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2B
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | forsythnews.com
FROM 1B
As a child, his vision with
out corrective lenses was
2800, he said.
“Legally blind is 2200, so |
couldn’t even see the E on the
eye chart when I was right in
front of it,” Tankersley said.
He said he wore glasses
with “Coke bottle” lenses
from the time he was about 9
months old until he was 15.
“Corrected, 1 was able to
get my vision somewhere in
the neighborhood of 2100, or
about 20/80,” he said. “I
would literally have to go up
to the blackboard, within
arm’s length to be able to see
what my teacher was writ
ing.”
When he was 15,
Tankersley said his life
changed when he met a cou
ple of eye doctors who were
able to use hard contact lens
es to improve his vision and
get him out of the “Coke bot
tle” glasses.
“[They] told my dad they
could make it better to the
point that they could at least
get me seeing well enough to
pass the requirements for a
driver’s license,” Tankersley
said. “Of course at 15 years
old, you can imagine how
that was for me.”
He said the hard contacts
allowed him to get his vision
up to around 20/60. It also
started a relationship with the
doctors that lasted many
years.
Tankersley went on to
graduate from the University
of South Carolina. Shortly
after that, the doctors hired
FROM 1B
Retailers
area to understand what we’re
doing and get them onboard with
us.”
To raise awareness as well as
funds, the organization is holding
its first SK fundraiser next
month.
The Surf and Sun 5K will
A hittle something to
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him to work in their optical
office, where he learned
about the field.
“1 guess a better job's never
come along,” he said of the
vision business.
He went on to become an
optician himself and worked
many years as a franchise
owner of a Pearle Optical
location in Stone Mountain,
In 2008, seeking to
improve his job skills after a
job loss, he went to the
Georgia Vocational
Rehabilitation Agency. The
department works with peo
ple with various disabilities
to help make them more mar
ketable to employers.
“Our job is basically to
assist Georgians who have a
disability and who desire to
go to work or go back to
work,” said Jack Glison,
supervisor of the the agency’s
assistive work technology
unit, which helped
Tankersley with the tools he
needed. “Our job is to put
people who have a disability
to work.”
While working with Glison
and others, Tankersley learned
about new technologies that
were available to assist him,
such as the Examiner and
Pebble. He later also took part
in specialized training pro
grams through the Center for
the Visually Impaired in
Atlanta.
Last summer, Tankersley
was hired at Briot in Forsyth.
With his background in the
vision field, he was a perfect
fit for the company, which
makes equipment eye doctors
use to fit lenses inside frames.
“He’s got the technical
knowledge,” said Matt
Cevasco, president and gener-
begin with check-in and registra
tion at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 2 at
Cumming Towne Center, 2475
Market Place Blvd. The run
starts at 8:30 a.m.
All those who register by
Sunday will pay $25 and receive a
long-sleeve T-shirt. Registration
after Sunday will include shirts
only while supplies last.
Madding said the race should
provide runners with scenic
Views.
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Autumn Vetter Forsyth County News
Lewis Tankersley shows some of the tools that assist him
with his job at Briot USA.
al manager of Briot. “His
visual challenges have all
been completely transparent.
“Disability or not, I would
highly encourage other busi
ness managers to look beyond
typical barriers and find peo
ple who are committed to
your vision and your compa
ny.”
Thanks to his tools from
“They’re going to have a nice
little walk up the hill and then
run down through Mary Alice
Park, out toward the lake and
back.” he said.
“We're shooting for 150 run
ners, but I'd love to be really sur
prised and blow that out of the
water.” .
Madding added that while
many may not think of Forsyth
residents as going hungry, there
are many who do.
BULLDOG FANS
R e e e o T e e NSO BRSPS T e
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A Steady Diet
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Vocational Rehabilitation,
Tankersley is able to read fine
print in Briot's catalogs, see
tiny serial numbers on parts
and complete tasks that would
otherwise be impossible. He’s
thankful Briot took a chance
on him.
“It’s real hard because a lot
of employers talk, ‘Yeah we
want to [hire people with dis-
Want to help?
« Registration for the Surf and Sun 5K is $25 through
Sunday online at www.fivestarntp.com.
e Food retailers interested in learning more about Feed the
Hungry Forsyth can e-mail info @feedforsyth.org. More infor
mation can be found at www.feedforsyth.org.
“We just want to stress that
roughly 10.3 percent of Forsyth
County struggles with hunger
and about 24.5 percent of the
children,” he said. “So despite
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2013 |
abilities]. But when it really
gets down to it, they're scared
to death because they're
afraid of the liability that's
involved,” Tankersley said.
“Briot really stepped up and
took a chance,” he said.
Glison agreed that compa
nies should consider employ
ees with disabilities since, if
given the right tools, they can
typically perform as well as
anyone else.
“What's fun is when you
see somebody that you helped
place in their job and they're
on their second or third pro
motion,” he said. “That’s real
ly good because that means
you've made a good match
and the employer appreciates
what they can do, and they’re
saying so by promoting them
and that these are not always
dead-end, entry-level jobs.”
Tankersley hopes more
companies will give people
with disabilities a chance.
“What I would like to see is
that other companies don’t be
quite so shy, talk to these peo
ple ... they’re just as dedicat
ed and just as determined.”
Contact
For more information
about the Georgia
Vocational .
Rehabilitation Agency
and its services for
businesses and indi
viduals with disabili
ties, visit www.vocre
habga.org.
the fact that we're a pretty
affluent county and have a pret
ty decent standard of living, we
still have folks that are just
struggling with essentials.”
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