The Clay County JobSight and the Daniel Boone Development Council (DBDC) have been recognized by the Kentucky Office for the Blind (OFB) with one of only four “Partnership of the Year” awards statewide.

Melissa Smith—a Manchester teacher who received assistance from the programs delivered through JobSight and DBDC—was also honored, receiving one of six Vocational Achievement Awards presented by OFB.

Lee Jones, the Clay County JobSight Manager, and Mona Whitaker, DBDC Deputy Director, accepted the Partnership of the Year Award at OFB’s fall 2005 statewide training conference held at General Butler State Resort Park in Carrollton. The Clay County JobSight workforce center is operated within the DBDC by the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP).

OFB presented a total of 14 awards to honor its outstanding consumers, partners, and employees.

“In 2005, we served more blind and visually impaired Kentuckians, and placed more consumers in the workplace than ever before,” OFB Executive Director Stephen Johnson said. “The OFB Awards are a way to highlight the successes of our consumers and recognize our employees and partners for all of their hard work.”

A record 2,895 Kentuckians were served in 2005 by OFB, which offers assistance to people who are blind or visually impaired and provides services to employers.

Additional details about the local awards appear below:

OFB Partnership of the Year Award: Clay County JobSight and Daniel Boone Development Council—The OFB is a key partner in the JobSight network, a collaborative partnership of workforce and training agencies that is administered by EKCEP. JobSight locations are “one-stop” workforce centers where job seekers and employers can get access to the services of over a dozen state and federal employment and training programs in a single location. The Clay County JobSight operates within the DBDC in Manchester.

Twyla Hammons, the Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist who represents the OFB at the Clay County JobSight, complimented JobSight and DBDC staff for successfully serving OFB customers throughout 2005. Hammons said OFB customers have benefited from the inter-agency cooperation that powers JobSight in many ways, including staff assistance with job placements, referrals for service, securing vocational training opportunities, and EKCEP’s JobFit on-line job-matching service.

“I feel that the Clay County JobSight and Daniel Boone Development Council deserve the Partnership of the Year Award because they truly know what partnership is all about,” Hammons said. “They work with me as a team in meeting all aspects of a consumer’s needs.”

EKCEP also operates comprehensive JobSight workforce centers in Bell, Perry, and Pike counties, in addition to nearly 70 JobSight access points and affiliate sites throughout 23 eastern Kentucky counties.

OFB Vocational Achievement Award: Melissa Smith—This was a landmark year for Melissa Smith. With assistance from OFB, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), and other programs available through the Clay County JobSight, Smith was able to overcome impaired vision and colorblindness and become independently mobile. With special glasses and instruction, she is now able to drive herself anywhere she wants—to the supermarket, across her hometown, or to her job as a special education teacher at Clay County High School.

The WIA program helped Smith complete her final two years of work toward a bachelor’s degree from Union College by covering her college-related travel and food expenses, and contributing toward her tuition. Later, special WIA funds paid for Smith’s custom set of bioptic driving glasses obtained through the OFB and for training in how to use them. The training culminated in her passing the driver’s test and gaining the freedom she has longed for her entire life.

“I’d always made the statement that I was an independent person in a dependent body,” Smith said. “That used to be true, but now I’m finally able to have the independence I always wanted.”

WIA Career Adviser Phillip Arnett worked with Smith while she was completing college. After Smith graduated, Hammons contacted Arnett about OFB’s Bioptic Driving Program.

Arnett and Clay County JobSight Manager Lee Jones also worked with EKCEP Quality Assurance Manager Ken Enochs to ensure Smith could access a special reserve of WIA funds set aside at the state level to provide drivers’ training for visually impaired people. Thanks to her bioptic driving equipment and behind-the-wheel training, Smith earned her driver’s license in April.

“The WIA is a very good program,” Melissa says. “When you go 29 years and think you’re never going to drive, I just don’t know how to put it into words how major of a step this is for me. I’m very fortunate to be able to be doing what I do, and they contributed money-wise to help me do it.”