Westwinds Clubhouse to present VERC Enterprises with an award at its Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition awards ceremony April 10.
VERC Enterprises, a convenience store and Mobil/Gulf gasoline operator with 24 locations throughout eastern Massachusetts and New Hampshire, has been named Employer of the Year by Westwinds Clubhouse in Fitchburg.
“VERC Enterprises was selected for this honor based on its general reputation for employing those with mental illness and specifically for the support and confidence they have demonstrated to one of our members, who is employed at their Fitchburg location,” said Marcia Aucoin, director of Westwinds Clubhouse.
VERC Enterprises employee and Westwinds Clubhouse member Ryan works at the VERC Fitchburg On the Run Mobil, located at 129 Whalon Street.
Westwinds Clubhouse is one of 32 clubhouses within the Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition, a non-profit organization committed to helping people with long term mental illness find and secure employment, housing, education, services and support in the community.
Leo and Paul Vercollone, and vice president respectively of VERC Enterprises, Ryan and other VERC staff have been invited to attend the Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition awards ceremony on April 10 at the State House in Boston. The Vercollones and Employers of the Year from other clubhouses within the Coalition will receive their award during the ceremony.
Marcia Fowler, Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, State Senator Jennifer Flanagan and other members of the Massachusetts Legislature and Senate are slated to attend the awards ceremony.
VERC Enterprises is widely recognized as a leader in hiring those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In 2010, Leo and Paul Vercollone received Distinguished Citizen Awards from the Arc of Massachusetts for employing individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
“It is a privilege to be named a recipient of the Employer of the Year Award from such a respected human services coalition,” said Leo Vercollone. “We are proud of our commitment to employ those in our communities with developmental challenges; it is a commitment we plan on honoring for many years to come.”