Success Stories

Current Edgar Award Winners

Each year Goodwill of the Heartland celebrates the exceptional achievements of a select group of program participants and team members through the Edgar Awards – named after Goodwill Industries International founder and former Iowan Edgar J. Helms.

We are proud to introduce you to our most recent batch of award winners and honored to share their stories of hard work, determination and self-discovery.

Josh Klein

Day Habilitation Achiever of the Year

As a full time participant in the Day Habilitation program in Iowa City, Josh is rarely seen without a smile upon his face. His positivity and kindness have truly bloomed as he has tackled his long-term goal of increasing his ability and comfort with communication.

Josh no longer needs to rely on staff to communicate his wants and needs when in a community setting. This increased confidence has made his time in day habilitation more enjoyable and educational, as well as increased his overall daily living independence.

Bianca Clark

Supported Community Living Achiever of the Year

During the past year, Biana met or exceeded a number of goals she’d been working on for several years. For instance, she is now effectively managing her own finances after previously experiencing a rights restriction in this area. Working with Supported Community Living team members, Bianca opened communication with the third-party representative payee overseeing her finances. She not only learned more about how her money was spent but understood what expectations should be met so she could resume control.

Because she wanted more community engagement, Bianca learned to use public transit and now can travel independently to where she needs to go. She also is more diligent in managing a medical condition, focusing on exercise, quitting smoking and consistently taking her medications.

Richard Bideaux

Trainee Achiever of the Year

After the death of a father-figure, Rich remained in the left behind residence so that he could care for the friend’s animals. He needed a hand up so he could access stable housing, life-saving utilities and employment.

After visiting with Goodwill Veteran Services, Rich began the work necessary to obtain his driver’s license, completed the Retail Training Program at the Rock Island Store and applied for permanent employment. Although the process was lengthy, Rich was patient and obtained housing through a federal program for military veterans.

David Colborn

Townsend Employment Achiever of the Year

Since 2011, Dave has been a valuable part of the Allsteel team. His original goals of adapting to workplace culture, communication and routine flexibility have been realized.

Dave, who is an incredibly reliable worker, openly accepts changes to his routine and added responsibilities. Whether or not he is accompanied by a job coach, Dave is able to complete his duties as well as those of his peers who need to call out. In addition, Dave has a proven track record of consistency, making him a role model for his peers.

Rif Throckmorton

Helms Family Award Achiever of the Year

Federal Contracts Manager Rif Throckmorton oversees federal custodial contracts and often pitches in at work sites, including the Coralville Reservoir, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, Davenport Corp of Engineers office, Davenport U.S. Courthouse and the Iowa City Federal Building. He develops bids and negotiates contract pricing as well as hires and trains people with disabilities to perform valuable work.

During the recent pandemic, Rif’s job was made significantly more difficult. Not only did cleaning and sanitation crews need to switch their routines to adapt to additional safety requirements, but some locations closed, creating scheduling challenges. Regardless of the road bumps Rif has encountered, he has remained steadfast in support of his team and the necessary work they provide.

Over the last year Bobby has made impressive gains in the areas of working independently. With the help of checklists, Bobby has been able to lessen the need for constant supervision, which allows him to feel more independent, capable, and helpful to those in his departments.

He takes great pride in his job and numerous times each day will state how much he loves to work.  From the beginning of Bobby’s time with Project SEARCH until now, he has grown from having little interaction or concern for others’ well-being to openly showing interest.  Bobby has also shown exceptional growth in his communication skills.

Bobby’s improvement and accomplishment of his goals over the past year has truly been an outstanding achievement.

In the past, Brian would break personal belongings or be unsure of how to advocate for himself. Now, he comes in and will ask which staff he is with and picks his activities ahead of time.

Brian has overcome technology barriers as he was unable to make a phone call without hanging up on the person and use basic technology.  He now can get the tablet, get it started, and get to the screen he needs to be on.  He can make phone calls with assistance and can engage in a short conversation.

When Brian walks into the building, he will greet and initiate with peers. He communicates when he does not understand the activity and will ask peers for help.  Brian strives to work on his goals each day.

When Josh first started at Hy-Vee, his job coaches were doing a big portion of his job for him. With the support of his job coaches and team, Josh made great strides towards working independently in his job.

Josh now walks to his work area using his sight cane and only verbal guidance from his job coach rather than physical guidance. Josh memorized how many of each item go on a tray, and each time tray quantities change he almost immediately memorizes the new quantities. Josh has even improved his social skills, interacting with his coworkers and supervisors regularly with encouragement from his job coaches.

Josh showed incredible growth in 2020. He is now even able to spray trays with cooking spray even though he cannot see them. The progress made by Josh exemplifies the qualities celebrated in our Townsend Achiever of the Year Award.