Panera’s honors disabled employee

Darryl Jennings has never allowed his disability to affect his work ethic.
In recognition of his outstanding job performance, Panera Restaurant in Little Neck honored Jennings, who has been deaf since birth, with their Associate of the Month award.
Jennings was introduced to Panera through the Lexington Center for the Deaf Vocational Services, which finds positions for hundreds of deaf workers throughout the New York Metropolitan area. Nearly 340 companies across the city currently employ deaf workers trained and placed by Lexington.
“Darryl is a superior employee and everyone loves working with him,” said Larry Improte, the manager of Panera. “Our experience with Darryl has been so rewarding that we have hired two additional employees through Lexington to staff a new store we are opening soon.”
Jennings, who is a dishwasher at the restaurant, was rewarded with a Certificate of Distinction, a $50 cash prize and a gift certificate for two to Panera or any other Doherty Enterprises restaurant.
“I feel proud of myself and the work I do,” said Jennings. “I work hard because I am committed to my job. Having this honor is great, but I work hard because I like my job.”
The award comes on the one-year anniversary of Jennings’ employment with Panera, allowing the 43-year-old to celebrate two milestones in one day.
Jennings says he never lost spirit at Panera, and he believes he was able to immediately succeed at the restaurant due to the help he received from an on-site job coach provided by Lexington, who helped facilitate communication with the other workers.
“Everyone has felt discouraged at some point in their lives, but I never felt discouraged at this job,” he said. “My job coach, co-workers and supervisors have been so encouraging from the first moment I started here. I feel so proud to work at Panera, and I really enjoy being a part of this great team.”