One Plus One Equals Seven!

by Sandra Finley, Training and Development Specialist, National Industries for the Blind (NIB)

When a partnership is formed between two agencies serving people who are blind, the whole equals more than the sum of their parts. This is what happened when National Industries for the Blind and Hadley teamed up for NIB Business Basics.

On October 23, during the Awards Banquet at the NIB Annual Training Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, the first seven employees of NIB associated agencies to complete the entire Business Basics curriculum were honored. The graduates, who had already received Certificates of Achievement from both NIB and Hadley, attended the conference and were presented with special plaques written in print and Braille. They also received recognition from Hadley and NIB representatives as well as a standing ovation from the 500 conference attendees. The seven graduates are:

Jeana Angelini Plant Manager
Susquehanna Association for the Blind and Vision Impaired, PA

Tracie Bell Director of Development
West Texas Lighthouse for the Blind, TX

Stephen Comency Accounting Associate
Association for Vision Rehabilitation and Employment, NY

Eriq Cunningham Optical Data Entry Clerk
Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind, NC

Thomas Graham Inventory Planner
Horizon Industries for the Blind, TX

Timothy LaCroix Sewing Machine Operator
Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind, NC

Lee Strickler Customer Services Clerk
Blind Industries and Services of Maryland, MD

Two more have completed the program, and they will be amongst those honored in 2010. They are:

Sharon Elosser Material Handler
National Industries for the Blind, NC

Brian Stroud Business Development Manager
Midwest Enterprises for the Blind, MI

Coupling Hadley's proven excellence in making distance learning accessible with NIB’s mission to enhance opportunity for economic and personal independence for people who are blind, NIB Business Basics teaches entry-level business concepts and skills. This is done through five courses, all offered online, in large print and in Braille. The courses are:

Business Communications
Business Fundamentals
Business Writing
Internet: Beyond the Basics
"Using Excel"

Regardless of current position or background, the seven grads have one thing in common: a quest for knowledge and self improvement, and the motivation to act on it.

During the Awards Banquet, the graudates are posing with Roxann Mayros (3rd from right), president and CEO, VisionServe Alliance, Missouri; and Sandy Finley (2nd from right), training development specialist, and Kevin Lynch (far right), president and CEO, both of National Industries for the Blind (NIB), Virginia.

Graduates group picture: left to right, Lee Strickler, Jeana Angelini, Eriq Cunningham, and Timothy LaCroix.