BATH, N.Y. (WETM) – October is National Disabilities Employment Awareness Month and for one local man, it means winning an award for perseverance. 

This is Logan Nye. Logan was born with Cerebral Palsy and developmental disabilities. Despite this, he drives forty miles each day to work at The Arc of Allegany-Steuben. He sorts and folds clothes at his station, but he’s also started embroidering t-shirts through the use of sewing machines. The shirts are for state agencies, like Parks and Recreation and the DEC.

“I’ve been at this a long time and I don’t think I’ve ever been as inspired by anybody as I am Logan Nye. I mean, watching Logan handle his physical difficulties while balancing the world of work is so inspirational to me. So, I think as a society, we’ve gotten better at inclusion and diversity and equity, but we still have a ways to go and I think that Logan Nye shines a spotlight on what an employee with IDD can bring to the workplace,” said Christopher Koehler, Vice President of Business Operations, The Arc Allegany-Steuben.

For his willingness to try new things and ability to overcome challenges, he recently won the New York State Industries for the Disabled’s Outstanding Performance Award.

“I was surprised I won it because that just shows how hard I work and you can ask anybody how hard I work and stuff,” said Logan Nye, 2023 NYSID Outstanding Performance Award Recipient.

Koehler nominated him.

“I think Logan just really kind of reshapes the perception about what individuals with disabilities can achieve and like I said in our workforce, he just really has raised the bar for our employees to be more patient. To be more empathetic. To be more adaptable,” said Koehler.

While this milestone is special, the biggest accomplishment for him was getting his driver’s license with hand controls. Something most people didn’t think he would be able to do

“That took like seven years. First I went to Rochester and they told me I wasn’t safe and wouldn’t let me drive anymore so I found a school in Buffalo that I asked if they taught with hand controls and they did so I started going up there for lessons every week or two. Taking the road test felt like the longest fifteen minutes of my life, but I’m just glad that I didn’t give up because I could have,” said Nye.

He showed me how the controls work and took me for a drive around Bath.

“Well, right now I have the brake on so this handle pushes forward and then when the brakes on, I can change all the gears and this is the gas. That handle pushes down. Then the last thing is to turn it off.”

For those struggling, Logan has a message.

“Never give up. If you have your mind on something, try it because you will never know if you’ll be able to accomplish it.”