OATS honored as top Missouri employer of older workers
Rural community transit company OATS was selected as the 2015 American Legion Employer of Older Workers award winner for Missouri. The award recognizes the company’s commitment to employing and retaining older employees, as well as OATS’ community service on behalf of older workers and veterans.
The American Legion gives the award to one employer in each state, with the hope of recognizing companies who make an active effort to include older workers in their business plan. As an organization, the American Legion focuses on providing services to veterans around the country.
The two demographics overlap: OATS has over 580 workers that qualified for the “older workers” category; of that group, 24 percent are veterans.
“We are thrilled to have been selected for such a prestigious honor,” said OATS executive director Dorothy Yaeger. “Veterans and older workers make up such a large part of our business.”
Rural transportation, especially for people with disabilities, has been on the radar of other organizations recently. Last month, the Mid-MO Regional Planning Commission received funding for a $200,000 mobility project in rural mid-Missouri.
Although now available to everyone, OATS previously stood for Older Adult Transportation Service, founded to help remove transportation barriers faced by the elderly and disadvantaged in rural areas. A small group of volunteers created the organization in 1970 with a grant from the Missouri Office on Aging. The agency now serves more than 32,000 Missourians in 87 counties.
Photo provided by OATS.
