Success Stories
Supporting jobs with purpose. It’s not just an idea; it’s our mission. We work to help people with disabilities find meaningful employment. Since 1965, we’ve helped countless individuals find jobs with purpose, and their stories are what continue to motivate us each and every day.
Take a look at some of these stories below from employers, ECVC employees and the individuals who have been places to learn more about why ECVC is so essential to our community.
Charlotte Ward
2022 Employee Success Story of the Year
Charlotte Ward has been employed at ECU Health since May 2021 as an Area Technician on the Environmental Services Team. She always gets high praise from customers for her interaction skills and ability to make them feel at home during their stay. By engaging in conversation, she makes their experience much more personalized – all while ensuring that she completes her job tasks to the highest standard.
Charlotte works in the mother/baby unit in the Children’s Hospital. She is hard-working and goes above and beyond in her job duties, even assisting with her co-workers’ tasks exemplifying a strong teamwork ethic. She always arrives early and takes on extra responsibilities – a true team player. Although Charlotte has overcome obstacles since being employed with ECU Health, she continues to come to work each day with a positive attitude that brings smiles to everyone’s faces. A hospital is not always a place that feels welcoming or comfortable, but Charlotte goes the extra mile to make sure patients enjoy their visits. Watch Charlotte’s Success Story HERE.
Alex Perry
2021 Employee Success Story of the Year
Despite the ongoing challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, Alex Perry joined the Acculink team after graduating from J.H. Rose High School in 2020. He just wasn’t willing to sit at home.
Perry’s job developer, Laura Pittman, could tell he was highly motivated, dedicated, hard-working, and dependable, and connected him with Acculink. Perry is a perfect fit for the job, which requires him to be mobile within the facility and work in different areas as needed.
Watch Alex’s Success Story HERE.
Tiffany Peartree
2020 Employee Success Story of the Year
Pleasant, big smile, great personality, go-getter, ambitious, honest, funny, positive energy, and people person are just a few of the words that describe Tiffany Peartree. She is very independent, hard-working, and a valued team member who is always ready to contribute.
In February 2019, her Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, Arlette Bullock, referred her to ECVC. Tiffany was highly motivated when she first met with her assigned Employment Specialist, Penda Strayhorn and Community Employment Manager, Binh Durant. Tiffany credits ECVC with helping her with finding medical assistance, transportation, and job preparation including how to fill out a job application and interview skills. Together, Binh & Penda were able to assist Tiffany with securing a position as a Host/Hostess at Vidant Medical Center in September 2019, where she delivers food trays to over 50 patients all over the hospital.
Tiffany feels that her job was tailor-made for her because she loves meeting people and being on-the-go all the time. Her supervisors and co-workers say they can see how much she cares about her job. Congratulations Tiffany!
Watch Tiffany’s Success Story HERE.
Perlie Gregg
2019 Employee Success Story of the Year
Perlie Gregg is very independent, hard-working, and a valued team member that is always ready to contribute.
In 2017, his Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, Carla Midgette, referred him to ECVC. Perlie was highly motivated when he first met with his Job Coach, Penda Strayhorn and Job Developer, Paula Stox. Together, they were able to assist Perlie with securing a position as a Crew Member with McDonald’s in February 2018.
Perlie finds his job to be very fulfilling and is grateful to be a part of such a supportive team. When not working, he enjoys listening to music, watching TV, and going for walks. Congratulations Mr. Perlie!
Watch Perlie’s Success Story HERE.
Von-Al Foster Jr.
2018 Employee Success Story of the Year
Von-Al Foster Jr. is a very respectful and positive young man. He is always smiling and has an upbeat attitude.
He has been working with Five Guys as a Dining Room Cleaner for over a year. Von-Al takes pride in his work and strives to do his very best each day. His supervisors and co-workers have nothing, but good things to say about Von-Al’s work ethic. He is the type of person who arrives early and stays late when needed. Von-Al was very influential in helping Five Guys receive a good score during their restaurant evaluation.
When Von-Al is not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, skateboarding, and drawing. Congratulations Von-Al!
Watch Von-Al’s Success Story HERE.
PAUL BARTLETT
2017 Employee Success Story of the Year
Paul Bartlett has been a member of ECVC’s workforce since 1993. Over the past 27 years, Paul has left a lasting positive impression on everyone who has had the pleasure of supervising, working or interacting with him. Since his start, Paul has been able to successfully transition to several community employment locations. Currently Paul works at 501 Fresh Salads and Wraps, as well as ECVC. At 501 Fresh, Paul greets customers, delivers food, cleans tables/dining area, and helps his co-workers with anything else they ask of him. At ECVC, Paul packages batteries, drill bits and assembles battery terminal connectors (lugs) which supports our nation’s armed forces. On multiple occasions, he has accepted national awards for ECVC and his personal contributions to the success of the company, even going to the Pentagon.
Every Sunday at First Christian Church, he looks forward to holding his godchild and sitting with the family. Paul is quick to offer prayer to any in need and quickly mentions he is thankful for all his blessings. Paul has been involved with the Special Olympics and other athletics nearly his entire life. He continues to play basketball, swim competitively, and bowl in his league every week. Paul is a huge fan of ECU Athletics and attends home games for football, baseball, and basketball.
Paul is fun, helps anyone with anything within his abilities, has a huge heart and treats everyone as if he has known them for years. He is quick to offer any assistance he can give to any one in any situation that needs help. Congratulations Paul!
Watch Paul’s Success Story HERE.
Antonio Patrick
2016 Employee Success Story of the Year
Each year we work with individuals just like Antonio to provide not only job placement, but job training to help prepare people with disabilities for the workforce. In doing so, we are helping to support Jobs with Purpose which will benefit both the employer and employee.
Watch Antonio’s Success Story HERE.
