Wisconsin

AgrAbility of Wisconsin has had a great start to the new year! Staff attended the Midwest Farm Show January 14-15. A drawing was held for show attendees to win a back-saver grip shovel handle. This proved to be an effective way of drawing people into the booth, enhancing outreach efforts at the show, and collecting information from those interested in AgrAbility services.

Manuel Lugo, friend of AgrAbility and retired DVR counselor, passed away at the age of 67 on January 27th. Throughout Manuel's career in DVR he was a pioneer in technology and innovation. He assured a focus on the DVR job seeker. He had a passion in raising the standard of service to not only meet but exceed expectations. He treated all staff in his leadership position with dignity and respect, and he built the foundation that helped DVR achieve its best performance in 40 years. He made a substantial difference in the lives of persons with disabilities across the state of Wisconsin. Thousands of individuals have benefited from his contribution to the program. After his retirement, Manuel had established his business, Manuel H. Lugo Consulting Services. His latest contract was with Easter Seals Wisconsin with their Agricultural Assistive Technology Project. He provided training nationwide to increase vocational rehabilitation employees' cultural competency and preparedness to assist farmers with disabilities. He will be dearly missed. The full obituary can be found here: http://www.cressfuneralservice.com/obituary/132403/Manuel-Lugo/

Submitted by Hannah Gerbitz