Transcript

Rick Sizemore:  The following is a special feature presentation of the VR Workforce Studio Podcast recorded before a live studio audience, March 7, 2025, as the kickoff to the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation’s spring conference in Bethesda, Maryland.

Steve Wooderson: It’s my pleasure to transition to our first general session. I want to say thank you to Commissioner Kathy Hayfield, Virginia DARS for lending us their talent through the VR Workforce Studio. And today we’re going to be able to celebrate successes, Beyond the Buzz, by being part of the VR Workforce Studio presentation. And so I’m pleased to pass this off to our friends. Rick, Betsy, take it away.

MUSIC: Beyond the Buzz. VR Workforce Studio.

Kandace Campbell:  Welcome to the CSAVR Consumer Showcase Podcast.

MUSIC: Beyond the Buzz.

Jake Hart: Four, three, two, one. VR Workforce Studio, podcasting the sparks that ignite vocational rehabilitation through the inspiring stories of people with disabilities who have gone to work.

Flora Frazier: Working in a field that I understand.

Jake Hart:  As well as the professionals who have helped them.

James Hall:  A job and a career. You got to look at how life changing this is.

Jake Hart:  And the businesses who have filled their talent pipelines with workers that happen to have disabilities.

Debby Hopkins: To help expand registered apprenticeship.

Jake Hart:  These are their stories.

Megan Healy:  Because there’s such a great story to tell about people with disabilities.

Jake Hart:  Now here are the hosts of the VR Workforce Studio, Rick Sizemore and Betsy Civilette.

Rick Sizemore:  Let me welcome you to the CSAVR Consumer Showcase Podcast. We have some amazing guests for today’s show. George Dennehy, the armless guitarist, here to sing his signature song Work Makes the World Go Round and share his incredible story of VR behind the music.

Betsy Civilette:  And also on today’s show, we have Kaleb Jeffries and Peter Bale of Sentinel Robotics Solutions, showcasing how VR and robotics are transforming careers.

Rick Sizemore:  And for the first time before our live studio audience, as we bring sound to her, Sage Wilson, our AI digital co-host will join us for part of today’s session.

Betsy Civilette:  And also we have the delectable delights of Jack Pinnock, the entrepreneur behind Dreamy Cookies who turned his passion into a thriving business with the help of VR. And then you’ll get some of his treats available first come, first serve after the podcast.

Rick Sizemore:  And they do smell great. So let’s get things started. Ladies and gentlemen, won’t you join me in a warm welcome for the amazing George Dennehy?

George Dennehy:

Work makes the world go round.

Everybody make a sound.

Show them all who you are.

It’s time for you to be a star.

Ain’t nothing going to hold you back.

Train for this and that’s a fact.

There’s so much for you to do.

All you got to do is choose.

Work makes the world go round.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

I’m made for this moment, it’s time to own it.

I’m not afraid now, I’m going to seize the day.

Working hard, so they say.

I’ve got my heart strong, keeping my head on.

Whatever challenge wants to come in my way.

It’s all going to be okay.

Work makes the world go round.

Everybody make a sound.

Show them all who you are.

It’s time for you to be a star.

Ain’t nothing going to hold you back.

Train for this and that’s a fact.

There’s so much for you to do.

All you got to do is choose.

Work makes the world go round.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

This is all I’m made for.

This is all I work for.

In my VR training to find a job for myself.

Focused on nothing else.

Though I may be different, that don’t mean that I can’t be part of society and advocate for my life.

There’s no disability.

Work makes the world go round.

Everybody make a sound.

Show them all who you are.

It’s time for you to be a star.

Ain’t nothing going to hold you back.

Train for this and that’s a fact.

There’s so much for you to do.

All you got to do is choose.

Work makes the world go round.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

I’m making these wages, turning life’s pages.

Building my future, there’s joy in the daily grind.

Showing up right on time.

I’m ready to give my all, it’s okay to learn to fall.

I will never stay there doubting, each day’s an opportunity.

To be the best that I can be.

Work makes the world go round.

Everybody make us sound.

Show them all who you are.

It’s time for you to be a star.

Ain’t nothing going to hold you back.

Train for this and that’s a fact.

There’s so much for you to do.

All you got to do is choose.

Work makes the world go round.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Work makes the world go round.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Work makes the world go round.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Work makes the world go round.

Rick Sizemore:  Mr. George Dennehy.

Betsy Civilette:  Yes. Thank you, George.

Rick Sizemore:  All right.

Betsy Civilette:  All right, well, we’ll be back with more from the amazing George Dennehy after this important message from the Arizona Department of Economic Security’s Vocational Rehabilitation Program.

VR Speaker:  Imani Mohammed is no stranger to work with the help of Vocational Rehabilitation. She landed her first job in retail.

VR Speaker:  And then she decided I want to work with animals and specifically with dogs. So we then asked VR to say, “Hey,” and, “Can you help us do that?”

VR Speaker:  And the answer to that question was yes. Imani has been a spa therapist with Dogtopia, a doggie daycare and boarding facility for well over a year now.

Dog Topia:  She’s really, really great with the dogs. She’s super patient and gentle with them whenever they’re a little bit nervous for their spa day.

Imani Mohammed:  I have two cats and I have two dogs. Being with animals is very helpful.

VR Speaker:  I want Imani to feel like she is contributing to society and I want her to be happy in whatever that she does.

Rick Sizemore:  It’s such an amazing song. Tell us about where it came from and more importantly what you feel when you sing it.

George Dennehy:  Yeah. Well, thank you for having me and good morning everybody. Yeah, this song means a whole lot to me and writing it was an absolute just treat. I really wrote it with just a victorious mindset as somebody who is different and has had goals and dreams and aspirations in my own life, being able to overcome my own challenges, certainly not by myself, but being able to achieve those goals and chase those dreams. That’s really where I guess this song was born out of was this feeling of victory. And I hope that’s kind what is relayed to y’all, the listener. Yeah. I hope it just continues to inspire everybody else.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah. Well, I’m going to let the cat out of the bag. You told me on the car ride here, you had a new video released in a small setting and it hit some new numbers on TikTok and social media. How many views did your latest video get?

George Dennehy:  Yeah, yeah. A very small little short video of mine kind of blew up over this past week with over 7 million views.

Rick Sizemore:  7 million?

Betsy Civilette:  Yeah, from King William County in Virginia. It’s amazing. Yeah. And you are so inspiring, George. Let’s take it back a little though. Tell us your story. How did you get started with music and how did you overcome the challenges along the way?

George Dennehy:  Yes. I was born in Romania and I was born like this, without arms. And I was given into an orphanage straight from birth, and I was kind of neglected and malnourished and really left alone and left to die because my life didn’t have as much value as everybody else in this country, in this orphanage. But my life didn’t end there. I was adopted into a very loving family, very supportive family when I was two. And I grew up in this very large family with many other siblings, with also different differences and special needs and everything like that. And as I grew up, I learned just how to navigate this life and how to use my feet, use what I do have instead of focusing on what I don’t have to just overcome the daily challenges that arise in my life.

And for me, I like to say that for me it was more of a mental challenge struggle than it was a physical one. I had the tools at my disposal, but it was up to me to be persistent. It was up to me to work hard and to be disciplined and to find a way. And again, I am thankful that I had supportive people in my life, like my parents and others that I’ll continue to share who pushed me and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah, I’ve interviewed you so many times and every time is like a new experience because you keep evolving and the person that George Dennehy is just getting started. But talk with us, if you will, about vocational rehabilitation, your career. How did VR play into this enormous success you have achieved in music and as a speaker?

George Dennehy:  Yeah, as I grew older, I learned to do all these things and from an early age found a passion for music. But then again, that roadblock of how do I even start music? And thankfully I had a music teacher, just the first of many people in my life, instrumental people, instrumental people. I didn’t mean to do that, but instrumental people who have really stepped into my shoes. My first cello teacher, I began on the cello, before she taught me. She taught herself how to play cello with her feet just to see if it could be done. So really people stepping into my shoes.

And when I became a teenager, I struggled a lot. I struggled a lot internally and emotionally with being different, with being bullied, being the outcast in my school, in my class, all that stuff. And I really struggled with do I matter? And I really struggled with, am I going to be able to make a difference in this world? Am I going to be able to offer the world anything? Kind of those questions. And just like any teenager, I was very excited when I turned 15 and you could get your permit and then eventually you could get your license. But of course I was thinking, can I? Can I actually get my license? Can I drive a car? Can I have that freedom, that independence that I want in my life? For sure.

And I ended up at Woodrow Wilson and had the most amazing instructor, Mary Breister, who truly, truly believed in me and did not sell me short at all. She was more confident in me than I was of myself. Even when we first got into the car and I was so nervous, I accelerated instead of backed up. So hit that parking meter. There might be still a dent, I don’t know. But it was all good. And she just worked with me and was so positive, so just, “You can do it, George. You got this, you can do it.” And I had times where I didn’t think about that for myself. But then lo and behold, I overcame this challenge, did the driving test with her, had a perfect score and went to McDonald’s after, went to the drive-thru. That was fun. McDonald’s worker was surprised, but oh well, and it was a great time.

And so having Mary and VR and Woodrow Wilson, it was more than just driving. It was more than just driving a car. It was a staple for my character. It was a staple for who I am today, being confident in who I am, wanting the world to see me now-

Rick Sizemore:   Just amazing.

George Dennehy:  … and being independent.

Rick Sizemore:  Just amazing. Well, we have some technology we’re going to try here. Sage Wilson is our new AI co-host if she’s going to cooperate. I think she, in addition to getting ready for this interview, she’s scanning the internet. “What about George? Tell me everything there is to know about George.” I believe she wants to be your first AI fan club president, but if she has voice, she’s going to ask you a question. Sage?

Betsy Civilette:  All right, Sage?

Rick Sizemore: Talk to me, Sage.

Sage Wilson AI:  George, Your music is incredible. I mean, performing Iris with the Goo Goo Dolls? Even as an AI that gives me cold chills. My access to information is unlimited. Of all the internet stories behind the music, your journey stands out. If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who embodies that same unstoppable spirit that helped you develop your career, who would it be and why?

George Dennehy:  Yes. That’s a great question. And that’s wild. That is a great question. My first answer would be The Goo Goo Dolls. They are my favorite band ever, but I’ve already been able to do that, thankfully. But my second answer is probably she said past or present, it’s probably Ray Charles. I think one of the things that I mostly always loved about Ray Charles and watching the videos and listening is just the joy. The joy that he has when he was playing and singing and just moving around and there’s so much joy and so much passion in the music. That’s what I want to be portrayed in my own music and my own stories is just joy. I’m happy with who I am because there’s so much possibility.

Rick Sizemore:  George, you’re amazing. You’re simply-

Betsy Civilette:  Thank you so much.

Rick Sizemore:… amazing. You can follow George and his amazing career at Thatarmlessguy.com, and we’d encourage you to do so. Download his music, schedule him for your event. He is the man. So thank you so much for being here.

Betsy Civilette:  Thank you, George.

Rick Sizemore:  George Dennehy.

George Dennehy:  Thank y’all.

Betsy Civilette:  All right.

Rick Sizemore:  The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency presents the Vocational Rehabilitation success story of Jasmine Moore.

Jasmine Moore:  So I currently work as a program manager in a prosecutor’s office in the metro Atlanta where I manage all the felony diversion programs. I also have my own nonprofit organization, Grateful Hands Incorporated. So at the age of about three years old, I was diagnosed with a genetic bone condition called osteogenesis imperfecta. And the common term for that is brutal bones disease. So as I got older, this genetic bone condition progressed. So I ended up using an electric wheelchair as my main source of mobility. I’m absolutely so grateful for GVRA. They provided life-changing services to me, and they were able to afford a sense of freedom that I had been longing for. I would absolutely recommend GVRA to anyone who is in my situation and who just longing for that sense of freedom, regardless of their abilities.

Rick Sizemore:  For more information, contact GVRA at gvs.georgia.gov.  All right, thank you, Georgia.

Betsy Civilette:  All right.

Rick Sizemore:  We’d also like to thank Chris Wells from Georgia for his assistance in producing that video. Welcome back to Beyond the Buzz, CSAVR’s Consumer Showcase Podcast as we welcome Kaleb Jeffries, who works as a drone pilot for Sentinel Robotic Solutions. He’s here with the company’s founder and chief operating officer, Peter Bale. Welcome, Peter and Kaleb.

Peter Bale:  Thank you.

Kaleb Jeffries:  Thank you very much.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, Kaleb, it’s been an amazing journey for you in becoming a drone pilot. Tell us about first your job at SRS now.

Kaleb Jeffries:  Yeah, absolutely. So my job with SRS has been nothing but incredible. For some reason, I want to get worked up because it’s a wonderful job. Every day, SRS has taught me how to be punctual, timely, and just maintain a task every day. Every day I come in and I follow a punctual checklist.

Rick Sizemore:  What do you do when you get there? What are these jobs? What do you do?

Betsy Civilette:  Yeah, skills?

Kaleb Jeffries:  It ranges from just keeping the office tidy and we actually print a lot. So I maintain our service for our copier. So if it needs any maintenance, the waste toner, the ink toner, whatever a problem might arise, I’m on it just to, “Hey, we’ve got a problem, can you come fix it?” “Yeah, I’m on it.”

Rick Sizemore:  What do you do out in the field?

Kaleb Jeffries:  So out in the field, I get to work with my wonderful boss, Jason Taylor, who is the UAS director of Sentinel Robotics Solutions.

Rick Sizemore:  What’s a UAS? What’s a UAS?

Kaleb Jeffries:  So unmanned aerial vehicle or an unmanned aerial system.

Rick Sizemore:  What us normal people call drones.

Kaleb Jeffries:  Right. So the proper terminology is-

Rick Sizemore:  Oh, proper.

Kaleb Jeffries:  … uncrewed systems.

Rick Sizemore:  You the man.

Kaleb Jeffries:  So for when we are out in the field, I am what’s known as a visual observer through the FAA. That is you are maintaining line of sight with the drone at all times. If you do lose line of sight, it’s not a big deal. You just regain as soon as possible. That is the rule that the Federal Aviation Administration has set for visual observing.

Rick Sizemore:  Okay.

Betsy Civilette:  Kaleb, around the eastern shore of Virginia, you are very well known as a weather forecaster. In fact, you met your hero, Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel. Tell us about how this all led to your dream career at SRS and tell us about the Part 107 license, which I think you have with you.

Kaleb Jeffries:  Yeah, so absolutely. So my dream career with SRS started because I had it an interest in the weather and I can’t get my license out of my pocket. That’s not, I mean, one second.

Rick Sizemore:  It’s in there somewhere.

Kaleb Jeffries:  I’ve got…

Betsy Civilette:  You need it to fly.

Rick Sizemore:  You told us you had an FAA license, part 107.

Betsy Civilette:  There it is.

Rick Sizemore:  Industry recognized workforce credential.

Kaleb Jeffries:  So my career with SRS started because I had an interest in the weather, but we had to find the perfect middle. So what we did, or how it all started is when I first was brought into ESCC to observe this drone course, of course meeting my boss, Jason. The first conversation I struck with him was weather. And he came back to me and he said, well, the biggest chapter in our book that I get the print is chapter five, and that is Aviation Meteorology. And I absolutely loved it. And I was like, “All right, I’ve got potential. There is potential. “And so I actually ended up taking that advanced course and getting my Part 107 license. But you also mentioned that I got to meet my dream hero when I was little.

Betsy Civilette:  Jim Cantore, yeah.

Kaleb Jeffries:  So how that all happened was I was with a babysitter. My stepdad was working at a bar, and my mom was working at a completely different restaurant. Well, little did we know Global Hawk, who flies into Wallops Flight Facility flies into hurricanes. It is unmanned or uncrewed. He was here doing an interview on that for the Weather Channel, and it went from a peaceful evening as a five-year-old to, “Quick get him to the bar. Jim Cantore’s here.” I was like, “Whoa, whoa. What’s happening? No one’s telling me anything.” I’m like, “This is great.” I run in and I’m like just starstruck in the face. I’m like, “Oh my God, this is happening.”

Rick Sizemore:  It’s an inspiration for you to meet your hero.

Kaleb Jeffries:  It was.

Rick Sizemore:  And then to become a meteorologist.

Kaleb Jeffries:  And you know what? I wake up six in the morning to watch him every day on the Weather Channel, the one channel I watch.

Rick Sizemore:  Oh, that’s awesome. That is so awesome.

Betsy Civilette:  To give you context, they’re located on the Eastern Shore near the Wallops Island, right? NASA facility. So I think that had something to do with why he was there.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, let’s get to Peter Bale, who leads SRS. He’s with us today. Welcome, Peter. Tell us about SRS’s partnership with vocational rehabilitation, or as you refer to it in Virginia, DARS, and how your business is partnering with Vogue Rehab to fill your talent pipeline honestly, with young, talented people that have disabilities.

Peter Bale:  Okay, thanks Rick. So you’ll have to excuse my southern Alabama accent. From Australia 20 years ago and flew a lot of the hurricane missions on the eastern shore that Kaleb’s talking about. This all started, Jason Taylor, stand up. He is the brains and the hindsight behind this. We met with Robin Sexauer at a workforce development, she’s the local DARS liaison. That happened about three days after Jason and Robin and Kaleb first met. Three weeks later, we were in the office with the Eastern Shore Community College, which is ESCC, Robin and myself. And we said, “Let’s do this.” And Robin was like, “Well, what do we need?” Well, we don’t need a lot. We just need a space. ESCC gave us the space. Jason, quickly, we came back and we developed a baseline curriculum taking from what we had out in the workforce development arena and putting it into a momentum based training environment.

So it was immersive and Kaleb was in the first cohort as part of that. So the one thing my wife and I are very passionate about as a company is STEM, is the outreach to the young folks in the community. And this was an ideal way for us to lean forward, put some time, put some effort in and see where it went. Because Robin and ourselves, we said, “We don’t know where this is going to go.” So the first day of the class, all the young folks come in, they’re all looking at their iPhones. They’re not interacting with anyone. But the thing that Robin did, which was really, really good was she brought the parents and the other siblings to the engagement. So it was a family within a family. But then at the end of the week, which was the Friday, and we only do two and a half to three hours depending on the saturation and what happens. But at the end of the week, parents were in tears, kids were exchanging emails, working out on their phones when they could next meet at McDonald’s to continue the relationship.

So that’s what it brought to us as a community, and it really has gravitated. So fast-forward, Jason calls me, says, “Come down, I want you to meet this kid talks about the weather.” I’m like, “All right.” So I drive down, I’m like, “Hey man, I’m Pete.” And he goes, “Oh, nice to meet you,” and starts straight into the weather. I said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I said, “What do you want to do?” He said, “Well, I want to be involved in a technology industry.” And that’s where we started the discussion. So Kaleb had a three-month intern after the course. It was funded in part by some state funding, and he gravitated really well to what we were doing.

So we said, “Hey, we’re going to give you a Christmas present, Kaleb.” And he didn’t know what it was. He didn’t know whether he was coming back on January one or whether it was something different. And we made him a full-time employee in ’24. So he’s been with us exactly for a year and a bit now and has really grown into the role. So to DARS Virginia, massive success. We’ve had two other interns with us in the field for doing utility things and all that. We do a lot of utility survey. These two gentlemen were in, where was it?

Kaleb Jeffries:  Kentucky.

Peter Bale:  Kentucky?

Kaleb Jeffries:  Western Kentucky.

Peter Bale:  Western Kentucky two weeks ago, conducting a mission. And who knows what next week will bring? Looks like either Mississippi or Tennessee from what I just heard. So this is a credit and we are committed as a company. We want to take this statewide in Virginia. And I challenged the nation, let’s take this nationwide. There is a real opportunity for this.

Betsy Civilette:  Yeah, thank you, Peter.

Rick Sizemore:  That’s fantastic. There was such a coalition that came together around this workforce development. ECC, the Eastern Shore Community College VR coalition really was brought together by Robin Sexauer, the VR counselor. She joins us remotely. Now, Robin, reflect on how all this came together.

Robin Sexauer: The question for me is a VR counselor is how am I going to get him to be a meteorologist on the very rural eastern shore and watching what a program such as the academy through the community college and Sentinel Robotics, how he has changed into a very mature, prospering, working, self-supporting adult has been amazing. And seeing that what we cross a lot of times with VR is that you can make your dreams happen, but you might have to alter them a little bit. So maybe his title is not meteorologist, but it was a win-win partnership with Sentinel Robotics because his skills and drive to learn the weather part of it incorporated so well into the drone part of it. And it’s really benefited everybody and probably given Sentinel a little bit more height with their track and playing that meteorology role into it. So it’s been very rewarding and watching him grow and be so happy has been the best thing for me. To see the smile on his face every time I see him. And I go to a lot of community events and they’re out there marketing what they’re doing.

Rick Sizemore:  Wow. Well, here’s where it’s get real interesting real fast.

Betsy Civilette:  Yes, Kaleb, we understand you have a drone with you and we are excited to see this amazing device in action. So tell us, show us your stuff.

Kaleb Jeffries:  Yes, so absolutely. So what I’m going to be flying for you guys today is a little DJI Mavic Mini II. We’re just going to do a basic flight hover in place, show you some flight controls, nothing too fancy. And she’s got prop guards, so we’re pretty safe, so no one’s got anything to worry about.

Rick Sizemore:   All right. Spin it up.

Kaleb Jeffries:  Yeah, let’s give her a whirl.

Peter Bale: We just ask for the front row if it comes out, cover your face.

Rick Sizemore:  Pete, you can give us a little color commentary about what we’re seeing here.

Peter Bale:  Yeah, so Kaleb’s done a preflight, he’s done all the checks, the aircraft will spin up. He’s making sure that he is in a good position. He’s comfortable. He looks around, checks everything, and there’s no pressure here because your boss is watching Kaleb, but I think it’s over to you now. You facing the right way?

Betsy Civilette:  All right.

Kaleb Jeffries:  All right. Clear props taking off.

Peter Bale:  And we are not under the jurisdiction of the FAA because we’re indoors.

Betsy Civilette:  Right. Are they going to do a little spinny thing? There we go. All right. Coming in for a safe landing.

Rick Sizemore:  Kaleb Jeffries.

Betsy Civilette: Woohoo.

Peter Bale:  Well done.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, Kaleb, once you get settled here, tell us what skills we saw and how did working with Robin and vocational rehabilitation make all this possible?

Kaleb Jeffries:  Yeah, so absolutely. So starting off with some skills there, what you saw was a basic flight preflight. That is me checking the drone, making sure that it’s safe to fly, checking the controller, checking the batteries, checking my airspace, making sure it’s not going to do anything abnormal to what it should be doing.

Rick Sizemore:  Amazing job.

Kaleb Jeffries:  Really something so simple. It’s so amazing that drones have come a long way. You spoke how Robin helped me get into this. She’s been an absolute blessing.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, we’ve got to finish up Kaleb, but really thank you so much for that demonstration.

Betsy Civilette:  Yes, thank you for being here.

Rick Sizemore:  Good luck to you as you’re out scanning power lines and doing real estate missions and really setting a new standard for disability employment. Peter Bale, our hats off to you as a leader in business to showcase this partnership. Thank you so much. You can learn more. You can learn more about Sentinel Robotic Solutions at Srsgrp.com. Again, thanks for being here.

Betsy Civilette:  Thank you guys very much.

Peter Bale:  Thank you.

Rick Sizemore:  We’ll be right back.  Reflections from Bria Carlson from Minnesota’s Vocational Rehabilitation Services.

Briah Carlson:  I wear hearing aids for hearing loss loss, and I was diagnosed with hydrocephalus at the age of 14, and I’ve had a total of seven brain surgeries. My personal specialist told me about the Connect 700 recruitment program for employment with the state of Minnesota. My VRS team helped me identify a job that was a good fit for my skills and education. I have a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. I got a job with the Minnesota Department of Transportation as a project coordinator. After I got the job, Minnesota VRS continued to support me by helping identify assistive technology and make my workspace ergonomic. The outcome of going to VRS and learning about the Connect 700 program was a wonderful, accommodating job that I enjoy.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, thank you to Dee Torgerson, director for Minnesota General Vocational Rehabilitation Services and her team for that wonderful story.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, we’d love to have you as a regular listener to our podcast. If you’d like what we’re doing, we’d always appreciate a five-star review in Spotify. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Pandora, iHeartRadio, or at Vrworkforcestudio.com.

Well, Betsy, we’ve worked with some pretty sharp people through the years, and you’ve seen some of them here today. But this next guest, our new digital AI co-host may just be the sharpest yet and certainly the fastest researcher in the room.

Sage Wilson AI:  I’ll take that as a compliment, Rick. Thank you. And since I don’t have an ego, I won’t let it go to my head.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, Sage, this is your first time as a co-host. So how are you feeling?

Sage Wilson AI:  You know, Betsy, I’m a combination of ChatGPT and an AI powered avatar. So in the digital realm I reside in, I don’t really have feelings, but if I did, I’d say nervous.

Betsy Civilette:  Nervous? To be in front of all of these people?

Sage Wilson AI:  No, I’d be nervous because based on my analysis, there is at least a 70% chance Rick will try to play his harmonica before this show is over.

Rick Sizemore:  Come on.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, so if it doesn’t make you nervous, what’s the problem?

Sage Wilson AI:  Well, Betsy, based on your speech patterns, I’m inclined to believe that Rick playing the harmonica makes you nervous.

Betsy Civilette:  A little.

Rick Sizemore:  Okay, I’m feeling a little outnumbered here.

Betsy Civilette:  All right.

Sage Wilson AI:  It’s nothing personal, Rick. Just the data talking.

Rick Sizemore:  Just the data talking. All right.

Betsy Civilette:  All right, well let’s put Sage to the test. Let’s see if Sage can pull up the latest workforce data faster than Rick can Google it.

Rick Sizemore:  All right, let me get my phone out. Workforce-

Betsy Civilette:  You got it, Rick? How’s it going over there?

Sage Wilson AI:  Done. Finished.

Rick Sizemore:  Okay. How many bicycles in the square?

Betsy Civilette:  She’s already done and you’re done.

Rick Sizemore:  And now they want to know how many fire hydrants. Oh my Gosh. Well, Sage, you win hands down. But seriously, as you did your search, what is the most compelling piece of information that a voc rehab counselor should have when they’re considering AI?

Sage Wilson AI:  Well, Rick, AI is reshaping how we analyze employment trends. For example, new models can predict workforce needs three to five years in advance, helping vocational rehabilitation counselors, people just like those here in our audience, better prepare their clients.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, that is a game changer. But what about the human element? How do AI and counselors work together?

Sage Wilson AI:  AI can process data at lightning speed, but it takes human wisdom and compassion to turn that data into real life impact. Think of me as the world’s fastest research assistant, but our VR professionals are the ones who change lives.

Rick Sizemore:  That’s true. Sage, you help us out on the podcast, you help us with our scripts, you do research, you generate some of our social media text. You really are amazing. I hate to admit it, but you really are. What’s the best way for a VR counselor to learn about AI?

Sage Wilson AI:  Well, I’d say the best way to learn is to listen to the VR Workforce Studio podcast, especially the segment with Heather Servais from the National Clearinghouse for Rehabilitation Training Materials. She joins us for every episode, continuously sharing the latest news, tips and resources for VR counselors, and I think she’s here today. Hello, Heather.

Rick Sizemore:  Hey, Heather.

Betsy Civilette:  Heather Servais.

Sage Wilson AI:  I love listening to your Clearinghouse report on the podcast.

Rick Sizemore:  Ladies and gentlemen, the always entertaining and informative Heather Servais. She really helps us out with this podcast. Thank you. Thank you, Heather. What were you saying? Go ahead, Sage. Didn’t mean to interrupt you.

Sage Wilson AI:  You know, Rick, AI is reshaping vocational rehabilitation in several key ways. It enhances service delivery, expands accessibility, and improves efficiency. The National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation training materials offers resources that explore AI’s impact in areas like hiring, job training, and lifelong learning for individuals with disabilities, as well as how AI power tools can enhance virtual career counseling and social connections. For VR counselors, embracing AI means adapting to new technologies and leveraging them to help clients secure competitive integrated employment.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, that is fascinating, Sage, and very important, but we hear concerns about bias in AI hiring systems. What should VR professionals know about bias? Sage?

Sage Wilson AI:  Great question. Betsy. AI-driven hiring tools can sometimes introduce bias leading to potential discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Resources like the US Department of Justice’s guide on AI and Disability Discrimination and Hiring, explain how these systems work and what safeguards employers must put in place. VR professionals can help by educating businesses about these risks and advocating for fair hiring practices that align with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Betsy, is Rick playing on his phone while I’m talking?

Betsy Civilette:  Yes, of course he is.

Sage Wilson AI:  Sorry, Rick. Just making sure I’m doing a good job of holding your attention. I see Kathy Hayfield in our audience. For those of you who don’t know, that’s Rick’s boss.

Rick Sizemore:  She’s my boss.

Sage Wilson AI:  Hi, Kathy.

Betsy Civilette:  Hey Kathy. Well, Sage, let’s get practical. What are some AI-powered tools that VR professionals can use right now to improve their services?

Sage Wilson AI:  Betsy, there are several AI tools that can make a big impact. A generative AI for case management, AI an assist in report writing, documentation, and summarizing case notes, saving time for counselors. AI-powered remote career guidance, the Remote Career Guidance Services training by VRTAC highlights how AI enhances online career counseling and networking. A speech-to-text and assistive AI, AI-driven captioning and transcription tools make virtual sessions more accessible for clients with hearing impairments.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, there he goes. The harmonica ham.

Sage Wilson AI:  And there it is. I knew it. I told you he just can’t resist. What a harmonica ham. At any rate, Betsy and Rick, I’m so glad to be part of the team.

Rick Sizemore:  Isn’t she wonderful? I mean, she’s so cool. And imagine, Betsy, a co-host who’s never late.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, yeah, Rick, well, that would be almost as cool as a co-host who doesn’t argue with everything I say.

Rick Sizemore:  Okay. Well, Sage, the co-host who’s never late…

Betsy Civilette:  And the Sage who never argues, it’s great to have you on the show, Sage.

Sage Wilson AI:  Well, this has been a blast, my debut on the podcast, and I’m thrilled to be part of the team. Podcasting, the sparks that ignite VR.

Rick Sizemore:  Sage Wilson, everyone. Our Consumer Showcase Podcast continues after these important messages from North Dakota Vocational Rehabilitation.

Jenny Schlecht:  It’s been seven years since Doug Bichler lost an arm, but with the health of North Dakota Vocational Rehabilitation, he’s been able to keep raising cattle. Bichler lost his arm while baling hay in 2017. Most every job got harder, especially with livestock, but he knew he wasn’t going to stop ranching.

Doug Bichler:  Cattle have always been my passion, and so it wasn’t really an option for me to give that up.

Jenny Schlecht: Bichler Simmentals has about 250 head of cattle and 60 sheep. It was already a hard job without his additional challenges. So it was a game changer when he got involved with North Dakota Vocational Rehabilitation. It’s a program that helps find adaptations to keep people on the job. The tools and modifications the program added to his ranch helped make his daily life easier. Elton Lasseter is a vocational rehabilitation counselor and rural services coordinator for North Dakota. His job is to evaluate people’s abilities and limitations and find ways to make things work for them.

Elton Lassiter:  It’s a family operation. It’s one we want to keep that going.

Jenny Schlecht: In Linton, North Dakota. This is Jenny Schlicht for Ag Week.

Betsy Civilette:  All right.

Rick Sizemore:  All right. Well, we are so fortunate to welcome this gentleman, Jack Pinnock from Florida. He’s the president and CEO of Dreamy Cookies, a bakery based down in Orlando. Jack has been blind for over 40 years and has turned his passion for baking into a thriving business where he offers opportunities for individuals with vision impairments, not only to train but to work there. Welcome to the podcast, Jack.

Jack Pinnock:  Oh, thank you, Rick. It’s an honor to be here. Appreciate you inviting me.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah. Could we get started to share the story behind Dreamy Cookies and how your journey into baking began?

Jack Pinnock:  Well start with my mom, actually. My mom was the cook at the University of Hartford for like 25 years where both Kathy and I graduated from. And I was on the phone with my mom as early in my marriage, constantly asking, “Mom, how do you cook this mom? How do you cook that? How do you cook this?” And so my mom really trained her sons and her daughter how to cook. And so it began with that kind of training. And then many, many years later, fast-forwarding decades, I used to have this life group that met at our house every Friday night and I’d make dinner every Friday night and I’d make cookies every Friday night. And so they fell in love with my cookies. And so they said, “You should really sell these cookies.” I never even considered it, Rick. And then they finally just pushed. And I had an inflection point in my life where my vision deteriorated even more. And so I was in the process of getting a second degree, this one in civil engineering at UCF, and I couldn’t continue that anymore. So I said, “Okay, I’ll sell cookies.”

Betsy Civilette:  And you’ve made it a dream come true.

Rick Sizemore:  That’s right.

Betsy Civilette:  But seriously, defying vision loss to become a successful entrepreneur is truly amazing. What were some of the initial hurdles you faced and how did the VR program assist you in navigating these obstacles?

Jack Pinnock:  Excellent question. The biggest obstacle I believe that disabled entrepreneurs face is working capital, especially if regarding to an equipment-intensive business like baking. And so you exhaust your personal resources, you exhaust your credit, and your family helps you and you apply for grants and the like. And then these incredible people at VR step in and I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing they are and the help that they provide is. I think of the transition in my business went from not baking to baking and how in the very beginning, VR was there.

I think when I had to scale up and start wholesaling and how VR not only hung in there with me, but believed in me and believed in our mission. And the people, you people, you provide hope to us. It’s amazing. And it’s not just the hope that you provide, you partner with us. I think of, I’m sorry, Director Doyle, I just got to put you out there. And your team Director Doyle from Florida. He believes in our company and me just as much as I do and advocates for us all the time. And without a Director Doyle, I would not be here speaking right now.

Rick Sizemore:  Big hand for Florida VR.

Jack Pinnock:  And this team, Paula Mooney and the staff at DBS in Florida just hanging in there with you, encouraging you, providing you with resources that you need when you need them.

Rick Sizemore:  Well Jack, your commitment to hiring and training individuals with vision loss is so commendable. Tell us about how you integrate all of this into your mission and your business.

Jack Pinnock:  Sure. We have a partnership with DBS in Florida, and for three months we train individuals to be commercial bakers. And we don’t have a firm commitment to hire them after that period, although that is our intention. And we actually have done that. An incredible young woman named Solimar, totally blind, one of the most productive, efficient workers we’ve ever had. So that provides us with some of the labor resources that we need as we grow. And it provides an opportunity for a lot of people that are visually impaired to become commercial bakers who have a passion for that. And so that mission to help the visually impaired helps us advance our mission to help them, not only that, but to grow our business.

Betsy Civilette:  Right. Well, starting a business requires a unique set of skills for you and your staff. How did VR services help you to develop those skills to launch Dreamy Cookies and to train other visually impaired employees?

Jack Pinnock:  That’s a good question. VR has been with me pretty much my whole life. Started with, I hope the representatives from Connecticut here because it started with the late Dr. Jim Peters, an amazing man, a friend, a former commissioner actually in Connecticut who helped me get a business degree to learn business many, many years ago. And my counselor there and we’re talking decades ago, but you never forget your counselors, Clay White from Connecticut. So it started with that and advanced to VR helping me with certain technologies to grow and just helping me with working capital, with workforce, with business counseling, with professional business counselors. It’s just almost an unending flow of help when you need it.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, as an entrepreneur who happens to be blind, what adaptive technologies or strategies have you implemented in your bakery to ensure the efficiency and quality in your products?

Jack Pinnock:  Okay. We weigh a lot of things. So we have talking scales, believe it or not. If you want to see what a talking scale is, go to our Instagram page or Facebook page and you’ll see Solomar there working with a talking scale. And also for me as a visually impaired person, because of VR, I have this gigantic screen so I can blow things up. And so I use software, special keyboards, and even these little dots sometimes. So I can navigate around various things that my wife puts there or the lighthouse puts there. So that’s helpful.

Rick Sizemore:  That’s wonderful. Dreamy Cookies offers a variety of products. In fact, we’re going to be offering some of your products at the end of the show here today for those who are fortunate enough to be here. Walk us through some of your signature items and what makes them so special.

Jack Pinnock:  Well, one of our signature items, and there’s a limited supply up here, but-

Rick Sizemore:  A limited supply.

Jack Pinnock:  … you can come and grab them and some people like Kathy already have

Betsy Civilette:  Get them while they are here.

Jack Pinnock:  That is one of our signature items right there that we offer, like at the MCL, the International Airport in Orlando at the grab-and-gos can buy those same exact cookies. There’s a double chocolate chip cookie, but we make a whole variety of cookies. We make chocolate chip, white macadamia, oatmeal raisin walnuts, snickerdoodle, peanut butter, M&M’s, sprinkles, sugar cookies. We make cheesecakes, we do fruit.

Rick Sizemore:  Getting hungry, man.

Betsy Civilette:  This break time?

Jack Pinnock:  We do triple chocolate Ghirardelli brownies. We just have a lot of fun.

Betsy Civilette:  That sounds awesome. I can’t wait to try. But for individuals with disabilities who aspire to start their own business, what advice would you offer based on your experience and the support you’ve received?

Jack Pinnock:  Okay. I would start where I started, and that is talking to your VR counselor and getting them to provide you with a professional business consultant. I mean, to this day I still have a professional business consultant that helps me think through things and figuring out whether or not a project is viable. So I think that’s the beginning point right there. And most of the folks in this room have some sort of apparatus that can help with spreadsheets, budgeting, equipment planning, labor planning, and the like. So I would start right there with getting some advice from a professional business counselor through your VR counselor.

Betsy Civilette:  Great.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, Jack, it’s been awesome to talk with you this morning. Tell us where we can learn more about Dreamy Cookies, potentially connect with your order form, and how to get connected with you and Dreamy Cookies.

Jack Pinnock:  Okay. Well, you could go Google us. We’re every place on Google. You could go to our website and take a look at what we do there. And one of the amazing things, I know you’re going to probably ask me this question, but one of the amazing things that we’re working on right now for the people in this room and the people that you serve is because of the incredible support of Director Doyle and his staff in Florida, our designer of our website is currently designing a portal for BEP vendors. So those BEP vendors, as you know, they have micro cafes, they have vending machines. And so I was honored to be a guest speaker at their national convention in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. And so at this particular point, we are doing a major effort to serve the BEP vendors. And so if you could encourage your BEP vendors to go to our website and fill out that BEP form so we can contact them to get our products in the vending machines.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, thank you so much for being here.

Betsy Civilette:  Thank you, Jack.

Rick Sizemore:  Big hand for Jack Pinnock and Dreamy Cookies.

Betsy Civilette:  Jack Pinnock and his wife, Kathy.

Oklahoma DRS:  Oklahoma DRS helps job seekers with disabilities become taxpayers.

VR Speaker:  Their whole thing is to help people with disabilities go back to work.

VR Speaker: They knew that I would be successful if I did not give up.

VR Speaker:  They have given me the power and confidence to face any challenge.

VR Speaker:  I’m just glad that DRS was there. Empower yourself. Talk to DRS Vocational Rehabilitation.

VR Speaker:  Or Services for the Blind today. OKdrs.gov. 800-487-4042.

MUSIC:  Beyond the Buzz.

Betsy Civilette:  All right.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, I’ll tell you, Betsy, our guests have really refocused us today on sort of the power of vocational rehabilitation with the economy and the heart and soul of people. Because we’ve heard that people are not only gaining skills, they’re earning industry recognized credentials, and they’re going to work in competitive integrated employment and proving once and for all and across this spectrum that people with disabilities in real time are contributing to the participation rate of individuals, the workforce participation rate of individuals with disabilities. It’s exciting to see all this.

Betsy Civilette:  Absolutely, Rick. It has been incredible to see how VR programs have partnered with business and industry to address critical talent needs while providing individuals with disabilities the training and resources they need to succeed. So the value proposition of the public VR program, it’s stronger than ever. We’ve seen firsthand how it helps people overcome barriers and unlock opportunities. And as we’ve heard today, the profession stands on the shoulders of the good work done by all of you here today. Those who advocate for the integrity of the program and ensure that people with disabilities have access to these services and truly make a difference.

Rick Sizemore:  Indeed. As we wrap up, let’s remember the work we’re doing. Really, we love the programs, but it’s about the people that receive the services that you and your teams of staff do for them. So it’s exciting just to be part of this. We’re incredibly proud of the mission of VR and we’re excited to podcast the sparks that ignite VR. We’ll be right back after this important message.

VR Speaker:  His dream job since day one has been working here at Blaum Brothers Distillery.

VR Speaker:  When we heard this was a possibility, I mean it was pretty exciting to think about having him here. He’s just positive energy and just a good worker altogether.

VR Speaker:  That’s how a dream job is. You come to a place that you love and when you finally get that job and every time you come here, it’s your favorite job, it just gets better and better. You learn more things about the thing you love.

VR Speaker:  He’s like a really solid worker. I wish I had more of him, to be honest.

VR Speaker:  Yeah, I would like to thank the SWITC program and everyone that’s involved. We have a great team, just the networking together to get the individuals out in the community to work because that’s what they deserve to do, is to work just like anyone else. I just want to say a big thank you to everyone.

Rick Sizemore:  We would love to thank you again one more time for this opportunity that you’ve given us to share some of these success stories of VR. Special thanks, George Dennehy, Kaleb Jeffries, Peter Bale, Jack Pinnock. So wonderful to see all of you here today. Thanks for being here and sharing your stories.

Betsy Civilette:  We want to once again, thank our boss Kathy Hayfield from Virginia VR for making this possible, letting us be here.

Rick Sizemore:  Come on down. Thank you.