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Howdy Homemade Ice Cream: Employing Special Needs People.
Because of widespread prejudice, few firms hire special needs people.
But in Dallas, four-year-old Howdy employs about 12 special needs people, ages 16-31, including one of them, Coleman Jones, now a vice president.
48-year-old Tom Landis, whose mother had polio, started Howdy with the intent of hiring as many disabled people as he could. And not just at Howdy.
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His Texadelphia cheesesteak sandwich shops also employ disabled people.
At Howdy, they warmly greet and serve customers, wash tables and dishes, sweep floors, clean restrooms and put out the recycle and the garbage.
"So many of my employees have been overlooked and underestimated their entire lives," Tom told People magazine, "and that's unacceptable. I wish that I could hire them all."
"When somebody is put into a loving environment where they are socially accepted, they will flourish and grow, and that benefits everyone," Tom continued.
"It might take longer to train somebody with a disability, but the payback is incredible."
"My employees are friendly and loyal and we have a zero-turnover rate. When they're given a chance, everybody wins."
The passion of its employees was summarized for ABC News by employee Anne Marie Carrigan, 22, who has Down syndrome and had been repeatedly rejected for work.
But she didn't give-up, got hired years ago at Howdy, and now runs the cash register. Her advice:
"Never take no for answer. Grab what you are passionate about and make it happen."
Editor's Note:
See Howdy Homemade in action: See them on Facebook. To learn more, click here. Howdy also has a Salt Lake City store.
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Trapped atop an isolated 4-story high waterfall, his desperate note in a water bottle brought his and his party's rescue.
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