Mark Wafer wants to change myths and misconceptions of people with disabilities in the workplace.

"I grew up a fairly normal life. I went to regular school, and I did struggle. People certainly did put barriers in front of me. For example, I was a very good soccer player as a kid, but the coaches would put me on the sideline," he explained. "Those are the types of myths that employers buy into these days, and it's our job to try and change that attitude."

Wafer was born with 20 per cent hearing and is an inclusive employer at six Tim Hortons restaurants in Ontario.

"In my sector, restaurants typically have an annual turnover of 100%. In my group of six stores, our turnover rate was 40% or less," he noted. "When you consider how much it costs to replace one person, it's obvious we're making more money by being an inclusive employer."

Wafer visited Humboldt on Thursday to speak at an event hosted by Humboldt & District Community Services and Sage Hill Community Futures as part of Disability Employment Awareness Month.

He shared the story of how he hired his first employee.

"When I bought my first Tim Hortons, we hired our first employee with a disability within the first few days - and I didn't do that intentionally," Wafer said. "We had a busy location, and I put an ad on the door and the man who came through had down syndrome. I knew because of the disability I had that if he went down the street knocking on doors, he would have never found a job."

Wafer's business success has turned into a second career advising policy makers and delivering keynote speeches to government and service leaders.

He presented to a group of business leaders in Humboldt during a luncheon and then hosted a community presentation in the afternoon.