Fall 2006

Business Management Training participants Don Swaney (left) and Don Helsel (right)

Business Management Training Provides Upward Mobility for Blind Employees

Providing a major opportunity for upward mobility of blind individuals, the Business Management Training (BMT) program offers skilled Lighthouse employees the opportunity to improve their on-the-job performance. This challenging, participant-centered program is facilitated by the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration.

“The application process itself was rigorous,” laughs Don Swaney, business analyst, who was accepted into the program. “I had to answer seven essay questions, which probably took me about ten hours to complete overall, and get a letter of recommendation from George [Jacobson, president].”

Don Helsel, director of quality and process improvement, says that the application process has become more selective since he attended the 2004-2005 training. “After the word got out, it got competitive,” he says.

The five courses are spread out over fourteen months, and cover a range of topics, including finance, marketing and communications, human resources, and information technology.

But before Swaney even attends the first class there is work to be done. In preparation, he has been conversing with his teammates, all of whom are from around the country, via e-mail and phone, and reading up on case studies and required reading material. “I’m looking forward to meeting these people,” he says.

Swaney says he is most looking forward to the section on finance. “I’m hoping to learn about the motivation of balancing a budget in finance,” he comments. “That’s going to be the most challenging area for me.”

Helsel agrees that the finance aspect was particularly helpful for his job. “The week on finance was very good,” he says. “It gave me a full understanding of how finances work.”

Helsel adds that the curriculum was a great chance to work with the professors from the University of Virginia and meet new people. “I loved the opportunity to work with the professors and to have a case study program with a lot of interaction and discussion,” he says. “It was a good mix of people with a wide variety of backgrounds.”

Additionally, Helsel says the program allowed him to strengthen his on-the-job capabilities. “When I started [the program] I was director of manufacturing, and then half way between the classes I became director of quality and process management,” he says. “A lot of people in my class were able to advance in their career.”

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