Hi everyone,

This article seems to have caused a lot of confusion, so we just wanted to clear a few things up. Please know that this is not and never was about Mark’s salary for us!

Mark does not and has never worked for the hotel directly. He is employed through a program with the Greater Lawrence Educational Collaborative, which is partially funded by the Department of Development Services, and assigned to our hotel through their program. The position he previously held polishing silver was actually eliminated 7-8 months ago, and he has continued working at the hotel through this program ever since doing other tasks. The Greater Lawrence Educational Collaborative recently determined that his position at Wyndham Andover was no longer appropriate for Mark to hold, so they have removed him from his position here. We unfortunately do not have the professional resources at our hotel to train and supervise Mark without the support of Greater Lawrence Educational Collaborative and the Department of Development Services, or we would certainly hire him directly.

We understand how upset people are about this situation – we are too! We feel very strongly about giving back to our community, which is the reason we participate in programs like this. Please call the hotel directly and direct all inquiries to Kathy Martin, our Director of Sales, if you have any additional questions.

Yet we can afford MILLIONS for politicians to have coffee every day….SAD.

You could find a way 2 keep him,12.00 a week,come on! Have him wash dishes,clean the parking lot. So glad you are not the only choice i have when traveling. But i will miss you!

What supervision? Was there actually someone with him at all times, provided by the GLEC? If not, pay the guy the $12 a week to keep on polishing the silverware; the positive publicity will far outweigh the tine expenditure. If nothing else, start a tip jar for him, with a sign that says : "Did you like the shine on the silverware? Then tip Mark, who only receives $12 a week through a state agency." Include a little bio on the sign, and watch his tip jar fill up every day! Just make sure he gets all the money...

Sorry, should read "tiny expenditure"...

I'm a father of a 26-year old man with Downs. I suspect that there's more to this decision and would urge folks not to vilify this Wyndham as it seems the decision was made by others. It's possible Marks need for supervision has changed. It's possible that the agency that supervises Mark can't afford to provide the required staffing for only one client. (our state - Minnesota - reduced funding for these services in the last two years)

Good work sites are difficult enough to find. Getting bad PR for a decision another party made will make this and other employers more reluctant to participate in the future. Then nobody wins.

is the reason the job was deemed "inappropriate" because funding ran out?
what's he doing now? or is he not allowed to earn any real money because
of the aide/mentor needing to be paid?

Kim Oliveira's mealy-mouthed comments and Wyndham's 'it ain't our fault' attitude aside - WHY do these people feel compelled to comment to the media anyway? They sound like complete idiots. Clearly the loser here is Mark. Shame on everyone involved. It is yet another sad commentary on our times.aside,

THEY SHOULD LET GO OF THE " SO CALLED MANAGEMENT' AND KEEP THE BOY, THEY'RE THE ONES WHO NEED THE TRAINING!!!!,, KK FROM NJ

I do not understand how can so many ignorant people gather at the same place!
Where I work the same things happen, it is not the hotel decision, it is the institution that he works for. They need special attention, someone to care for them the entire time and as I was reading all the articles, I understood that the hotel doesn't have trained staff to take care of someone with special needs. Many companies will now think about it twice before giving institutions like that an opportunity. So stop commenting and instead donate to your community!