The Fairfield Inn by Marriott in Manhattan, Kansas, today received the “2003 Outstanding Business” award from InterHab, The Resource Center for Kansans for Disabilities, for demonstrating continued and notable support in the hiring and development of people with disabilities.
Working through Manhattan’s Big Lakes Developmental Center, Fairfield Inn has provided employment and employment training opportunities for more than 25 people with disabilities since 1999.

“Marriott, through its ‘Spirit To Serve’ culture, has a tradition of supporting programs that put education, job readiness and workplace training within the reach of everyone,” said Brad Everett, general manager. “We take care of each other and our guests as if they are our own family; our Big Lakes associates have become a valuable part of our Fairfield Inn family over the past four years.”
Rob Hoskins, community employment manager for Big Lakes Developmental Center, said, “Fairfield Inn’s support of people with disabilities reaches beyond their 25 employees from Big Lakes. Brad Everett and his staff have also demonstrated an ‘above and beyond’ outreach by providing valuable insight and education to other perspective employers.”

Everett noted that the company`s commitment to the employing people with disabilities led to the establishment of the Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities. The Foundation`s “Bridges from School to Work” program, which operates in six major U.S. cities, works with young people exiting special education, and with local employers, to develop mutually beneficial job placements. Since the program launched in 1990, Bridges has placed more than 6,500 youth into competitive employment with over 1,500 different employers, and eighty-nine percent of those who successfully complete the program receive offers of ongoing employment.
The 98-room Manhattan Fairfield Inn, at 300 Colorado Street, is one of more than 500 Fairfield Inn hotels in the U.S., and provides clean, comfortable rooms at an affordable price.

Big Lakes Developmental Center, Inc., established in 1973, is a private, nonprofit organization serving individuals with developmental disabilities in Riley, Geary, Clay and Pottawatomie counties in Kansas.

InterHab, a statewide resource network for people with disabilities, has been a vital advocate for Kansans with disabilities and the professionals who serve them for more than 30 years.
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC. (NYSE:MAR) is a leading worldwide hospitality company with over 2,600 lodging properties in the United States and 68 other countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Ramada International brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club International, Horizons, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Marriott Grand Residence Club brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers. The company is headquartered in Washington, D.C., has approximately 128,000 employees, and was ranked as the lodging industry`s most admired company and one of the best places to work for by FORTUNE®. For more information or reservations, please visit the web site at www.marriott.com.
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