IFB Beat – Week of February 13, 2023

Quick Links:

News to Know
Special Update from Dan Kelly, President and CEO
February is Low Vision Awareness Month
Save the Date: IFB Solutions Golf Tournament is June 22

Programs and Services
NFB Announcement
VIPS 2 Minute Table Topics
SEE what S.E.E. is Doing!
Adult Support Group Meetings

Community Low Vision Centers
CLVC Item of the Week
CLVC Item of the Month

Insider Corner

Community Connections

HR and Opportunities – Job Postings

Support Group Zoom Meeting Links

News to Know

From Dan Kelly, IFB Solutions President and CEO

IFB Solutions is undergoing a transformation, even as we hold tight to our mission of creating jobs for people who are blind. We’re facing though economic situations in our country, and our business is complex. To be successful, we need a simpler organizational structure.

My new executive team will consist of the following:

  • Jason Moser – Chief Financial Officer – all aspects of finance, accounting, and human resources report to him
  • Ken Edwards – Chief Supply Chain Officer – all aspects of supply chain, contracts, customer service, Clemmons, NC Distribution Center, BSC retail and sales operations, IFB’s Workforce Services division, Community Low Vision Centers and S.E.E. Programs report to him
  • Vasudha Rangapathy – Vice President of Information Technology and Ecommerce – all aspects of IT including infrastructure, software and security, as well as ecommerce through bscsource.com and our Pinnacle Mercantile operations report to her
  • Randy Buckner – Vice President of Manufacturing Operations – all manufacturing operations at Winston-Salem, Asheville, Little Rock and Puerto Rico as well as safety, engineering, quality and training report to him
  • Seth Anderson – Senior Director of Marketing and Development – all aspects of marketing, communications, philanthropy, commodity product sales and channel management and Impulse Merchandising Program and Military Resale merchandising.

If you have a chance to see or interact with these folks in the coming months, please extend congratulations and encouragement. If you have questions regarding the oversight of a particular function or business unit, please share those with your supervisor and we’ll work to get you answers.

With this team, and with all of your efforts, IFB Solutions will grow in ways that create more career options for people who are blind. These include:

  • Upwardly mobile careers through jobs across our Workforce Services division, BSC retail and e-commerce operations, as well as in IFB company administration
  • Competitive and integrated, highly technical jobs in our complex textile operations.
  • Jobs for those who are adjusting to blindness, seeking part-time work, and/or have multiple disabilities

I’m challenging our leaders to address the following questions:

  • Where can IFB Solutions create the greatest number of jobs, while achieving the most efficiency in production, to meet our customers’ pricing, quality and delivery expectations?
  • How should we best leverage our buildings and other assets to invest in mission and business growth?
  • Are there partnerships and relationships we can foster to ensure long-term employment across our geographic reach?
  • What products or services should we choose to stop providing, or say no to opportunities to take on, because they don’t meet our employment need or financial performance metrics?

I look forward to sharing additional updates as we work on answers to these questions. As you have thoughts and ideas, please don’t hold back – share them with your supervisor, ask for a meeting with a member of my team, or send me an email at dkelly@ifbsolutions.org.

Today’s changes are the building blocks that ensure we hold our position as America’s leader in building life-changing opportunities for people who are blind.

Sincerely,

Dan Kelly

IFB Solutions President and CEO

February is Low Vision Awareness Month

Did You Know? According to the National Eye Institute, currently 4.2 million Americans ages 40 and older are visually impaired. Of these, 3 million have low vision. By 2030, when the last baby boomers turn 65, the number of Americans who have visual impairments is projected to reach 7.2 million, with 5 million having low vision.

People diagnosed with an eye disease or condition that causes visual impairment may not know where to start to find the right services. Take some time this Low Vision Awareness Month to spread the word about the great customer care IFB Solutions provides through the Community Low Vision Center. Read more about the Community Low Vision Centers and its resources!

Sharon Washington Headshot

Meet Sharon Washington a friendly staff member at the Ronald G. Sherrill Community Low Vision Center in Winston-Salem, NC. Sharon has been a member of the Community Low Vision Center family for five years. Her low vision is due to having Stargardt’s Disease. She has two daughters, six grandchildren and enjoys cruising and traveling! Waking up with the realization she is positively influencing someone’s life every day Sharon states, “I love working in low vision because I get to meet and assist other people with vision impairments.”

Save the Date: IFB Solutions Golf Tournament, June 22

This year’s IFB Solutions Golf Tournament in Asheville is scheduled for June 22, 2023. All funds raised support employment and services for our employees and the wider community. We are looking for event sponsorships and donations, so please help us spread the word! If you have questions, please contact Ksenia Richards at 336-245-5655 or krichards@ifbsolutions.org.

 

Programs and Services

Winston-Salem NFB Announcement

Join the National Federation for the Blind on Monday, February 13 at 12 noon and learn all about our mission. There will also, be prizes and surprises in observance of Valentine’s Day. Mark your calendar! You don’t want to miss this meeting!

 

Winston-Salem VIPS 2 Minute Table Topics

Love to talk and voice your opinions? VIPS is hosting its first annual 2 Minute Table Topics competition April 4th at noon in Tad’s room. Open to all Winston employees, enter to speak for your chance to win cash prizes for first and second place winners.

What are 2 Minute Table Topics?
You will be asked a random question. There are no right or wrong responses, just your opinion. You have two minutes to provide an answer. However the catch is these answers are structured with an opening, body, and closing.

Rules:
In order to compete, participants must attend one VIPS meeting for hands on experience answering Table Topics and sign up by March 21st.

Upcoming VIPS meeting Dates:
February 21, March 7, & March 21.

Contact Shonn Redmond or Chris Flynt in the Low Vision Center for more information. Light refreshments will be provided.

 

See what S.E.E. is doing!

On Sunday, February 5, the S.E.E. kids attended the sensory symphony at R.J. Reynolds Auditorium.  We heard the Winston-Salem Symphony perform music from around the world.  This performance was a no shush concert where clapping, patting, dancing, and vocalizing was encouraged.  The S.E.E. kids made a shaker and touched the instruments before the show plus had their passport stamped for the countries they were about to visit.  IFB Solutions Programs provided Braille playlists at the symphony’s request to have this option for audience members that needed this accommodation.  Hopefully, we can partner the S.E.E. Program and the symphony again for other community events.

 

Adult Support Group Meetings:

  • Monday, February 13 NFB meeting from 12:00-12:45 in TADS Room.
  • Tuesday, February 14 Transportation support group meeting from 12:00-12:45 in TADS Room.
  • Wednesday, February 15 Diabetic support group meeting from 12:00-12:45 in TADS Room.
  • Wednesday, February 15 Assistive Technology support group meeting from 7:00-8:00 via Zoom (link at end of newsletter).

 

Community Low Vision Center

CLVC Item of the Week:

Nail Clipper with Magnifier and Light for $11.95

No longer will you struggle with nail care; cut skin and jagged nails are now a thing of the past when you use this tool as part of your beauty/health regimen.

 

CLVC February Item of the Month:

Desk-Top Talking Calculator for $13.85

Clear Female Voice and Big Display for Low Vision | This full function calculator features a giant 8-digit display and a clear, easy to understand female voice. Also features repeat, memory, auto power shut-off, and adjustable volume.

 

If you are interested in purchasing Low Vision Equipment through our Loan Program (3rd Party), please contact a Low Vision Coordinator for assistance. 

 

Insider Corner

Have a story, new article, app, or interesting fact you want to share. Email Faith Harding at fharding@ifbsolutions.org and we will post it.

 

Community Connections

New Corporate Partnership Advances Accessibility of Cereal Packaging

Submitted by Kim Shoffner

The Kellogg Company recently announced a collaboration with NaviLens to make the packaging of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Special K Original, Rice Krispies and Crispix accessible to people with vision loss. These products will now feature a NaviLens optical smart code. The codes can be detected with the free NaviLens mobile app, allowing users to navigate to them from a distance, such as in a grocery store, and obtain product information comparable to what is displayed on the cereal box. By the end of 2023, NaviLens technology will also be implemented fully in Kellogg’s U.S. corporate facilities for the benefit of employees who are blind and low vision. You can read more about the collaboration here: https://www.specialtyfood.com/news/article/kellogg-helps-visually-impaired-through-packaging/

-from American Council of the Blind; January 28, 2023

 

HR & Opportunities – Job Openings

BSC Store Clerk- McGuire AFB

  • Education and work experience:
  • High School Diploma

No prior experience required.

External candidates may apply at
https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.php/jobs/ViewJobDetails?job=55968&clientkey=8B43E6E34C5D5C9AA3D07BB04DBEB909

Internal candidates may apply at
https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.php/jobs/ViewJobDetails?job=55969&clientkey=8B43E6E34C5D5C9AA3D07BB04DBEB909&jpt=ce8685cef740a6280b5fcb492b556fa5

 

BSC Vending Stock Clerk- Rock Island

Education and work experience:

  • High School graduate or equivalent GED.
  • Inventory/stock room experience preferred.

External candidates may apply at
https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.php/jobs/ViewJobDetails?job=56292&clientkey=8B43E6E34C5D5C9AA3D07BB04DBEB909

Internal candidates may apply at
https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.php/jobs/ViewJobDetails?job=56293&clientkey=8B43E6E34C5D5C9AA3D07BB04DBEB909&jpt=ce8685cef740a6280b5fcb492b556fa5

 

For information about any employment opportunities with IFB Solutions please contact Brent Burkholder at bburkholder@ifbsolutions.org or 336-245-5611.

 

Zoom Meeting Links

Adult Support Groups Zoom

https://ifbsolutions.zoom.us/j/99498078576?pwd=ODJzK0sxcXZrME9yN25YRTdiNXBSQT09
Meeting ID: 994 9807 8576
PASSWORD: 92638
One tap mobile
+13017158592,99498078576# US (Germantown)

13126266799,99498078576# US
+(Chicago)

Dial by your location.
877 853 5257 US Toll-free
888 475 4499 US Toll-free
Meeting ID: 994 9807 8576

 

Assistive Technology Support Group Zoom

https://ifbsolutions.zoom.us/j/94434630872?pwd=aXFYSHYyWkh1SE1tWDNOdDIwVURwUT09

Meeting ID: 944 3463 0872
Passcode: 924496

+13017158592, 99434630872, #, # US (Germantown)

+13126266799, 99434630872, #, # US (Chicago)