Jason Flanders of Norton Shores and Steve Draft-Peppin of Muskegon have been elected new members of the board of directors for Disability Connection/West Michigan.

Disability Connection, with main offices at 27 E. Clay Ave., Muskegon, provides services to people with disabilities and their families with offices in Muskegon, Fremont and Hart.

They join present board members John Wahlberg, President, of Muskegon; Mike Hamm, Vice President, of White Cloud; Tom Grein, Treasurer, of Whitehall; Joe Doyle, Secretary, of Muskegon and Ernest Scheel of Muskegon.  Susan Cloutier-Myers is the Executive Director.

Draft-Peppin is Laboratory Information Systems Coordinator at Mercy Health. He has a BA in political science from Michigan State University, an MPA from Grand Valley State University, and a Juris Doctor degree from Thomas M .Cooley Law School. He is a graduate of Mona Shores High School.

Flanders, a current councilman for the City of Norton Shores, is employed by Astellas Pharmaceuticals in healthcare sales. He received a BBA in management and economics from Adrian College, and an MPA with an emphasis in healthcare from Grand Valley State University. He is a member of the Muskegon Elks and Muskegon Rotary.

Some of the programs offered by Disability Connection include information and referrals, transportation assistance, nursing home transition, peer support, accessibility consultation, disability sensitivity training, help for veterans, and peer support, among several others.

The organization’s mission is to advocate, educate, empower, and provide resources for persons with disabilities and to promote accessible communities, with the vision that accessibility will be an accepted civil right.

Contact the Muskegon office at (231) 722-0088, or visit the web site www.dcilmi.org.