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.
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. 21st 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.
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.
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/.
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 21st
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.
