From left to right: NDSC Executive Director, David Tolleson, Area VP and JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort GM, Steve Hart and NDSC Board President, Marilyn Tolbert (Photo credit: JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort)
PHOENIX – The National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC) presented the 2015 Employer of the Year Award to Marriott International during the NDSC’s annual awards banquet at JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort on Saturday, June 27. Marriott was honored with the same award in 1989 for the company’s commitment to training and hiring individuals with Down syndrome and other disabilities. This is only the second time in NDSC’s 43-year history to recognize a company for the second time as an Employer of the Year.
The recent accolade was given to Marriott International for its continued focus on providing meaningful work for individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities. Area Vice President and JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort General Manager, Steve Hart, accepted the award on behalf of Marriott International.
“Marriott’s commitment to positive internal measures, as well as its ongoing work with the Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities should be points of pride for the organization’s associates worldwide,” said David C. Tolleson, Executive Director to NDSC.
The Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities is a not-for-profit organization established in 1989 by the family of J. Willard Marriott, founder of Marriott International. The foundation’s mission is to foster the employment of young people with disabilities. A program was created to pair recent high school graduates with jobs of local employers and then continues to work with the youth after placement to help them grow and advance within their career.
About JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa
The largest luxury resort in Arizona features 950 guestrooms (including 81 suites), 240,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, 10 dining experiences, Marriott’s first Revive Spa – a 28,000-square-foot facility – eight tennis courts and four acres of elaborately landscaped pools including the Lazy River with serpentine slide, two championship golf courses and Wildfire Golf Club. JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa is located where Phoenix meets Scottsdale, just 20 minutes north of Sky Harbor International Airport, with easy access to the Loop 101 freeway.
JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa is located at 5350 E. Marriott Drive in Phoenix.
About JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts
JW Marriott is part of Marriott International’s luxury portfolio and consists of beautiful properties in gateway cities and distinctive resort locations around the world. These elegant hotels cater to today’s sophisticated, self-assured travelers, offering them the quiet luxury they seek in a warmly authentic, relaxed atmosphere lacking in pretense.
JW Marriott properties artfully provide highly crafted, anticipatory experiences that are reflective of their locale so that their guests have the time to focus on what is most important to them. Currently, there are 69 JW Marriott hotels in 25 countries; by 2016 the portfolio is expected to encompass more than 90 properties over 30 countries. Visit us online, jwmarriott.com, @jwmarriott and facebook.com/JWMarriott.
