Cynthia L. Asbury, Bost employee since 2007, has been nominated as a candidate for the Annual Consumer of the Year Award to be presented by Arkansas Department of Human Services Division of Services for the Blind (DSB). The overall state winner will be named at the end of the year.
Asbury is a sewing machine operator with Bost Manufacturing Skills Center in Fort Smith. She needed assistance from DSB to maintain her employment. "Because Cynthia is visually impaired, jobs are not as easily and readily to come by as with a non-disabled individual. Cynthia wanted to do whatever she needed to do to continue her employment and to enhance her skills," said Shores. Asbury has started sizing shirts for the government contract that Bost makes for the Army and Navy. She loves what she does and hopes to be employed for years to come.
"Cynthia was chosen as Consumer of the Year for the Fort Smith Area, because she is a hard worker and is devoted to getting the job done. She would rather work than to stay at home and draw a SSI check. She knows she will make more working to provide for her family. Cynthia is a role model for all blind and visually impaired individuals," said vocational rehabilitation counselor Tina Shores, who nominated Asbury.
DSB provided orientation and mobility training to teach her to travel more independently; rehabilitation teaching with adaptive aids to enable her to do her job with better productivity; and counseling and guidance. "Asbury worked long hours learning orientation and mobility to enable her to travel more effectively to and from work. She also made great effort to learn new ways to thread needles to make her more productive at work," her counselor said.
Asbury is a past member of the National Federation of the Blind and has used the Library for the Blind services.
Asbury is more than a number to DSB; she's a success and an inspiration. DSB is privileged to recognize her for a job well done and trusts that success will continue to follow this deserving individual, who has demonstrated that with determination, blindness is not a barrier to competitive employment. Hundreds of Arkansans with a disability return to work each year after receiving vocational rehabilitation services.