Awards & Recognition
BEST & BRIGHTEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR IN THE NATION
The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® competition identifies and honors organizations that display a commitment to excellence in their human resource practices and employee enrichment. Organizations are assessed based on categories such as communication, work-life balance, employee education, diversity, recognition, retention and more. WSC received National Best & Brightest in 2018, 2020 & 2023. WSC is also a 3-time winner (2015, 2017 & 2023) of the Best & Brightest Companies to Work for in Metro Detroit!
THE BEST OF 2021 MICHBUSINESS
The Best of MichBusiness Awards celebrates the programs and companies that make our state a great place to live and work. This year, we are building on this celebration model and blending in the Corp! Economic Bright Spots Awards which celebrates the growth of successful companies and organizations throughout Michigan. This year’s awards program will honor the companies that stepped up to make a difference in 2020 and showed outstanding leadership in a time of a crisis and social and economic uncertainty.
CRAIN'S 2021 COOL PLACES TO WORK
Cool Places to Work in Michigan is a research-driven program from Best Companies Group that examines your company’s practices, programs and benefits and surveys your employees for their perspective. Companies that meet certain criteria are considered the Cool Places to Work in Michigan.
CARF ACCREDITED
CARF accreditation signals a service provider's commitment to continually improving services, encouraging feedback, and serving the community.
BONNIE GRABER
Volunteer of the Year
WSC is pleased to honor Bonny Graber as our 2022 Volunteer of the Year.
Bonny started volunteering at Artisan Corner in March of 2021, when we were located at Studio West Gallery. Her calm demeanor and warm smile are the perfect combination, and the artisans welcomed her from the start. She encouraged their creativity, helped them with their projects, and purchased more than a few of their items – for herself and as gifts.
Six months later, the classroom and the boutique moved back to WSC headquarters on Summit Street. To say that Bonny was involved in the transition would be an understatement! She helped pack finished paintings, ceramics and jewelry as well as art supplies and materials. There were literally hundreds of boxes. Once everything was moved, Bonny got to work unpacking and organizing things as we settled into our new space. Staff were busy working with the artisans, and were so grateful that she put things in places that made sense and were easy to find.
Artisan Corner volunteers set their own schedules. Bonny was onsite several times a week for three or four hours at a time, and became an integral member of our WSC family.
In addition to her volunteer support, Bonny is also a member of the Women of Work Skills Foundation, (WoW), our philanthropic group.
Congratulations, Bonny, and THANK YOU!
RANDY KOTARSKI
Participant of the Year
Randy Kotarski came to the Artisan Corner Art Program from WSC Home Care in early 2017 with a desire to earn a paycheck using some of his skills and the love he has for art.
With coffee in hand, Randy became a shining light in the art studio; a regular who rarely missed a day, working diligently on his canvases and ceramics that have sold so well. Over the past 5 years, Randy has grown alongside his fellow artists and has become a source of understanding and tolerance for the barriers and difficulties they may be expe-riencing. Randy’s contribution has informed the program’s ethos of providing skill build-ing and artistic training to artists with barriers in a way that brings forth their authentic, individual talents and styles while introducing them to new techniques and mediums. Randy has never hesitated when given an assignment and readily dives into anything Art Instructor Michelle Acevedo puts in front of him. “Randy has been an invaluable source of inspiration to both the staff and the students over the last 5 years,“ she reports. “He’s like our Norm from Cheers; everyone looks forward to seeing him here and being greeted by him when they walk in.” Randy is tenacious and versatile, and is a sought after commissioned artist.
WSC is honored to be part of Randy’s creative vocational journey and we wish him continued success!
