Lone Star Blast is Coming to Austin and NFBCO Will Be There Too!

Click Here to see Kevan Worley's Video Introduction

Lone Star BLAST: A Time to Take Inventory

By Kevan Worley

November 18-21, 2014 will find a delegation of entrepreneurs who are blind and their collaborators attending Business Leadership and Superior Training (BLAST) in Austin, TX. BLAST is the premier training and networking conference and tradeshow for this nation’s blind entrepreneurs. As our Colorado delegation departs for a Lone Star BLAST, it seemed like a good time to take stock of the current state of business ownership by blind Coloradoans.

Picture: Text: Live Music Capitol of the World written in a circle around a guitar.

It has often been remarked that small business is the backbone of the nation’s economy. According to Forbe’s, there are almost 28 million small businesses in the U.S. and over 50% of the working population (120 million individuals) work in a small business.  Furthermore, small businesses have generated over 65% of the net new jobs since 1995. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonnazar/2013/09/09/16-surprising-statistics-about-small-businesses/. Data published by the Small Business Administration reports that 122,812 small businesses exist in Colorado, as of 2010 http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/co12.pdf.

If small business fuels economic security and opportunity for the sighted, why not a tool to lower the high unemployment rate among people who are blind? There are certainly businesses owned by people who are blind in the centennial state: law firms, home-based businesses, chiropractic practices, a lighting firm, insurance broker, and coffee-roaster, among others. Note: Gerry Leary is a member of the National Federation of the Blind who owns a coffee roasting company called the Unseen Bean in Boulder, CO, and has found success as a cutting-edge entrepreneur for many years http://www.theunseenbean.com/about. There are undoubtedly ventures owned by people who are blind of which I am unaware. Note: We would love to hear about blind-owned small businesses.

The most accessible business opportunities for the blind in Colorado and the nation have historically been through the Business Enterprise Program (BEP) http://www.dvrcolorado.com/pgm_pgm_bep.php. This program was authorized under the Randolph-Sheppard Act, passed in 1936 and significantly expanded through 1974 amendments fostered by Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, then President of the National Federation of the Blind and James Gashel, then Director of Governmental Affairs in the NFB’s Washington Office http://www.blindmerchants.org/training/randolph-sheppard-act. Mr. Gashel is considered by many to be the preeminent authority on the Randolph-Sheppard Act. He currently serves as Secretary of the National Federation of the Blind and resides in Avon, CO.

The BEP is an interesting mix of social program and free-enterprise in which people who are blind are authorized to manage food service and vending concessions on government property. Nationally, 2,100 blind vendors generated over $800 million in sales in 2012, the most recent year for which statistics are available https://rsa.ed.gov/view.cfm?rsaform=RSA-15&state=CO&fy=2012. In Colorado, this program is managed, or mismanaged, by the Department of Human Services Colorado Office of Community Access and Independence, a Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. The program is designated by the Rehabilitation Services Administration of the United States Department of Education http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/rsa/index.html.

Business Leadership and Superior Training (BLAST) is a program of the National Association of Blind Merchants (NABM), a Division of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) http://www.blindmerchants.org/nabm. BLAST is a three and a half day conference attended by blind vendors who operate vending and food service locations, mostly on government property across the nation. The BLAST conference was the brain child of National Association of Blind Merchants leaders, from right here in Colorado in 2000. The event is more than BEP; it draws a number of people who are blind entrepreneurs operating ventures outside of the Business Enterprise Programs (see BLAST training agenda http://www.blindmerchants.org/). Also attending, are dozens of subject-matter experts, state agency administrators, and private sector corporations seeking partnerships with blind entrepreneurs. The conference features an amazing tradeshow with more than 75 exhibitors, including access technologies for the blind, food and beverage products, business products, and legal experts.

Dan Whalen, Colorado BEP Program Manager, Scott Cass, Colorado BEP Trainer, and members of our Colorado Association of Blind Merchants (CABM), led by President Brad Basta, will play significant roles at the conference. Attendance at this year’s BLAST is expected to be more than 550. Note: BLAST is arguably the fourth largest conference for the blind in the U.S.

The President of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado (NFBCO), Scott LaBarre, is a nationally regarded attorney with expertise in Randolph-Sheppard and employment law http://www.labarrelaw.com/. Mr. LaBarre will be conducting a training session for state attorney generals with BEP oversight. Susan Rockwood Gashel, an attorney from Avon, Colorado, subject-matter expert and staunch advocate for the program, will also facilitate continuing legal education for attorney generals from across the country with legal oversight in the areas of vocational rehabilitation and Randolph-Sheppard.

Jessica Beecham, with a background in health and fitness including a Master’s of Science in Exercise Science, will be giving a lecture on health and wellness at a special luncheon. This “to your health” luncheon will also feature Dr. Joel Kimmons, Atlanta, Georgia, a leading authority on the topic of nutrition at the Center for Disease Control. This topic is particularly timely given the recent General Services Administration Health and Sustainability Guidelines for Federal Concessions and Vending Operations http://www.blindmerchants.org/library/Guidelines_for_Federal_Concessions_and_Vending_Operations.pdf. Note: Ms. Beecham is the Community and Chapter Development Coordinator for NFBCO (see earlier blog posts). She also serves on the Board of Directors of our newly formed Sports and Recreation Division. As you observe, there is a strong Colorado presence at Lone Star BLAST.

We are lucky in Colorado in one sense; our BEP is one of the more functional programs of its type in the nation. The median income is approximately $62,000 per year. The program features a dedicated staff and many knowledgeable and motivated licensed blind vendors. But, the program’s effectiveness has been greatly inhibited by the current broken state of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), which houses BEP. There are lucrative locations going without blind management because DVR is being so mismanaged that a blind individual interested in the training and licensure necessary must wait on a list not knowing when his or her case will be opened. This means that, although the teamwork of Program Manager Whalen and blind operators have created stable, and growing concessions, there are locations which could earn between $40,000 and $60,000 a year going without a blind person in need of a job.

There are capable, energetic people who are blind, wanting to work, going without. This is a shameful dereliction of duty for which apathetic, backward-looking bureaucrats at the Department of Human Services should be held accountable. Of course, these intransigent bean-counters have a job, don’t they? This disparity is particularly striking because we do have salaried state employees at the level of BEP staff with a dedication to their duty and then some. As suggested above, the Colorado program is governed effectively through collaboration with the blind operators and staff to a degree not often found in other states.

The program has employed hundreds of blind Coloradoans over the years. It not only provides an income, it also serves as a vehicle to educate members of the public about the capacity of people who are blind. When a customer receives good service, enjoys good food, and pays a fair price at a business managed by a person who is blind, perceptions are changed. In addition, blind vendors sometimes use the program as the first step on a path to business ventures beyond the government sector. In fact, opportunities for vending and concessions on government properties are becoming less abundant for a variety of reasons. 21^st century competition from fast food and quick-service restaurants in closer proximity to the workplace, government cut-backs and telecommuting are factors that lessen the demand for concessions at government sites. Moreover, the narrow spectrum of businesses created by Randolph-Sheppard, limited as they are to food service and vending on government property, combined with the 75% unemployment rate for people who are blind demands that new avenues for self-employment must be investigated, established, and nurtured.

The National Federation of the Blind of Colorado attempted to collaborate with the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation for the creation of new, bold business incubation last spring to no avail. To be fair, there were rehab counselors and BEP staff with interest in a robust, new, self-employment initiative. However, those at the agency responsible for nurturing self-employment for people with disabilities and DVR’s management pooh-poohed every idea put on the table. Perhaps, it was because the effort was driven by blind consumers? We can’t say. Nevertheless, the NFBCO and CABM continue to work with willing partners. The National Business Leadership Network, Small Business Administration, National Federation of the Blind Entrepreneur Initiative (NFBEI), the Colorado Center for the Blind, and others, will continue to dream up ideas to bring imaginative and profitable self-employment to people who are blind.

In this picture you see the exterior of one of our beautiful BEP facilities.

NFBEI has become the advocacy arm for the Federation at the national level. It has drafted a bill, which would create federal contract opportunities through collaboration with the AbilityOne program http://www.abilityone.org/. Currently, AbilityOne, which oversees the non-profit direct labor employment programs for people with disabilities managed by Source America and the National Industries for the Blind, has no entrepreneurial component. The legislation would create one. Note: the National Federation of the Blind has made no decision about when to bring the proposal to Congress.   

In this picture employee and Brad Basta in Brad's facility.

Brad Basta is the President of CABM. He is a living example of true entrepreneurship. He has been at the forefront of business creation for the blind both under Randolph-Sheppard and in the private sector. Mr. Basta manages the NREL Café at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO. He brings a high-quality, sustainable service to the NREL employees through a creative joint venture with Southern FoodService Management http://www.southernfoodservice.com/.

Gary Nelson is CEO of Liberty Enterprises, Inc. and a nationally regarded vending industry leader. He is co-chair of the Colorado Committee of Blind Operators. Mr. Nelson is a member of the CABM and is only the second person to complete the Hadley School for the Blind-NABM Entrepreneur of Excellence coursework. He will receive his award at the BLAST Awards Banquet featuring American Idol finalist Scott MacIntyre Thursday evening, November 20 http://scottmacintyre.com/.

In the above photo, Gary Nelson, receives Executive Development Program Certification from the National Automatic Merchandising Association.

As our delegation heads to BLAST, we will build the network, investigate new ventures, and gain insights, which we hope will aid in our quest for employment through business ownership for the blind in the 21^st century. It is clear that the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado will be a leader in the effort. It is our hope that the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation will join the quest.