[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5529]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       40TH ANNIVERSARY OF FRIENDSHIP INDUSTRIES OF HARRISONBURG

 Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, today I would like to recognize 
Friendship Industries, of Harrisonburg, VA, for 40 years of service to 
persons with disabilities in Harrisonburg City and Rockingham County.
  Friendship Industries has been a pioneer in the community since its 
inception. The mission of the nonprofit social service agency is to 
develop and maintain employment and training opportunities for persons 
with disabilities. Clients of the agency begin with a program called 
Work Adjustment. This program assists trainees with disabilities in 
their adjustment to a real work environment occurring within a 
supportive and sheltered atmosphere. The individual learns appropriate 
work behaviors and skills while developing the highest productivity 
internally as a sheltered employee, and sometimes gets placed into 
competitive or supported jobs in the community.
  Friendship Industries started with 8 young men with mental 
retardation and has since grown to provide services for over 120 men 
and women with differing degrees of mental retardation, mental illness, 
and/or physical illness. The agency's financial contribution to the 
community has increased as well. Starting with a mere $20,000, the 
budget of Friendship Industries now approaches $4 million. It employs 
20 staff to run the program, and contributes over $3.6 million to the 
Harrisonburg area through wages, contract services and job training and 
services.
  Mr. David Flick, president of Friendship Industries since 1976, has 
been instrumental in the growth and success of the program. With his 
leadership, the agency has expanded the access and breadth of the 
program by providing transportation to interested trainees and by 
forming a network of friendly area companies. I commend David for his 
unwavering support and passion for helping the disabled get back to 
work in the Shenandoah Valley.
  I congratulate Friendship Industries on 40 years of dedication to 
improving the lives of persons with disabilities, and wish them 
continued success for many more years.

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