Successful Art Showing for TVS No Limits Artists

May 1, 2023 | News

Party Animal - acrylic on wood uses abstract lines and colors to create a fun and colorful cow sticking out its tongue.

During the month of April, the art exhibit “Just Passing Through” was shown at the Transylvania Community Art Council (TCArts) gallery. This annual show promoting the Transylvania Vocational Services (TVS) “No Limits” artists highlights a variety of subject matter, different medias, and lots of color.

“At the Arts Council, we look forward to the “No Limits” artists’ exhibition each year. The quality and variety of the artwork in the exhibition is exceptional, and each artist has his or her own unique style,” said TCArts Executive Director Kathy King. “My favorite part of the show is the opening reception and visiting with the No Limits artists, most of whom really enjoy talking about their artwork – and seeing it exhibited in the Gallery.”

This year the TCArts hosted two separate opening receptions to accommodate all the “No Limits” artists. Both day and evening receptions welcomed community members, family members, and artists as well as snacks and beverages for refreshments. Visitors had a variety of painted animals, geometrically country quilts squares, and other nature themed media to see.

“From the flowers to the feet, to all the funky animals we painted, it was all a lot of fun. Many days we went home covered in paint ourselves,” laughed TVS INTERACT Supervisor Brooke Wilson.

TCArts remits 100% of the sales price to the artists and this year, the gallery did exceptionally well with 75% of the artwork having been sold.

“I feel like after the first few hours of the show being on display it was already a success. In my opinion, success is measured by much more than just monetary value,” reflected Wilson. “Success was looking around the gallery and seeing nothing but smiles and joyful conversations amongst the artists, families, and community members.”

Looking ahead, the TVS “No Limits” artists will be featured at the Transylvania Chamber of Commerce as their featured Artist of the Month in August and is planning an internal holiday themed art sale near the end of the year.

Click here to read the Transylvania Times article about the event.

Highlights from Just Passing Through

Bambi

Bambi by Laura Acrylic on wood

Foxy

Foxy by Matthias Acrylic on canvas

Ships Ahoy

Ships Ahoy by Peter Acrylic on canvas in frame

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty by Kathleen Acrylic on canvas

Harvest Sun

Harvest Sun by Amber Acrylic on Canvas

Flowers

Flowers by Wallace Acrylic on wood

Bumble Bee

Bumble Bee by Derrick Acrylic on Wood

Valley of the Moon

Valley of the Moon by Joshua Acrylic on canvas

Pretty Nice Spring

Pretty Nice Spring by Debbie Acrylic on canvas

Party Animal

Party Animal by Jay Acrylic on wood

Cory Thomas celebrates 10 years at TVS

Aug 8, 2022 | News

With over a decade of experience at TVS, Cory Thomas can be found working in almost any production area. Cory is able to flow between all the different lines and provide additional support wherever it is needed.

“Cory has been a regular fixture here at TVS! Over the years, Cory has performed a variety of jobs at TVS and takes his work seriously,” said TVS CEO Jamie Brandenburg. “I have always appreciated his loyalty and dedication to our mission and company.”

Cory was originally hired on second shift, palletizing and case sealing on lines producing SuperCereal, Instant Non-Fat Dry Milk (INDM), and Bakery Mixes.

Now, Cory prefers to work in Supplements. “My favorite spot is on the supplement line, I enjoy the flow of the work and the atmosphere,” said Cory. “I enjoy having the chance to talk to my coworkers.”

In Supplements, Cory can be found blowing out canisters, palletizing, or any other job they need him to do. “Cory is a hard worker with good work ethic,” said Supplement Production Lead Richie Atwell. “He does his work with a smile.”

Cory works by the motto, “drive to go home or don’t steer.” Or in other words, care about what you do.

“I enjoy watching Cory grow and appreciate his willingness to work in new departments,” said Dietary Supplements Operation Manager Brian Wilson. “I am very proud of his recent progress in his personal life.”

Cory is native to Transylvania County, and has been involved with TVS for 12 years. Before graduating from Brevard High in 2011, Cory completed his high school requirements by finding employment through Vocational Rehabilitation at TVS.

Over the past 10 years Cory said, “I am able to do more jobs and spread my wings more. I have become more well-rounded and have started to try more.”

When Cory is not at work he can be found practicing Taekwondo, working towards his black belt. Cory is also trained in Kick Boxing and Muay Thai. He has already competed in two different tournaments and aims to keep getting better and better.

Cory also enjoys hanging out with friends, swimming, hiking, social events, and being online. If you are ever looking for Cory on a social media network, it would help you to know that Steven King is his favorite author, as well as, the name of the hotel owner in The Shining.

He can be found in tropical locations on vacation. While his favorite location was Jamaica, he also enjoyed visiting the Bahama’s, Cayman Islands, and Myrtle Beach.

Looking back over the years, Cory remembers all the company picnics, riding inflatable animals in the field out back, evenings together celebrating Christmas, and has lots of memories with good people – some of which are no longer here.

Cory looks forward to continue growing at TVS and moving into whatever position his credentials will take him.

When asked to share some stories about Cory, Brian smiled and said, “I have some great stories involving Cory. They just cannot be repeated here.”

TVS employees donate Back to School supplies!

Aug 2, 2022 | News

TVS employees continue to give back to our community! Over the past two weeks, TVS employees donated almost 1600 school supply items to the Sharing House.

The Back to School program provides free school supplies for all low-income students (K-12) living in Transylvania County. The Sharing House estimates to serve 600+ children in 2022!

“This school supply drive was very successful; we easily doubled the amount of donations we received the previous year. TVS employees show a lot of support for our donation drives, my favorite thing about each of our donation drives is seeing the employees so willing to give back to our community!” said Catherine Whitley, HR Generalist. “We decided to host the school supply drive again this year because of who it is benefitting. We all get to see the benefits of this drive in our community and kids. Helping them have a successful school year is a great feeling.”

The largest amounts of donated items included 164 rulers, 135 spiral notebooks, 126 packs of #2 pencils, and 116 packs of Crayons. However, TVS employees also donated hand sanitizer, dry erase markers, disinfecting wipes, and much more.

“This donation drive is our 2nd largest since TVS began donating back in the fall of 2020! Our record is 1700 hygiene items which were donated to S.A.F.E. in 2021,” Whitley said. “Though we didn’t quite pass that during this drive, we are thrilled with our employee participation!”

Prior to the school supply drive, TVS employees also donated dog food to the Labor of Love Pet Rescue during March of 2022.

“It is such a nice feeling being able to give back to this dog rescue,” said HR Administrative Assistant Kayde Hopkins. “Our support with this donation helps fosters care for the pups before they reach their forever homes.”

The total donation equaled just over 40 bags of dry dog food, over 40 bags of treats, and 3 cases of wet food.

Looking ahead for the rest of the year, TVS plans to host the 3rd annual “Give Back, Get Back” donation event. While the donation drives have not been released, TVS employees can expect to have three more ways to give back to their community.

Last year, TVS employees donated to Life Changers Outreach, S.A.F.E., and Operation Christmas Child.

A Letter of Appreciation

Nov 17, 2021 | News

A nice surprise popped into the TVS email last week, a letter of appreciation from Allison Snyder. Allison is an Inclusion Education Major at Western Carolina University (WCU) who graduated from Rosman High School in 2019.

The letter is a nice reminder that our mission is visible in the community and how important our work is. Thank you to all TVS employees working to support our mission, and thank you to Allison for your kind words.

Click here to read the Letter of Appreciation.

Letter to business-from Allison Snyder_Page_1

Letter to business-from Allison Snyder_Page_2

Self-Advocate Cathy Miller represents TVS at SourceAmerica Grassroots Advocacy Conference

May 26, 2021 | News

This year the SourceAmerica Grassroots Advocacy Conference was held virtually during the last week of April. Transylvania Vocational Services (TVS) happily nominated Cathy Miller, the longest employee at TVS, as a self-advocate for the conference.

“I was happy to be nominated,” said Miller. “It was exciting.”

Self-advocates were provided speech trainings and practices to help them to share and record their stories for other SourceAmerica self-advocates to watch. Nonprofit representatives for each NPA were able to learn more about SourceAmerica and the current policies and laws regarding individuals with disabilities.

With much of the self-advocates conference based around training and speech practices, Miller said, “I would have enjoyed more educational videos about disability topics.”

The highlight for Miller was learning about therapy and service dogs and how they are trained. She also enjoyed the virtual tour of DC and learning about the monuments.

During the week, all the self-advocates were able to speak with representatives or staffers from their respected state. The NC Congressmen include; Burr, Cawthorn, and Tillis.

“My favorite person to talk to was Cawthorn’s staffer. He would hold up his paper to show he was taking notes and he seemed to really care about what we were saying,” Miller said. “I was most interested in having supports for people with disabilities and continued assistance for workers with barriers.”

Miller was able to talk about her growth at TVS and what the job has allowed her to have. “I don’t know where I would be if I wasn’t here,” Miller said.

“Cathy has been a huge part of TVS and our mission. She is great at connecting with everyone on all levels of the organization. She is always willing to help fellow coworkers and truly embodies the spirit of TVS,” said TVS HR director Lauren Hayes. “It is for this reason that we felt that Cathy should be our grassroots representative – her growth and compassion are what TVS is all about.”

TVS’ Nonprofit representative, Leca Chapman, joined Cathy in the conference. “The conference was a great way to network and learn more about the SourceAmerica organization and the AbilityOne Commission,” said Chapman. “Cathy did an amazing job representing TVS and I enjoyed watching her get comfortable and relax a little to share some of her story.”

When Miller started at TVS, 38 years ago, she was shy. Over the years, Miller grew into different jobs from making boxes for DuPont to working in the kitchen, and on many different production lines. As she grew at work, she grew into her voice as well.

“When I started here, everyone knew I was quiet and didn’t talk. They let me build up trust until I was comfortable talking,” said Miller. “TVS is a great place to work. There are always people to help you and once you get comfortable, it feels like a family.”

Miller enjoyed the virtual conference. “It was stressful,” Miller said with a laugh. “I enjoyed it, and I hope that it will be in person in the upcoming years.”

Looking ahead, Miller plans to continue to push herself and others to advocate for themselves.