We are VR: Meet Suzanne Foley

Transcript of video:

Transcript – “We Are VR: Meet Suzanne”

(SUZANNE FOLEY) My name is Suzanne Foley, and I am the founder of Port City Pretzels here in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. So, the original idea came about 30 years ago. I had these pretzels at a family function, and we always had them. I thought they were delicious. So, fast forward to being unemployed at 55 and in an unemployment office. And I got the idea to make these pretzels. So, we do a seasoned hard pretzel, and we manufacture them here in this facility, package them up, and send them out. So, we have just under 25 employees right now, and they do everything from answer the phone to pack pretzels to manage my whole facility. Partnering with VR has helped me to meet the needs of employment within my facility. I've cultivated that relationship with VR, and it's worked very well for us. We have some of the same employees that I've had since I started, and it's been a wonderful relationship.

(LISA HINSON-HATZ) My name is Lisa Hinson-Hatz, and I'm the Vocational Rehabilitation director at VR New Hampshire.

(TRACEY FRYE) My name is Tracey Frye, and I am a program manager with the business engagement unit at VR New Hampshire.

(LISA HINSON-HATZ) Vocational Rehabilitation is a state and federal partnership that helps individuals with disabilities obtain and maintain employment. It also helps businesses hire individuals with disabilities to meet their workforce needs.  

(TRACEY FRYE) The business engagement unit at VR New Hampshire works with businesses to help them recruit, hire, and retain individuals with disabilities. Our team is really unique in a sense that we can meet with a business and find out exactly what they're looking for. We can find out what they're recruiting for, what is their workplace culture like, what are their hiring practices? And we can learn about them and find out what their needs are in order to help match people in our program with jobs they have open. Another thing that we really do for business is learn where they're at. What are they ready for? Some businesses have never really purposefully hired individuals with disabilities yet, so we kind of talk to them and find out, what are you ready for? Are you ready to have a tour at your business? Are you ready to work with students with disabilities? Are you ready to mock interview some of our participants? Do you want to attend a job fair? What are you ready for?  

(SUZANNE FOLEY) In terms of working with VR, there's no barriers. If anything, they're there to be supportive to me and they'll contact me or we'll talk about…I'll let them know if positions open up, and they'll be able to send some employees my way. There's no cost to it. It's a very easy process, and it's behind the scenes. And I don't really think about it as being something that's anything other than an enormous help to my business. You know, it's not that the employee has a disability, it’s “do they have the ability to help me do the job?” And, so, there's an unlimited amount of resources through VR that we've been able to use within my facility. For example, one of our employees is blind, and he has a job coach that's with him to be able to just make sure that he's doing the task at hand. These workers are just like me, and we work together. I don't see anything different than just these guys and gals coming in every day and accomplishing tasks that need to get done. And we all work hard; they work hard. There's a sense of independence here that they have. We want people to feel good when they walk through the door every day and do a good job, and we work hard and then come back the next day and do it all over again.

(TRACEY FRYE) We work with everyone from all walks of life, and that's why we add so much value to the businesses in New Hampshire is because disability doesn't have a face. It doesn't have a thing you think of in your head when you think of disability. You will be blown away if you work with us to see these people in our program, their skills, their unique pizzazz and just what they bring to a place of employment.

(SUZANNE FOLEY) I would absolutely encourage everybody to work and partner with VR. It seems to me to be the mini-secret. And I can't imagine why other employers wouldn't want to do what I've done. These employees have been with me almost since the beginning, and it feels pretty good. And to have employees come in every day, be thankful for their jobs, that's something I can be very thankful to VR about.

(TRACEY FRYE) We are VR.

(LISA HINSON-HATZ) We are VR.

(SUZANNE FOLEY) We are VR.

(NARRATOR) At VR New Hampshire, we transform the lives of people with disabilities by helping them prepare for, obtain, and succeed in meaningful careers. To learn how we can help you meet your employment or workforce goals, call 603-271-3471 or visit education.nh.gov/vr.