LeRoy Clemetson is the president and owner of Computer One, Inc. in Brookings, South Dakota which has been in business for ten years. He is in charge of the company finances, expansion of the company, employee development, and public relations. He interviewed and hired Jana Krogman who is the Operations Manager for Computer One, Inc. Jana shared in the interview with LeRoy that she had a disability. He said her disclosure did not influence his decision to hire her or not to hire her. She had the experience and the personality that he wanted to fill the job which is why he hired her.  LeRoy says the experience has been a good one for him. He said that Jana is highly motivated and her disability does not hold her back from doing a good job for the company. He had the experience of hiring another person with a disability and although it did not work out as well as Jana’s situation, he did not consider it a negative situation.  LeRoy said the key is a willingness on the employee’s part to work hard. If the employee works hard that makes up for any other issues.

As an employer, LeRoy feels it is important to be open-minded when interviewing and hiring employees. Employers need to give any person with the right qualifications a chance. He said, “You never know, you might find that diamond in the rough”. He says it is important to treat all applicants and employees the same.  For him, it is a simple issue, if the person can do the job and they work hard, he would hire them. To help employers become more interested in hiring people with disabilities, it is important that they be made aware of the available tax incentives as well as what is available for accommodations.

LeRoy says that people with disabilities who are looking for employment should keep trying and never give up. “If you work hard and do the best you can, there will be an employer who will appreciate you for that.” He believes it is also important for people with disabilities to utilize the programs that are available to them as well as getting support from others who can provide assistance with directing them to the job that best fits them.