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Disability no barrier for Busy Beaver greeter

Steve McDade greets customers Eric and Mandy Edwards of East Liverpool at the new Busy Beaver store in Calcutta. (Submitted photo)

CALCUTTA — There’s a new Busy Beaver store in Calcutta, and new friends to meet for Steve McDade in his role as greeter. But that’s not the only reason he likes holding down a job.

“I like making money,” he said when asked why he likes to work, “and meeting a lot of nice people.”

“He has always had lots of friends and gets along with everybody,” said his mother, Patricia McDade. “He is a very friendly person and loves talking to people.”

Jonathan Wagner, general manager of the new Busy Beaver at Calcutta, Ohio, said Steve has become a staff favorite. He works half-days on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Steve, 52, has almost always held a job since graduating from East Palestine High School in 1985, including more than 20 years for Gorby’s Grocery in Negley. Five years ago he started working at Employment Development Inc. in Calcutta (EDI South), a service provider for clients of the Columbiana County Board of Developmental Disabilities (CCBDD). He worked last fall for the 1820 Candle Co. in East Palestine, a seasonal job he expects to do again as the company prepares for this Christmas season. This summer Steve was working for the Keeping In Trim company on a lawnmowing crew when the Busy Beaver opportunity came up.

“Busy Beaver is new here and was willing to work with us,” said Shirley Bowald, employment development manager of Reach 4 More, a jobs program of the CCBDD. “We hear all the time what a good worker Steve is.”

Bowald said they had a willing employer and a willing potential employee, but no regular way to get him to work in Calcutta from the McDade home in the Rogers area. Steve’s connection to EDI South paid off when EDI Executive Director Jacob Lawton stepped forward. “He was willing to transport Steve on these couple of days a week, so it worked out,” said Bowald. She said that transportation “is such a challenge” when it comes to finding employment for CCBDD clients.

Steve lives with his parents, Bill and Patricia McDade, at their home just north of Rogers. Bill is a retired mechanic for the railroad.

Steve loves to follow his favorite pro sports teams – the Cleveland Browns and Indians – and often goes with his sister to Pittsburgh to see the Pirates. He bowls on an EDI team that is about to start a new season.

Hiis mother said Steve has a strong work ethic. “He’s not one to just sit around doing nothing. He likes to help people and he wants to feel worthwhile. He likes being able to make money”

This Busy Beaver store opened in July, occupying a large facility which was a Kmart for many years. This past January, Reach 4 More recognized the Busy Beaver in Salem for hiring a person with developmental disabilities, and noted at that time that Busy Beaver’s 21 stores in the region were honored by Goodwill Industries in 2018 for its job-shadowing program and employment policy for those with disabilities.

A staff of five at Reach 4 More works to place Columbiana County clients with developmental disabilities in jobs within their local communities. For more information about Reach 4 More, people may contact Shirley Bowald, Paul Anthony, or G.R. “Hawk” Miller at 330.870.4272.

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