The National Rehabilitation Association of Job Placement and Development (1995)

The purpose of this article is to provide a brief description of the history of the National Rehabilitation Association of Job Placement and Development. We will identify its founding members and their contributions, as well as trace its accomplishments up to the present. The National Rehabilitation Association of Job Placement and Development is the official name for what has been, is, and probably always will be known as JPD. As I believe JPD is still the working name of the organization, I will continue to use that term to refer to NRAJPD throughout this article. Just as vocation is the base word in vocational rehabilitation, job placement is the clear definitive objective of the entire vocational rehabilitation process. It is essential that if all services of rehabilitation are provided (education, counseling, restoration, quality tools and equipment), that there should be a job for the person with a disability at the end of that process. Therefore, JPD has, for the last thirty years encouraged, promoted, and built on the body oft-knowledge of the best practices of job placement for people with disabilities. A professional journal and newsletter, national, regional and local training sessions, and advocacy have all served as proof of JPD's value within the national organization. JPD's goals are simple and straightforward: to promote the improvement of placement opportunities for persons with disabilities, and to cooperate with other organizations and professions to achieve the maximum potential of employees with disabilities. Early History JPD was conceived by a group of rehabilitation professionals who saw a need for a division, within NRA, that would address the issues and problems they encountered finding jobs for persons with disabilities. These rehabilitation professionals frequently were senior rehabilitation practitioners and administrators who were already leaders within NRA. On October 9, 1963 Robert Eddy, Manager of Handicapped Placement Service of Goodwill Industries of Chicago, called together a group of rehabilitation professionals. These professionals represented a wide variety of employers, including state employment agencies, public and private vocational rehabilitation agencies, and President's and Governor's Committees on Employment of the Handicapped. The ad hoc committee that formed to petition NRA to admit a new division included: Robert Eddy, Goodwill Industries, Chicago, IL Margaret E. Fairbairn, Veterans Administration, Hines, IL Henry Leonard, Jewish Vocational Service, Milwaukee, WI J. S. Massenburg, Governor's Committee, Raleigh, NC Hendrich D. Mugaas, U.S. Employment Service, Washington, D.C. Louis P. Ortale, Vocational Rehabilitation, Des Moines, IA Thomas J. Skelly, Vocational Rehabilitation Administration, Washington, D.C. Following the initial meeting in Miami, the ad hoc committee aggressively pursued their goal with other meetings. On November 10, 1964, during the 1964 NRA Annual Conference in Philadelphia, the organization's first officers were elected: Robert Eddy (IL), President Margaret E. Fairbairn (IL), Secretary-Treasurer Louis Ortale (IA), President-Elect Fred Board (NY), Board Member at Large Leonard Heise (IL), Board Member at Large Seth Henderson (OK), Board Member at Large James Massenberg (NC), Board Member at Large Paul Messmer (DC), Board Member at Large John Whitaker (TX), Board Member at Large On January 15, 1965 provisional status was granted to the Job Placement Division. Robert Eddy Robert Eddy served as Chairman for these initial meetings (1964-65). He wrote hundreds of letters to NRA leaders and placement professionals throughout the country asking for their support in forming the Job Placement Division. The first year of JPD's existence within NRA provided much evidence of Eddy's leadership. In his annual report to NRA in September 1965, Eddy noted the new division had reached a membership of 224. …