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Welcome to Statler Center

Diane Michels Welcome to the National Statler Center for Careers in Hospitality Service (a program of Olmsted Center for the Visually Impaired, a unique and exciting concept in hospitality employment training that provides physically disabled individuals and those who are blind or visually impaired with the right tools for successful careers in a rapidly growing industry. Hotel operations. Travel and tourism. Sales and marketing. How may we be of service to you?

Please use the menu at the left to navigate through our web site. Alternatively, you may use the site map located via a link at the bottom of this page.

A note about the picture: Diane Michels, graduate of Class 24, works at the Holiday Inn Express Buffalo Galleria where she externed during class.

STATLER CENTER GRADUATES TWO MORE CLASSES!
We are excited to report that 2 more classes have graduated these past several months. 19 people with visual or physical disabilities traveled to Buffalo from as far away as the San Francisco area to take advantage of the hospitality and customer service training we conduct here at Statler.

On field trips, each class visited The Adams Mark Hotel http://www.adamsmark.com/buffalo to learn the features of a convention-style hotel, and the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Visitors Center http://www.buffalocvb.org to learn about their important work to bring tourism and meeting business to Buffalo to stay at hotels like The Adams Mark.


Class 24 _{From left to right Row 1: Susan Hall, Methuen, MA; Mary Wilson, Daytona Beach, FL; Alicia Young, Athol, MA; Diane Michels, West Seneca, NY. Row 2: Claudia Zavala, Austin, TX; Whitney Lawson, Austin, TX; Shelia Blakely, Buffalo, NY. Row 3: Charles Shermetaro, Clinton Township, MI; Rehan Ahmad, Elmont, NY; Mark Ortwein, Amherst, NY}	Class 25 _{From left to right Row 1: April Smith, Charlotte, NC; Debra Clark, Vallejo, CA; Sheri Siegel, Port Orange, FL.}_{Row 2: Molly Fanton, Buffalo, NY; Jaydene Willliams, Bronx, NY; Timothy Webster, Sebastopo, CA.}_{Row 3: Akol Madut, Buffalo, NY; Michael Whalen, Buffalo, NY; Gerard Lewis, Kenmore, NY}

NYS SENATOR MARY LOU RATH KEYNOTE SPEAKER FOR CLASS 25
NYS Senator Mary Lou Rath, of the 61^st District, was the Keynote Speaker at the graduation ceremony of Statler’s 25^th Class in November. Presently, Senator Rath is Chairman of the New York State Senate Standing Committee on Tourism, Recreation and Sports Development, where she established the "Explore NY" state grant.

Senator Rath’s hard work and success in the tourism and hospitality industry is very important to the local economy. As this is the targeted career industry for Statler graduates, it was exciting to have her speak to the graduating class and their visitors.

STATLER CENTER RECEIVES $422,740 FOR NEW PROGRAM FROM LAVELLE FUND FOR THE BLIND!
Statler Center was awarded $422,740 from Lavelle Fund for the Blind, Inc. This money will allow Statler Center to train and work with disabled people more strategically (as opposed to finding one job at a time).

In this model, job placement will actually be “front-loaded” through the development of corporate relationships with businesses that have shown commitment to hiring the disabled, have positions available, and are willing to partner in advance with Statler Center for training and job placement.

For example, a large airline company is said to be hiring hundreds of employees in the next year in its reservations and customer service areas. Using the currently proposed strategy, Statler Center would seek to contract with this airline to tailor train an agreed upon number of sight-impaired and physically disabled individuals to assume such positions pending successful graduation from the program.

This is an outstanding opportunity for our agency and our future students!