amp; the disABLED Magazine Award Ceremony were NASA, Lockheed Martin and the National Science Foundation just to name a few.

The night's festivities also represented my first chance to talk about my many positive experiences within Wal-Mart to an audience comprised of mostly non-Wal-Mart associates. As if the honor of receiving the award were not enough, to be able to speak for the disabled working for Wal-Mart was truly an amazing experience and, hopefully, will only be the first of many times when I can share with others the progress being made to better the lives of both disabled Wal-Mart associates and disabled customers.