1Elk Rapids NewsJanuary 2, 2020

NEWS ELK RAPIDS

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ELK RAPIDS, MIPERMIT NO. 10

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SERVING THE ELK RAPIDS ALDEN KEWADIN RAPID CITY EASTPORT TORCH RIVER BRIDGE WILLIAMSBURG ACME AREAS

Volume XIV Issue No. 32

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January 22020

BY BARB MOSHER , CONTR IBUT ING WR ITER

COVER STORY continued on page 2

Not everyone absolutely loves their job. But Mike Sincic does. He appreciates the friendly “everyone’s family here” atmosphere at American Waste, a waste collection and recycling center. He values the opportunity to work for a business that serves the community and enjoys interacting with its customers.

“Every day I look forward to coming into work,” the 37-year-old Williamsburg resident said.

His employers are equally happy having him onboard.

“Mike’s an amazing employee with a great attitude,” said Colette Pierce, administrative assistant to the owner.

This employee/employer relationship is so

Looking on the bright sidesuccessful that American Waste recently received an Achievement Honor Roll Award from the Michigan Bureau of Services for Blind Persons.

Yes—Mike is blind, but that doesn’t slow him down as he fields incoming phone calls and transfers them to any of 124 possible extensions.

“His average transfer time is 15-20 seconds, faster if it’s a common transfer, which puts him right up there with our top operators,” Pierce said. “He’s friendly and handles calls professionally.”

The BSBP worked with American Waste this past

spring to integrate JAWS (Job Access With Speech) technology into its switchboard system and helped train Mike to use the computer screen reader program. It enables him to listen to a caller with one ear while using his other ear to navigate a text-to-speech computer spread sheet to access the appropriate transfer extension.

“It’s amazing technology that allows me to accomplish what I need to do in my job,” Mike said.

Mike hasn’t always been blind. He was a typical kid growing up in northern Michigan in the 1980s. He liked hanging out with friends, playing hockey, and drawing cartoon characters. But when he was 11, Mike began experiencing headaches, dizzy spells, and blackouts. Doctors were unable to determine the source of his problems for two years until double vision led to an MRI. The imaging revealed a brain tumor.

A shunt was placed to relieve pressure on Mike’s Mike Sincic reads the braille on an award American Waste, Inc. received from the MI Bureau of Services for Blind Persons. Photo by Barb Mosher

Colette Pierce and Mike Sincic. Photo by Barb Mosher