By JOE MELILLO
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
A team of co-workers in Carmel is trying to raise as much money as it can for Best Buddies of Indiana. The team is nominated for “Champion of the Year” and the competition is happening right now.
The Best Buddies program helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities get opportunities from one-to-one friendships, employment and leadership development.
At TCC in Carmel, RJ Zeph and his boss Kim Miller are both nominated for the 2018 Best Buddies “Champion of the Year” for Indiana. The award recognizes active leaders in the name of inclusion. People who know Zeph say when he started his new job at TCC one year ago he was a completely different person.
He was nervous, shy and only talked through text messages. Now he’s outgoing and talkative and has made friends with everyone in the office. Zeph was hired as an HR assistant after he was let go at a Marsh grocery store. He not only changed jobs but changed careers. Despite all the difficulty, Miller says Zeph thrives in the corporate environment.
“I was blessed with RJ,” said Miller. “I think this program has blessed me more than anything and it’s made me want to give back to my community to those individuals with IDD because I see how much he changed and how passionate he is about his job. There’s not a day that he comes to work with a bad attitude. He’s always positive and I’m so thankful for that.”
“I have the same skills as everyone else does,” said Zeph. “It might take me a little bit longer but my team doesn’t hold that against me or anything.”
Miller designed their team’s logo and hashtag, a bicycle and “#withfriendship.” Miller believes none of this would be possible without friendship. Their story is only one of a dozen nominees for this year’s champion.
The competition ends Nov. 10. There are 12 champions raising money right now. All funds, 100 percent of them, go to Best Buddies in the community.
For more information on the Best Buddies program, click here.