Here are a few sample letters to Governor Bob Riley.
These are letters that vendors or relatives have already written and mailed to the Governor. You may use these letters as a template to write the Governor yourself!
Thank you for you support!!!!
July 27, 2008
David Talley
108 Ridgeview Road
Talladega, Alabama 35160
(256) 315-2546
E-mail: pmdtalley@yahoo.com
Honorable Governor Bob Riley
600 Dexter Avenue
Montgomery, Alabama 36130-2751
Dear Governor Riley,
My name is David Talley.
I have been visually impaired since birth. My best-corrected vision
(one eye only) is only 1/10th that of normal vision. I am totally blind in the other eye. I have been with the Business Enterprise
Program 28 years; 24 of these years have been with the Department of
Corrections. Presently, my location is
at Childersburg Work Release. I have
supported a wife and two children during this period of time, and presently, I
am buying a home. If Commissioner
Allen succeeds, it will put 24 blind vendors out of business. It will dramatically affect their lives as
well as the lives of their employees.
These 24 vendors represent 20% of this program’s vendors. Blind people continue to have the highest
rate of unemployment of all disabled persons.
The Business Enterprise Program has consistently provided the means for
business minded blind adults to be able to operate their own business, thereby
allowing them to fulfill goals and dreams that would otherwise not have been
attainable. The Business Enterprise
Program is by far the most successful program of its kind, not only in the
state of Alabama, but also throughout the nation. I have a greater fear of losing this program than of losing my
sight. If we lose the Department of
Correction Facilities, what will stop other State Agencies from doing the same
thing?
Governor Riley, since 1974 every governor has openly
supported us. Please don’t turn your back on the blind now.
Thank you
Sincerely,
David Talley
July 20,2008
Governor Bob Riley
State Capitol
600 Dexter Avenue
Montgomery, Alabama 36130
Dear Governor Riley,
My name is Louis Souleotes. I am a 66-year-old blind
vendor working through the State
of Alabama’s Business Enterprise Program for over 15
years. Born and raised in
Birmingham, 1 currently live in Ashville where I operate
the vending facilities at the
North and Southbound rest stops about mile each direction
from the Ashville exit on
Interstate 59. I am a hard worker and make a good living
here and it is due in no small
part to BEP,
I have always considered myself a worker. ln my years
before I lost my vision I worked
in restaurants and even ran my own cafe in Birmingham.
After I lost my vision due to a
hereditary disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa (a
deterioration of the retina) I began
working in the vending industry. I had many vending
routes through the years and I
managed a myriad of different types of machines such as
beverage, snack, sandwich, hot
meal. dollar changers. etc.
In the late 70's I wanted a change of pace. I sold my
vending route and moved to
Cropwell (close to Pell City, Alabama) and purchased a
small grocery store on Logan
Martin Dam Road. It vas a small little venture but it
allowed me to live in the country
and enjoy a slower living which is what I thought I
wanted at the time, After a few years,
however, it became clear that, as wonderful as country
living turned out to be, there was
no way I was going to be able to provide for my family on
a long term basis.
So, I went back to work. I started working at the
Industries for the Blind in Talladega
Cutting paper for $3.35 an hour. It was along commute
from Cropwell but it was good to
Get back to work in an industrial atmosphere, something I
was very familiar with through
my vending experience years earlier. I worked hard and
always tried to increase my
production to show my supervisor that I could handle
responsibility and perhaps get a
shot at earning more money. For my efforts was named
Blind Worker of the Year for
the State of Alabama. I went to Washington D.C. where I
met then president Ronald
Regan. It was also during this trip that I met someone
that I still count among my friends,
Dr. Jack Hawkins. It was really a highlight of my life.
When I returned I quickly realized that this was not the
type of job that was going to put
me on the fast track to earning a respectable living for
my family. I was given a $.25 per
hour raise. It was time for a change and that is the
direction I went, That was when my
wife and I started a business selling brooms and mops across the state. We made a good
living. It was good to be out on the road and meeting
folks all over the state but after a
few years even that turned out to be not a long term
solution for the income needs of my
family.
It was then that I found BEP. I went back to school in
Talledega to learn all facets of how to
run a vending business; maintenance, purchasing, customer
service, profit and
loss, etc. Since that time I have really been able to
realize my potential and earn a
respectable living of which I am very proud. l even found
myself back to the country
living that I always idealized. I am successful thanks to
BEP and the opportunity it
provided me to realize all my potential.
I am writing you this letter today because of what I fear
may be the beginning of the end
for BEP and the Randolf Sheppard Act from which the
program was inspired. As I write
this the Department of Corrections of the State of
Alabama is considering changing their
policy of allowing BEP to run their vending facilities.
lf this happens there are 24 blind
vendors, their families and employees who will be
directly affected. In a stroke of a pen
24 of my colleagues could have their careers taken from
them, reducing them from proud,
taxpaying contributors to Alabama's economy to welfare recipients.
I know these
people. They are as good as you and I are. Please
Governor Riley, help us keep the State
of Alabama friendly to handicapped Americans and support
our efforts in maintaining the
employment opportunities that we worked so hard to achieve.
We want no charity. We
want to work.
Thank you very much for your attention. If you ever find yourself on I 59 North or
South,
please stop by the Ashville Rest Stop a have a look at
how we keep our facilities. They
are second to none.
Sincerely,
Louis Souleotes
Ashville, Alabama
Governor Bob
Riley
State Capital
600 Dexter Avenue
Montgomery,
Alabama
36130
Dear Governor
Riley,
I would like to bring to your
attention something that will affect 24 families immediately and countless
families in the future if allowed to proceed.
The Randolf Sheppard Act, which was
introduced and passed to provide working facilities for legally blind persons,
is currently being challenged. The Department of Correction for the State of
Alabama is contemplating bidding out their Vending facilities instead of
allowing the BEP vendors to work them.
Not
only will this effect all the legally blind people and their families in
Alabama but it will also bring to a halt another program provided by the State,
one which so many people have benefited from over the years, and that is the
BEP program held in Talladega.
I
know on paper it looks like something which would benefit the DOC but sometimes
you have to take into account the people’s life’s that will be affected by such
a change.
I’m
sure you have received other letters about this subject, mostly from the blind
vendors themselves but I’m not a blind vendor. I am however a legally blind
person who graduated from the BEP program 5 years ago. I earned a license which
enables me to bid on the facilities set up by the Randolf Sheppard Act as they
come available. I have been blessed to be able to work at my church for the
pass 3½ years while moving up the seniority ladder. I say blessed because I
know the church is struggling financially and keeping me there is more for my
benefit than theirs.
Like
I said, I have waited 5 years to move up the ladder but if DOC is allowed to
open this can of worms it might as well be 150 years because once big
corporations get involved the BEP vendors won’t stand a chance.
I
write this from experience. Before I became blind I worked for a family snack
& vending business for 22 years. I spent about 15 years trading one or two
Mom and Pop store accounts to get vending machines in the area schools. Over
the years my route grew to include about 80% vending and I had machines in
almost every school in town. I didn’t mind the competition from the local
vendors because I always worked harder and also this was when personal service
went a long ways.
About
3 or 4 years before I had to quit work the school system went to a bidding
system which allowed for the lowest bidder to get the accounts. I fought
Buffalo Rock at every turn but it did no good. I even had the help of the
school principals, who had become my friends, but when it was over the school
route I had spent years developing was cut by about two thirds.
I’m
sure they made a few more dollars going with Buffalo Rock because big
corporations can show a loss the first year are two while getting the bids and
then go up on their price after they run everyone else away and like they are
trying to do now they affected several families then too. Two years after I was
forced to quit work, due to my failing eye sight, the Family I was working for
closed the doors on their Vending business.
Please Governor, don’t let DOC go forward
with this because I can assure you if BEP loses these accounts it will have a
ripple affect with grave consequences for far too many people.
The BEP Vendors are hard working Alabamians who aren’t looking for a handout but they are individuals, unlike the big corporation, who desperately need someone to stand up for them.
Rusty J.
Dothan, Alabama
July
17, 2008
Dear Governor Riley,
I am a blind manager with the Business Enterprise Program for the Blind.
I have been working at the Decatur Work Release for 5 years. Recently I
have
learned the Department of Corrections wants to take my job and
23
other blind managers at other D.O.C locations. Not only will this make
difficulty
for ourselves but also, for our employees, families and etc. It will
be extremely
difficult for us to find employment. Governor Riley, you have
supported
us in the past and we hope for your support now to save our jobs.
Sincerely,
Deborah Osborne
July 22, 2008
Dear Governor
Riley:
My Sister, Deborah W. Osborne, along
with several of my friends, are in the Alabama Business Enterprise Program for
the Blind, a division of the Alabama Department of Adult Rehabilitation.
It is my understanding that the
Department of Corrections is enacting a plan to directly manage vending
operations at all state correctional facilities, thereby eliminating
twenty-four facilities operated by Blind Vendors at these facilities. These blind men and women are
professionals. They are committed to
providing quality service and products to their customers. These managers are highly trained, and have
several years of experience and are continually attending seminars and ongoing
training, to maintain the highest level of quality service and providing the
latest in product diversity. These are
highly dedicated individuals, totally committed to their profession.
An action of this nature on the part
of the Department of Corrections would severely impact the Alabama Business
Enterprise program, resulting in 20.34% of blind managers loosing their
livelihood. A 20.34% unemployment rate
is a far higher figure than the national unemployment rate. Further, it is very difficult for a blind
individual to pursue employment, as the number of positions available to blind
individuals is severely limited by the fact of blindness. Career opportunities for blind individuals
are restricted far more than many other types of handicaps.
On an individual basis, this would
be financial devastation for the manager and his family. I wish you could feel the fear that I
perceive from these individuals. The
prospect of loosing their jobs, homes, a means of even providing the basic
necessities to their families, is nothing less than unconscionable. These people are highly motivated, and the
prospect of ending up on Public Assistance, is, simply, unthinkable.
Governor Riley, I urge you, we all
urge you, to please step in and prevent this action, and maintain the superior
level of service, currently provided by these Blind Managers.
Sincerely,
Linda S.
Partridge, Manager
Tennessee
Business Enterprises
Governor Riley,
My name is Cheryl King.
I am writing concerning the Business Enterprise Program for the Blind. I
understand some of the big vending companies such as Buffalo Rock and Aramark
want to take over the DOC contracts. If
this takes place the blind vendors will have no jobs or places to get a
job. In turn blind vendors could lose
their houses, their income and most important, their independence. I work with a blind vendor and know how
hard they work and appreciate the opportunity to serve others. I am asking you in advance to step in and
protect the BEP jobs as you have in the past.
Sincerely,
Cheryl King