Dingman Wins State Award

Two Iowans and two businesses were honored yesterday (Wednesday) for their work to overcome challenges in finding work, barriers like physical or intellectual disabilities, mental illness and homelessness.

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In a video for the Iowa Job Honor Awards, Burlington repair shop owner David Dingman says he couldn’t be a mechanic fulltime due to a workplace injury, so he hired recovering alcoholics, ex-cons, and people with little experience.

Dingman and his shop, T & D Repair, are among those being honored at the Iowa Association of Business and Industry Conference, underway in Cedar Rapids. The other employer being honored is Winnebago Industries in Forest City. It’s the first year for the awards. Program director Kyle Horn says he hopes it encourages employers not to judge applicants by their past or physical and mental disabilities.

The two employee award winners are: Yvonne Rodriguez, who overcame homelessness to become an optometrist’s assistant in Sheldon, and Megan Dawson of Des Moines who participated in a Goodwill job training program and now works at Hy-Vee.