VISIONARY |
December 2013 |
Table of Contents
Spotlight
Personnel Actions
- We welcome our newest employees to the DBS family
- We wish our retirees the best in their future endeavors
Success Stories
Around the State
End Zone
Spotlight
Walgreens Distribution Center Recognized
By Stael Exantus
In October during Disability Employment Awareness month an annual ceremony is held in Tallahassee to commend employers for hiring people with disabilities. Also, the Florida Rehabilitation Council for the Blind recognizes employers during its quarterly meetings in different areas of the state.
The council met in West Palm Beach October 17 and recognized a Walgreens Distribution Center. Walgreens has a long history of successfully hiring qualified and talented individuals who are blind and visually impaired. An appreciation award was presented to Human Resource Director Dana Lynch who was accompanied by Adam Warriner, Milton Solorzano and Damian Tater. Tater, a former DBS client, has been employed by Walgreens Distribution for five years. He said he was elated with the skills and growth he has experienced. Lynch said Tater is a success story, an excellent employee and does outstanding work.
Personnel Actions
We welcome our newest employees to the DBS family
- Joshua Beran, rehabilitation specialist - Jacksonville
- Tommy Allen II, distributed computer systems consultant - Tallahassee
- Rashad Morgan, senior rehabilitation specialist - Tallahassee
- Mercedez Johnson, senior Word Processing systems Operator - West Palm Beach
- Kimberly Bonnette, senior rehabilitation specialist - Rehab Center
- Tracey Bradley, district administrator - Jacksonville
- Pascale Iheme, senior rehabilitation specialist - Miami
- Georgette Green, senior rehabilitation specialist - Miami
- Donald Mackey, rehabilitation specialist - Tallahassee
- Valerie States, accountant II - Tallahassee
- Shirley Pagliano, senior clerk - Library
- John Tarmey, volunteer services specialist - Daytona Beach
- Congratulations to Pamela Pozo who was promoted to senior rehabilitation specialist in Miami
We wish our retirees the best in their future endeavors
- Serge Faine, senior rehabilitation specialist - Miami
- Maria Martinez, staff assistant - Miami
- Phyllis Dill, government operations consultant - Tallahassee
Success Story
Space Center Business
By Janet Chernoff
Mitzi Tyler is well prepared, a planner and has a good head for numbers. These are a few of the attributes that make her a successful Bureau of Business Enterprise (BBE) program operator. She previously worked for the Internal Revenue Service but she wanted to do something more active. She waited until her children were older so she could devote four months to training and on-the-job experience. In January 2012, she finished her training and became a licensed vendor.
In June 2012 Tyler was awarded a vending route at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This route has been both challenging and rewarding. With the end of the shuttle program, the employee population at KSC has been diminishing and the recent federal shutdown resulted in an unexpected three week vacation. In spite of all these obstacles, Tyler has grown her business and her sales have increased.
Tyler feels lucky to have the opportunity at KSC and says being around the space center with the satellites and shuttles is exciting. In addition to operating her route, Tyler has been active with the BBE State Committee of Vendors. She attends meetings regularly and represents her district as an alternate.
Around the State
Employer Recognition
Johnnie Slaton, District 2, presented a recognition award to representatives of Interim Health Care Services for their demonstration of support for employees with vision impairment.
Stael Exantus and Sam Patterson, District 10, presented a certificate of recognition to Mike Paholic, The Fresh Market, for the stores strong business relationship and understanding of vision services to increase opportunities for our clients.
Director Doyle created the certificate of recognition program to highlight employers around the state who provide employment opportunities for our clients.
End Zone
Publication and Submission Information
We hope you found this month’s newsletter interesting. Remember, we need your submissions each month. Let us know what’s going on in your district or facility. The publication date for the Visionary newsletter is the first week of each month. The deadline for submissions is the 15th of each month. Comments, suggestions, and submissions should be directed to:
DBS Communications: Communications@dbs.fldoe.org
Additional useful links and telephone numbers:
To request a Braille version of this edition of the Visionary contact the Braille and Talking Book Library: al.peterson@dbs.fldoe.org or call 800-226-6075.
MIS Help Desk:
Phone: 850-245-0360
Email: DBS.HelpDesk@dbs.fldoe.org
AWARE Help Desk:
Phone: 850-245-0395 or 866-841-0912
Email: Aware.support@dbs.fldoe.org
Division of Blind Services website (external): dbs.fldoe.org.