With over 4,000 individuals with disabilities served each year, 90-plus staff members and dozens of business and community partners, Brevard Achievement Center (BAC) has a lot of stories to tell. That’s why when BAC kicked off its Every Star Counts-themed 50th anniversary campaign we set a goal to spotlight at least 50 ways we’ve made a difference. The five spotlights below kicked kicked off this initiative at BAC’s February 22 Birthday Bash:
Diane Payne
Joyce C.
Trina C.
Diane Payne
Board member and volunteer since 1967
Diane says her first memory of BAC is when IBM General Manager A. G. Belleman, Jr. asked her to be a substitute Secretary of the Board for a new “center” for people with disabilities that he and a group of local citizens were forming. That was in 1967 and she hasn’t stopped serving.
Joyce C.
One of BAC’s first seven clients in 1968
Although Joyce spent 25 years away from BAC when her parents moved to Georgia, she returned to Brevard when they needed her sister’s full time care. Once their parents passed, Joyce and her sister, Faye, agreed she should go back to BAC’s Adult Day Training program. Joyce says BAC gives her a reason to get out of bed.
Trina C.
VA Viera Outpatient Clinic Associate since 2017
When Trina was let go from a retail chain because they said she “couldn’t change,” she had a very bad attitude about work. Thankfully, she found BAC. Trina said that everyone at BAC was very nice to her and she could tell they genuinely wanted her to succeed. “Realizing that BAC wanted to help me be successful made me change my attitude,” she said. “Now I am more positive and am happier to go to work.”
Keisha Greene
Human Resources staff member since 2002
Keisha remembers fondly the support she received from her co-workers and leadership team when she was pursuing a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida while working at BAC. “My co-workers were very supportive when I was working and going to school,” she said. “But the best thing to happen to me then was when I realized that my passion and purpose was to serve others.”
Joseph M.
Discovery program client since 2017
Joseph thought he wanted to work in a restaurant for his first job. Once he got involved in BAC’s Discovery program and toured a fast food kitchen, however, that quickly changed. “I realized that just because I like to eat hamburgers doesn’t mean I want to make them,” he said. Today, Joseph is working on an OJT with Lil’ Sports & Fitness and loves helping the kids learn sports.