One of the Coolest Commercials EVER!

Checkout this YouTube clip for ThinkBeyondTheLabel.com:

Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV4HUBUMuHQ

Why is that so cool?  If you didn't notice, it shows a high-level quadriplegic typing with a mouthstick, and later driving his chair via sip-and-puff (the same method I use). I've seen it air on ESPN (i.e. mainstream TV) multiple times in the last month.

Here's part of the "About Us" description on their website:

"Think Beyond the Label is committed to making the business case for employing people with disabilities. We are a partnership of health and human service and employment agencies with federal grants, coming together to build a uniform national infrastructure and approach that connects businesses to qualified candidates with disabilities. Our goal is simple: to raise awareness that hiring people with disabilities makes good business sense. Employees with disabilities have unique, competitively relevant knowledge and perspectives about work processes, bringing different perspectives to meeting work requirements and goals successfully. Hiring someone who 'thinks outside the box' might be thinking too small when there’s an opportunity to hire someone who lives outside the box."

Source: http://www.thinkbeyondthelabel.com/About-Us/About-Us.aspx

I think it's fantastic that such a resource exists to help both people with disABILITIES and companies benefit from working together.

Bill Miller :-)

C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 221 High Bowling Game

Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT

My blog: http://powerwheelchairusers.blogspot.com

Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com

Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net

IKAN User Profile: Lilian Strandlund, Florida

Last month I introduced you to Angie Keiser, a delightful, record-setting woman who is 65-years-young. The person who introduced Angie to IKAN-style bowling was Lilian Strandlund, Angie's good friend, who is also a delightful, record-setting woman.

Born with cerebral palsy that has her using a power wheelchair, Lilian is 59-years-young and has never let her disability stop her from living life. Imagine being born 40 years before the ADA and being a wheelchair user, yet Lilian graduated high school on time with her able-bodied peers and went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts 2-D from Cal State University (Northridge). Lilian was a selling artist before her daughter was born in 1981. Now Lilian is a business owner, and recently traveled from Florida to California with her boyfriend Ed for her high school's 40th class reunion. Did I mention that her CP affects her ability to speak?

That makes her accomplishments even more impressive, and it didn't stop Lilian from joining a Toastmaster's speaking group -- and giving speeches -- which is where she met my Dad and learned of the IKAN Bowler.

And as of March 14, 2009... Lilian Strandlund has become a big-time achiever in the sport of dynamic wheelchair bowling. Lilian bowled a most impressive 189, which to date, sets the top record for anyone with CP, for a female who drives her chair by joystick, AND for ALL female dynamic wheelchair bowlers! That's not bad -- three world records with one game. Lilian opened her multiple record-setting game with a strike, followed it with a spare, then another strike, and spares the rest of the way. She had no open frames -- a task that is not easy to accomplish, as any bowler will tell you, able-bodied or not.

CONGRATULATIONS LILIAN and keep up the impressive work! :-)

Here's a link to Lilian's scoresheet:
http://www.wheelchairbowlingrecords.com/Lilian_Strandlund_Multiple_Records_189.htm

And here are Lilian's IKAN User profile answers:

Name: Lilian Strandlund
Age: 59
Location: Mt. Dora, FL
Reason for Wheelchair Use: Cerebral Palsy
Onset or Injury Date: Birth
Wheelchair Operation Method: Joystick
High Bowling Score: 189
Approx. Bowling Average: 135
Typical Range of Scores: 115 - 165
Bowling Frequency: Once a week in league bowling and twice a month for Quad Squad Team
Bowling Ball(s): Yellow Dot 16 lbs
Quote from Lilian: "Having a positive attitude is most important for achieving your goals. Taking action to acquire your goals is the second most important. If you think you can, you can! If you think you can't, you can't. You can choose how you want to think."

Great quote Lilian, thanks!

Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 206 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
My blog: http://powerwheelchairusers.blogspot.com
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net