This note of gratitude was submitted by Kimberly Torres, Newsroom Manager at the Arizona Republic.

My name is Kimberly Torres, and I am the newsroom manager at The Arizona Republic where Maria Canez is a Job Coach with Beacon Group. I am writing to acknowledge Maria as an employee and colleague with us. Maria previously worked with us as an employee of The Arizona Republic for decades prior to her working with Beacon Group. The knowledge that Maria has, brings a unique perspective within our office.

Since the pandemic, much of our staff is working a hybrid schedule, meaning they are working remote from home some days and in the office others. I am reporting to the office three days a week.. I have come to rely on Maria and her clients for daily tasks around the office where I or other admins cannot be there to make sure these things happen. We can trust that Maria can accomplish these tasks in our physical absence since she is there daily.

Maria and her clients are physically there and always so friendly and available to assist our staff when they need anything.  Maria is also a great resource for building security and management when they need assistance to help answer questions as to who to contact for a missed issue, a news tip, etc. Maria is showing her clients how to problem-solve in real-life situations when this happens. The building receives several deliveries a day, and when a package we are expecting is delivered or even when it is not expected, Maria can troubleshoot who it belongs to and where to place it.

There are so many instances where Maria and her clients have been a huge help and have gone above and beyond for us. If we are expecting a guest, they tend to be available to escort them to the newsroom and make introductions. We utilize their help when we set up for townhalls which requires decorating, setting up with food and drink, setting up chairs to sit in, and tables. They also assist with taking everything down and make sure we have what we need to make these events successful.

Things have picked up in the office this past year and have gotten a bit busier, and we can rely on Maria to assist us with almost anything that may come up. For instance, just this morning, we required assistance with loading boxes of supplies for our High School Sports Awards tonight at the Orpheum Theater. Without Maria’s help, we would have been delayed with our delivery.

Our staff welcomes each of the new workers with disabilities that Maria supports and looks forward to interacting with them on a regular basis. The morale around Maria’s warmth, humor, and work ethic really showcases a real human need of human interaction in a workplace setting. She has certainly made it a welcoming place for both the people with disabilities she supports and our staff!

I can go on and on with examples of how appreciative we are of Maria and her clients.

When in the office, I notice Maria giving examples to her clients of how to communicate with our reporters, when to ask questions, how to listen, or even how to approach them to do all these things.

It’s a very pleasant and heartfelt feeling knowing we have such an amazing program allowing people with disabilities to be woven into our newsroom and the Arizona Republic family, and what better coach than Maria to guide these indidivuals along.

I hope we can continue this partnership for many, many years to come.