A Message From The Director

I have taken a moment in my day to try to offer all of my friends who
are challenged with a disability a word of encouragement for the coming
year. I will try to keep my message short. This is the story about a guy
whose goals and dreams were cut short by a late onset disability. His
career as a high-level management sales representative whose promotion
to the Baltimore Washington area as a regional manager ended in a flash.
The company placed him in other positions until the company went
bankrupt. He spent several years at home while his wife became the wage
earner, the nurse, and the mother to their three small children. The
years were filled with griping about the world and the way it was for
someone in his predicament. Searching for answers or someone who could
help with his problem and life.

Two very special people helped to get him out of the rut he was in. The
first showed him how to get the churches attention to the need of the
disabled. The church shortened a few of the pews so a person in a
wheelchair could sit with his family instead of alone in the back of the
church. On the heels of this success his second special friend arranged
for him to visit local business organizations with the same goal in
mind. It worked.

This launched him on a friendly but active career to change the world
for those of us who were challenged with a disability. Many agencies and
individuals joined him to change things for the disabled community. He
wasn t the first or last to join this movement. It was exciting and
worthwhile and eventually led to employment opportunities for him and
some of his friends. He never thought much about his own problem as he
was to busy climbing the mountain of change for the disabled community.

Without thinking, he noticed he was able to do things he wasn t able to
do for many years. For some unexplained reason his failing health began
to improve. He did not look for reasons why but merely left it to a
greater power then he knew.

He became the director of the Monmouth County Office on Disabilities
where he could continue to help others, who perhaps didn t have two
friends to help them, as he was fortunate to have. If you haven t
guessed by now this is my story.

I am proud that this office gives challenged people a chance to help us
and in turn help themselves. These stories and many more will be shown
on the
<a href="http://www.monmouthhumanservices.org/disabilities/">Monmouth
County Office on Disabilities Web Site</a>. The web site is all about us
and others who you will get to know. Join us and learn about a young lady,
<a href="http://home.att.net/~ysinger/">Yvonne Singer</a>, who together
with my friend, Mr. Luis Navarro, were able to put our web site in
place. Please join us at our web site so we can get to know each other.
I wish you a most happy New Year 2003.

Your friend,

<A HREF="mailto:[log in to unmask]">Alex Buono</a>