Morningside

07/18/2025

Codey Winkler recently had the opportunity to tour the Sierra Pacific Industries site in Aberdeen, WA, alongside his Morningside Career Consultant, Melissa, and Business Developer, Becca. Codey had previously worked at another local mill for ten years, so he was very excited about the opportunity to see the Sierra Pacific Industries facility. This was also a nostalgic trip for Codey, whose father assisted with the facility's construction and previously worked for them as a truck driver. Codey remembers visiting the facility as a child to see his father's work.

Although Codey didn't mention anything specific being a favorite part of the tour, he did say that he could see himself shoveling chips/pellets into the boiler. Following the site tour, Melissa gladly assisted Codey in submitting an application to work at Sierra Pacific Industries' Aberdeen facility. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the work, only full-time opportunities were open, and a job couldn't be offered to Codey at that time. Codey may not have gotten the job with SPI, but he's keeping his spirits high and staying hopeful for the next opportunity that comes his way.

We are thankful to Sierra Pacific for providing us with a tour of their facility, as well as their continuous collaboration with us in other counties and support for our mission.

07/16/2025

ThurstonTalk.com recently published a story praising and thanking Tammy Van Natta, The Evergreen State College's Building Services Manager, and her team for their dedication to training and mentoring Project SEARCH interns. Congratulations Tammy! Project SEARCH and Morningside appreciate your dedication to the program and look forward to your continued support for upcoming students.

Read the full article here: https://www.thurstontalk.com/2025/04/23/the-evergreen-state-colleges-tammy-van-natta-awarded-outstanding-employer-for-project-search/

ThurstonTalk creates news stories about what it's like to live, work, and play in Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, Thurston County. Turn to ThurstonTalk for Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater news and feature stories.

07/14/2025

On July 1st, 1980, Morningside welcomed Anna Finnell. Over the last 45 years, she has experienced many changes and worked in multiple roles but has always been dedicated to coaching our clients. Anna is kind, considerate, and selfless. She truly is a wonderful addition to our team. Anna has witnessed many changes over the years, including the closing of sheltered workshops and the progress towards the elimination of 14(c) and subminimum wage for individuals with disabilities. Please congratulate her and help us celebrate her accomplishments. Thank you, Anna, for your work in changing the lives of many of our clients.

07/10/2025

During the school year, one of our Pre-ETS Facilitators, Bethany McKim, leads a weekly 'Work Readiness' course for seniors at Sequim High School. The seniors are already enrolled in a class called 'Career Readiness,' so the session complements their existing coursework well. Over the last four years, Bethany and these students' teacher have collaborated to ensure that their curriculums complement one another each week.

After a month of interview preparation, mock interviews are provided to students as part of the Pre-ETS Work Readiness workshop. For these interviews, our Pre-ETS Facilitator will often ask a coworker to serve as the interviewer from a prospective employer, usually someone who is a complete stranger to the student being interviewed. This ensures that the student has a more authentic interview experience.

Many students who participated in these mock interviews stated that being interviewed by a stranger was both beneficial and enjoyable. One student stated, "The mock interview helped me work on my confidence, eye contact, and being okay sitting in silence to think and answer questions with better accuracy. And it was overall quite fun."

05/29/2025

Gini Turner recently celebrated her 13th anniversary at O Bee Credit Union as a Branch Caretaker. Gini is responsible for ensuring her coworkers always have fresh coffee, a clean break room, and clean conference rooms. Gini also makes sure that all door handles at sanitized and plants are watered. She is still one of the longest working employees there and continues to brighten the days of her coworkers with her wonderful smile. In her spare time, Gini participates in Hummingbird Studio's Peace choir and is learning how to swing and salsa dance.

Congratulations on 13 years, Gini! We're honored we've gotten the opportunity to support you throughout the years.

05/27/2025

The Project SEARCH students recently completed a job tour at West Olympia Safeway. Managers Kameron and Tammy guided the students through the front end, main floor, produce, bakery, deli, meat department, and stockroom. The students asked the managers about working at Safeway and the company culture. Project SEARCH students learned about the various open positions and the qualifications required for each. Near the end of the tour, the students even had the opportunity to taste a delicious treat from the bakery.

Thank you, Kameron, Tammy, and Safeway, for the fantastic in-depth tour you provided for our students! We look forward to seeing you next year with the new class!

05/23/2025

Gilly Burkhart has been working at Coastal Farm & Ranch in Lacey as a Clothing Associate and recently celebrated her 3-year work anniversary. For the last three years, Gilly has been responsible for setting up and maintaining the clothing department. She removes clothing from the packaging, places the proper security tags on the items, puts them on hangers, and places them on the sales floor.

Although Gilly mainly works in the Clothing Department, she helps out in other departments with security tagging, price checks, and setting displays as needed. She even folds and puts away the clean towels from laundry service for the pet self-wash station. Gilly's hard work and dedication combined with the support of her career consultant, parents, and coworkers at Coastal Farms has helped her become a great employee. When she's not working, she enjoys modeling opportunities and spending time with her "bestie" and her family.

Congratulations on 3-years of employment, Gilly! We're excited to see what the future has in store for you. Keep up the great work!

05/21/2025

The Community Employment Alliance(CEA) invites us to participate in a new social media campaign that demonstrates to the world that people with disabilities CAN work—and thrive—in genuine employment in the community.

With Autism Acceptance Month recently wrapping up, now is the time to keep the momentum going. Recently, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services (RFK Jr.) stated that persons with autism are unable to work or fully engage in society (See full comments here: https://heyor.ca/DLdUA8). That is simply not true, and it is time to show the world what is going on.

🎥 What to Do:
Make a short video (30 seconds to 3 minutes) saying where you work, what your job is, and why work is important to you. You can also just say something like:
“My name is ___ and I work at ___ because I love being part of my community.”

📱Where to Share:
Post it on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or Facebook using these hashtags:
(this is the main one!)
And pick at least one more: , , or

Let’s flood social media with real stories that show the power and value of disability inclusion in the workplace!

05/19/2025

The Project SEARCH students recently had a job tour at Encore Teas + Encore Chocolates & Sweets. Here, the students learned about the gourmet chocolates and premium teas that are sold in this unique shop in downtown Olympia. The students learned about the culture and environment of the shop and what the owner looks for in an employee. They learned that Encore specializes in over 350 different chocolates and 200 different teas that come from all around the world! Students enjoyed smelling the different teas and getting to taste test some of the chocolates.

This is the 3rd year Encore Chocolates and Teas has supported Project SEARCH, and we appreciate the time they have taken to show the students around each year.

05/16/2025

Project SEARCH student, Sprinter French, has successfully gained part time employment as a cashier at the Fones Road The Home Depot! The staff at Project SEARCH have been able to observe Sprinter’s hard skills and have found that during his time at the bookstore on the Evergreen State College campus, he is an exceptional cashier! His cash handling skills are top tier! After a lot of practice and a few interviews, Sprinter has been given an opportunity to work at the Home Depot.

The atmosphere at the Fones Road Home Depot is warm and welcoming. Sprinter brings a lot to the table through the skills and abilities he's gained from his previous internships and is looking forward to the support Home Depot will provide him as he continues his employment journey. Thank you, Home Depot.

We at Project SEARCH, Stephanie, Lisa, Rosanne, Eileen, and Morningside wish Sprinter the best of luck with his new position!

05/15/2025

James Togerson has been working at Ocean Shores Community Club as a janitor since 2021. Along with sweeping, mopping, and cleaning the windows, James is also responsible for sanitizing the gym equipment in his role. He has developed wonderful natural supports while he works through his coworkers. One of his coworkers in Maintenance supports him throughout the day with some of his janitorial tasks and helps him stay focused on work. James carries a walkie talkie on him just in case he needs to reach the front desk for assistance at any point in his shift.

To honor James for his hard work and dedication to his job, his coworkers at the Ocean Shores Community Club threw him a birthday party last week. They prepared an array of gifts and a Sponge Bob cupcake cake for James that he shared with them as he greeted customers throughout the rest of his shift that day. His positive attitude and hard work make him a valuable member of the Ocean Shores Community Club team and we're excited to see what the future has in store for him. Happy Belated Birthday James! Keep up the great work.

04/24/2025

Caleb Miller has been working as a Busser for Mill Haus Cider Co. for about a year. Caleb's responsibilities at work include sweeping the floors, washing tables, and collecting dirty dishes to take to the kitchen. The Mill Haus owners and coworkers have remarked how amazing it is to have Caleb on the team, and they have continued to be friendly and supportive of him as he learns new skills. Caleb stated that his favorite part about working at Mill Haus is receiving food at half price and meeting so many different kinds of people.

Caleb enjoys spending his free time at home playing video games. When asked whether he had a favorite, Caleb answered there are so many great games that it's difficult for him to choose just one. We're glad to see Caleb having fun at work and in his personal life. We look forward to seeing what the future holds for him.