2014 LEGISLATIVE
MESSAGE Georgia's Economic
Recovery &

Dream

Growth MUST include Employment for Citizens with Disabilities GVRA is good

Realized

for business.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
* Disability Day at the Capitol * Meet Marya Calhoun * Zach's Snacks Moves * DAS Employees of the Month * DAS Award Winner * DAS Tops Nation * GIB Wins National Award * Constituent Services * ECCHS Goes to the Capitol

The old adage is true. With the right Kenneth Atkins recommended he

attitude and a little help, anyone can take notes and write with the help

accomplish anything, and that

of a computer. VR purchased

includes working for the highest

Stephen a computer as well as

ranking member of the Georgia

various software packages to help

General Assembly. Take Stephen

him both in his education and the

Aaron.

job that would hopefully follow. In

addition, VR paid for some of the

In high school, Stephen knew he

expenses that come with higher

wanted to work in Georgia politics, education. And Stephen did the

but like any good success story,

rest.

there were obstacles in his way.

Namely, Stephen has a neurological He recently accepted a

disorder that makes it hard for him position as a campaign manager

to write. But Stephen had a goal. He for Speaker of the House, David

wanted a degree in political science, Ralston. The lesson is clear: work

and he wanted to help people by

hard, get help when you need it,

working in the political arena.

and the sky's the limit.

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) was ready to give him just the help he needed to accomplish his goal. The first step was figuring out what kind of assistive work technology was right for him. Following this initial assessment, his VR Counselor

Stephen Aaron serves as a campaign manager for Speaker of the House David Ralston.

Greg's Greetings

The Bottom Line
In any organization or business, you always hear them refer to "the bottom line". Most of the time, the bottom line they are referring to is about how much profit they will make. In other words, do our actions add or subtract from the bottom line. I worked for a long time in the private sector for a Fortune 25 company. That company was investor-owned, and their bottom line was measured by the value of the company stock. The investors want to see the value of their stock go up that's their bottom line. Thankfully, we are different. Our bottom line is not how much profit we make, or how much our stock goes up. In fact, our bottom line is not about money at all. Now I know a lot of you probably just gasped when you read that, as we certainly have had some budget challenges and money has been at the heart of a lot of discussions. But it is NOT our bottom line. Please allow me to elaborate a bit. GVRA state office administration exists to support our five programs: VR, BEP, GIB, RWS and DAS; and our five programs exist to serve our consumers. Simply said, our bottom line as an agency or as a program within the agency is the individual we serve.

Notice I said "the individual" we serve. I have a strong belief that every single person we serve, whether it's VR, BEP, GIB, RWS or DAS, should receive the very best that we can offer. No exceptions. To me, it's not about the total numbers of people served, although that is certainly important, but it's more about each single person we serve and their experience with us. For me, the bottom line is truly how well we do with every person, their outcome and their satisfaction with how we served them. We have been given a great opportunity an opportunity to make a positive difference in someone else's life. In my opinion, that is the reason we exist and that is the beauty and honor of our profession. Just like any other business that asks: do our actions add or subtract from the bottom line, I ask the same question. Does what we do in VR, BEP, GIB, RWS and DAS add or subtract to our bottom line the outcome and satisfaction of every single person we serve. So I only have one request for each of you and that is this: every day ask yourself is what you are doing at that moment adding or subtracting from the bottom line. I want all of us to work for a Fortune 1 company, where our service to others is truly their fortune. As always, thank you for what you do.

Disability Day At The Capitol

IAWP Detergent Fundraiser

The International Association of Workforce Professionals is hosting an ongoing fundraiser through the end of this year. Proceeds from the fundraiser will go to help the homeless.

For only $25 you can get 3.5 gallons of liquid or powder laundry detergent. You can choose between either Gain or Tide. It is a presale, and the IAWP needs the money prior to delivery.

The next meeting of the GVRA board is on March 12 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. It will be in the 5th floor boardroom at 2 Peachtree St. in Atlanta.

For more information, please contact Debra Barnes-Homer or Jonelle Samuel on the 6th floor of 2 Peachtree Street.

New Hires and Retirements

Let's welcome these new hires to GVRA. They include Marya Calhoun Garner (GVRA HR), TaLora M. Johnson (GVRA HR), Youlanda D. Little (GVRA HR),Yasmine Jackson (GVRA Financial Services), Theresa Ann Cristensen (GIB Bainbridge), Janet Brawley (RWS Housekeeping), Heather McRae (RWS Housekeeping), Christina Cole (RWS Inpatient Unit), Lucille A. Marmion (RWS Inpatient Unit), Carol J. Lacy (RWS Pharmacy), Monique S. Wood (VR Business Coordinator), Alyssa Jolley (VR Blindness Services North GA) and Tara Wojtkunsk (VR Blindness Services North GA).

And happy trails to Glenn R. Abrams Jr. (GIB Bainbridge), Patsy J. Cloud (GIB Bainbridge), Khadija Yakini (DAS North Units), Charlotte Voak Zubowicz (RWS Expense Management), Twyla J. Crump (VR Program Director) Michael W. Harrell (VR Macon Unit), Deborah Brandon (VR Americus Unit), Jenny M. Scott (VR Brunswick Unit) and Louellen McMillan (VR Deaf Services North GA).

Meet Marya Calhoun

Marya Calhoun was recently named the new something that'd be good for me and the

GVRA Human Resources Director. We sat down organization in the future.

with her in order to get to know her a little

better.

Q: Is there anything you hope to accomplish in

the near future?

Q: So what did you do before you joined

GVRA?

MC: Our goals right now are to recruit and hire

in a more timely manner and help us provide

MC: I worked with Vericom, a healthcare

the resources we need from a people

solutions firm. Prior to joining Vericom in 2007, perspective to help GVRA continue to grow and

I held various HR positions in healthcare,

succeed. We're going to put in some training

consulting, distribution and the financial

and develop programs as well.

services sectors of business.

Q: Tell us something most folks probably don't

Q: Why'd you decide to make the move to

know about you.

GVRA?

MC: I have a ten-year-old son. I'm on the board

MC: For me, I was looking for a challenging

of his football association. I'm more of a sports

position where I could use my knowledge and mom. I really love it.

skills to help the organization but also to give

back to the community. Working in the state

rehabilitation program, I figured it'd be

Zach's Snacks

Monday, February 4, 2014 marked the beginning of the much anticipated renovations of Zach's Snacks located on the 2nd floor of 2 Peachtree in Atlanta.
A temporary facility is set up on the 2nd floor that formerly housed the vending machines. Renovations are expected to last for two months. Upon re-opening, expect a larger snack bar with enhanced hot and cold food entrees, a salad bar, deli sandwiches, Community Coffee service and more!

Program Sagebrush Training conference in Nevada from February 11-14th. The theme for this year was "Lets Embrace Change-Change is the Steel We Can Forge a New Future". At least eight blind vendor managers and two additional BEP staff attended the conference.

In other news, BEP Director Raj Gandy was a presenter at the Randolph Sheppard Vendors of America's (RSVA) 2014 Business Enterprise

DAS Feb.

Employee of

the Month Award Winner

The following nomination was submitted by Ayanna Conley in the category of Customer Service:

DAS is pleased to announce that Lisa Asher, Supervisor of the Quality Assurance Unit, was one of the recipients of an Associate

"As of the mid-year evaluation, Sylvia Eberhart's

Commissioner Honor Award for FFY 2013 from

performance has been simply first rate! Her production the Social Security Administration's Office of

exceeded expectations at 116.72%. She has

Disability Determinations.

processed her cases within an average of 59 days with

only 8.8% aged case percentage.

Lisa was nominated by David Crozier, Quality

Assurance Manager, and she was recognized for

She achieved 97.22% substantive quality while main- a wide variety of contributions and achieve-

taining a caseload size of 142. Her fiscal management ments in assisting DAS staff in making the

exceeded expectations as well. Performance at this

hDigAhSest quality determinations on disability

level clearly demonstrates the delivery of outstanding claims. Her citation says:

customer service to both internal and external

customers.

"In recognition of extraordinary dedication to

public service by providing sustained, timely,

Sylvia is a valued member of Unit 52 and GVRA and is competent, and compassionate service above

to be commended for her hard work. For these

and beyond assigned job responsibilities."

reasons, I am delighted to nominate Ms. Sylvia Eberhart

for employee of the month."

2.1 BillionDollars

That's how much fully funding GVRA would contribute to the Georgia economy.
That's a big impact on the Georgia economy. Not only does it account for an increase in tax revenues associated with greater statewide employment, but it also accounts for the decline in state entitlement spending associated with a larger working population.
That's big. And it's very much possible. Please share this with as many folks as possible. It's important for Georgians to realize how much the mission of GVRA can impact the state economy as a whole.
5

DAS Tops Nation
It was recently announced that the Georgia Disability Adjudication Services processed the most claims per adjudicator of any DAS in the nation for the week of February 23 through March 1. They processed 3,347 cases last week. DAS staff really worked hard to push out the cases after the prior week's ice/snow storm, and they did it while also producing a high quality product. Way to go, everyone!
DAS March Employee of the Month

Joellen Chapman excels at collaborating

seamless restart of training. Another example

effectively with others to accomplish training was when she was preparing for the recent

goals.

Continuing Disability Review Refresher training.

First, preparation for the training was

Joellen maintains excellent relations with subject interrupted by the recent snowstorm. Then we

matter experts such as medical consultants,

found out that nationwide SSA systems updates

quality assurance reviewers, supervisors and

were going to prevent adjudicators from making

adjudicative officers who are asked to train or determinations on claims the first day of

assist with a wide variety of training initiatives. training, so the decision was made to train as

many Stone Mountain staff as possible on that

This was especially important when critical

day. Originally, the plan was to train them in

training during the Adjudicator Basic Training four sessions.

(ABT) for the recent Trainee class in Dalton had

to be suspended during the federal government Joellen came in on a Saturday, recruited

shutdown. Joellen worked closely with her

assistance from other units, and successfully got

training team member and the numerous

all the training materials prepared and the

presenters to pre-plan a new schedule for when training room ready to accommodate the

ABT could be resumed so that there was a

exceptionally large group.

GIB Tapped for National Award

Georgia Industries for the Blind (GIB) was honored by National industries for the Blind (NIB), the nation's largest employment resource for people who are blind, with the 2013 Employment Growth Award.

Employment Growth Award," said Kevin Lynch, President and CEO of NIB. "Georgia Industries for the Blind continues to lead the way in creating employment and high-growth career opportunities for people who are blind."

The award recognizes GIB's efforts to increase

employment retention, growth and upward

About GIB

mobility for people who are blind.

Georgia Industries for the Blind (GIB) is a state

of Georgia not-for-profit organization whose

"We are proud to provide employment

mission is "to provide employment

opportunities for people who are blind in our five opportunities for people who are blind" and has

sites, Albany, Bainbridge, Griffin, Pendergrass been accomplishing this mission for over 65

and Robins Air Force Base," said Kevin Kelley, years. GIB employs nearly 110 people who are

Chief Executive Officer. "Our employees are

blind. In order to generate the necessary

talented and dedicated professionals, and we are financial resources to continue to provide

honored to serve as an example in the state of continuous direct employment opportunities for

the capabilities of people who are blind."

people with vision loss, GIB has and continues

to maintain its self sufficiency by

The 2013 Employment Growth Award recipients manufacturing and selling a variety of products

are awarded cash payments from a fund created that are competitively priced. GIB receives no

to recognize and encourage NIB associated

funding through state or federal sources nor

nonprofit agencies that grow or sustain

any grants or donations. GIB has received ISO

employment for people who are blind. Emphasis 9001 certification and has been recognized as

is also placed on efforts to increase job

having the premier safety program in the state

placements and upward mobility in the

of Georgia. For more information on GIB, visit

workplace. "It is an honor for me to recognize http://gvra.georgia.gov/gib.

Georgia Industries for the Blind with a 2013

Constituent Services Manager

Tangye Teague was recently named the new

on how we can best serve our customers,

Constituent Services Director for GVRA. From

never looking for reasons why we cannot

Tangye: I am excited about serving in

serve. We should be pro-active in our work,

Constituent Services. At GVRA, we are about the while being the best team member we can

people we serve; and as employees of this

be. As we provide excellent customer

agency, we should all consider ourselves as

service, the Constituent Services Unit should

constituent advocates. In our profession, we have be considered an additional layer of good

a tremendous opportunity to make a positive

quality service.

impact on those we serve. Our focus should be

Elbert County HS Goes to the Capitol

Friends Helping Friends (FHF) club senior officers Committee members recently assisted Elbert County Comprehensive High School (ECCH) students in Pam Brown and Daniele Franklin's classes on a trip to the Georgia State Capitol.
The trip was on Thursday, February 20th during Disability Day at The Capitol.
After special photos in Governor Nathan Deal's office, the group observed the many interesting historical flags and statues adorning the interior of the capitol as well as portraits of Georgia governors that were displayed throughout the building's rotunda wings.
Governor Deal and Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency Executive Director Greg Schmieg both spoke at this event in support of the disability community.

Following the program, FHF treated students to lunch at the Hard Rock Caf near the Capitol before returning home.
A special thanks to State Representative Tom McCall and his assistant Pat Harris for scheduling the annual visit and for providing students and teachers with backpacks filled with treats. Also, a special thank you to Greg Hall for generously volunteering to drive the bus.
Friends Helping Friends, sponsored by Chrystal Thomas and founding sponsor Sandy Adams, is an ECCHS service club dedicated to the memory of Bud McCall, boasting 300 middle and high school members committed to providing exceptional educational opportunities to students who have special needs.
Visit www.FriendsHelpingFriendsClub.com.