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Paving the Way
In 1973, the Reno County Occupational Center opened its doors and Maurice Cummings was hired as their first Chief Executive Officer. Maurice spent 26 years as the agency’s CEO before retiring in 1998.
Everyone who knew Maurice likely has a story to tell about his drive, his charisma, or even his quirky fidgets that sat on his desk in his office. One thing is for certain – Maurice’s passion for TECH and the people that we serve was unlike any other.
Maurice was hired by the board of directors when TECH was formed in 1973 to lead the charge on this vision that people with disabilities in our community could work, train for a job and have meaningful and productive lives beyond the expectations of living in an institution.
The doors opened with 5 clients and TECH didn’t look back. Maurice always attributed TECH’s success to the overwhelming support from our community and the tenacious staff that never gave up on making their dream become a reality. In a 2018 interview, Maurice said, “We had so many great people that worked for us. People who went on to get degrees in social work and hold jobs at the state and even national level.” Maurice went on to talk about the people he served, “People with disabilities have the right to be disabled. We shouldn’t try to put them into a hole that they don’t fit in.”
Thank you to Maurice for paving the way for TECH and people with disabilities in our community.
See photos from Maurice’s time with TECH below.