Signpost, fall 2011

              FALL 2011
OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF REHABILITATION SERVICES NEWSLETTER
Former DRS Client is First Woman, First Native American
to Serve on Commission for Rehabilitation Services
In the beginning, Lynda Collins
was a teenager facing cancer
treatment and barriers to
employment because of her disability.
With help from the Oklahoma
Department of Rehabilitation Services
(DRS), she got career counseling,
encouragement and her first job -- as
a social worker trainee at the agency
that provided her services.
Hiring Collins turned out to be a
good decision as she worked her way
up through the ranks to Vocational
Rehabilitation (VR) administrator,
retiring after 33 years in 2005.
Her previous DRS positions
include field service coordinator,
program manager, vocational
rehabilitation counselor and
vocational rehabilitation evaluator.
In Aug., Gov. Mary Fallin asked
her to return to DRS as a member of
the Commission for Rehabilitation
Services.
Collins is the first woman and
first Native American ever appointed
to the three-person governing board
for the agency. Her three-year term
began in Aug. She was elected
commission vice chair at her first
meeting on Sept. 12.
Steve Shelton, a senior application
programmer and consultant with
Fidelity National Information
Services from Edmond, was elected
vice chair. Muskogee resident Ray
Kirk, a cattle and thoroughbred horse
rancher, will serve as a member of the
commission.
Collins is a member of the
Choctaw Nation.
"I am a product of DRS, and I
believe in this agency, the staff and
what it stands for, what it does,"
Collins said in a telephone interview.
"Rehab has been my life. I never
regretted my career in VR - never,
never. I loved it.
"Now I want to work with DRS
to help more Oklahomans get the
same opportunity I got - to obtain
employment, have a good life, be as
happy as I've been with the work they
choose."
Collins, who lives in Mannford
currently works as a certified case
manager with Daysprings of Tulsa.
She visits clients' homes to provide
mental health services two days each
week.
"Lynda Collins will make a
great commissioner," DRS Director
Michael O'Brien, Ed.D., said. "She
understands the needs of our clients
and of our agency. Her life has been
devoted to people with disabilities,
and she will continue to make a
difference in this state."
Collins, who is a native of Ada,
earned a bachelor's of science in
psychology and sociology from East
Central University and a master's
degree in psychology with an
emphasis in vocational rehabilitation
from Oklahoma State University.
She holds a national Certified
Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC)
license and is recognized by the state
as a Certified Public Manager (CPM).
Collins has been recognized with
many professional awards, including
the DRS Vocational Rehabilitation
Lifetime Achievement Award,
INSIDE SIGNPOST
Celebrating Employment Success Page 2
Price Knows Job from Both Sides Page 3
Shelton Elected Commission Chair Page 4
Kirk Completes Second Term as Chair .Page 4
VR Leaders Write for National Publication .Page 5
OSD Football: No Friday Night Lights....Page 6
Jones Named VS Administrator Page 8
DRS Personnel Changes Page 9
DRS Expo Smiles and Sights Page 11
Varner Named OSD Superintendent.. Page 12
VR Teams Present at National Conference. Page 13
DDD Staff Receives 58 Building Blocks Page 14
BEP Holds Collaborative Conference. Page 15
Finance Corner Page 16
Lynda Collins from Mannford is the
first woman and first Native American
ever to serve on the Commission for
Rehabilitation Services. She was
appointed by Gov. Mary Fallin.
National Rehabilitation Association
Southwest Region's Voyle C. Scurlock
Award and Oklahoma Rehabilitation
Association Hubert E. Byrd Award.
She was twice named DRS Vocational
Rehabilitation Manager of the Year.
She and her husband Jud have
two children, Blake and Breanna,
and three grandchildren, Wilder,
Gwyneth, and Adalyn. Collins is
the daughter of Wib and Juanita
Scroggins from Ada.
DRS