FSACentral is proud to once again celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month by featuring people with disabilities who are out in the workforce.
Jacksonville resident Megan Bell Fricke has worked most of her adult life, and for the past six years, as an assistant at the Jax Chamber (Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce).
Prior to landing this office job in downtown Jacksonville, Megan worked at Publix where she learned customer service skills. She sees moving to the Jax Chamber as a next step in her career and is very thankful for a job where she gets to dress up and meet with professional people as she greets members and prepares the conference room for meetings. She also enjoys special events the Chamber puts on and being included in workplace social gatherings. "They are really nice and treat me nice," Megan said.
Megan's advice to anyone with a disability looking for a job or a new position with more responsibility, is that they should ask for help from a trusted friend or advisor. A job coach at the Arc of Jacksonville helped Megan connect with her employers.
In addition to working hard on the job, Megan is a self-advocate in her community. She is the president of FL SAND's self-advocacy group in south Jacksonville, Voices of Advocates Reaching the Community.
In celebration of National Disability Employment Month, we are re-posting this article about Megan and her work at the Jax Chamber: JAX Chamber 'opening up opportunities' for people with intellectual or developmental differences (jacksonville.com)