TOM CONNELLY: Finding success with business innovation

It was in the summer of 2001 at a Youth Leadership Forum at Roosevelt Warm Springs when I met a participant who especially impressed me. He was thoughtful, articulate and seemed to be quite accomplished for his age. Cornelius Butler was his name, and this legally blind individual hailed from Bainbridge.

Sometime after that, my work duties changed and this meeting faded from my memory. So it was a pleasant surprise when another change of my responsibilities allowed me to contact this young man many years later and learn that he was still flourishing, and being even more successful.

From an early age, Cornelius participated in numerous advocacy related functions around disability issues. Previous to his involvement in the YLF, he was involved in Georgia’s High School/High Tech program. After YLF, he graduated from Bainbridge College with honors. In addition, while at this educational institution, he served on the Student Technology Committee, where he played a major role in the institution’s buying of its initial closed circuit TV (CCTV), scan-to-read software, plus other assistive devices.

In 2001-02, Mr. Butler served as a member of the Presidential Task Force on the Employment of Adults with Disabilities Youth Advisory Committee. This group of 14 young individuals was purposed to recommend to the U.S. secretary of labor and President Bush methods to heighten the employment rate nationally of youth with disabilities. In 2003, Mr. Butler was chosen by Secretary of the Labor Elaine Chao to be the keynote speaker for the official unveiling of an online portal for persons with disabilities, Disabilityinfo.gov.

Besides working on a national level, Mr. Butler was a co-founder of Butler New Media in 2001. This business, originally located in Bainbridge is a full-service disability-consulting company that concentrates on IT solutions and the formation of accessible web design and application.

Now with offices in both Bainbridge and Conyers, Butler New Media focuses on assisting corporations and government organizations in communications with the disability population. It specializes in marketing, consulting and Section 508 compliance. Among Butler New Media’s list of clients are Humana, Microsoft, U.S. Department of Labor, as well as the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation.

In 2006, Butler New Media joined forces with Solutions Marketing Group. This new partnership provides comprehensive services which bring into line business clients with the spending power of the disability community. At that time, there were in excess of 54 million Americans with disabilities. Furthermore, this population had amassed $220 billion in yearly discretionary spending power.

Because most of the companies in this country had not discovered how to access the disability market, the thinking was that this united team could target this area, and fill this gap. (SMG had already been working with the disability population since 1998. Among its clients were Darden Restaurants, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America.)

Regarding awards, Mr. Butler also has been garnered many of them. For instance, in 2003 Butler New Media was chosen by the Georgia Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities to organize a competition dealing with statewide web access. High school students who had disabilities and were involved in Georgia High School/High-Tech program and mentors created teams.

All of these teams received instruction on the importance of web accessibility, and related topics. The teams were then tasked with redesigning their websites to increase their accessibility. The three best teams received scholarships to aid them in their future education.

In 2005, Mr. Butler received the John A. Conant Leadership Award. This award pays homage to Mr. Conant, a successful businessman who knew something about the challenges and obstacles since he himself had polio. This sum, worth $1,000, was given to Mr. Butler by the Georgia Independent Living Network, since he was dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of persons with disabilities.

While excelling in his business pursuits, Mr. Butler is quick to praise those who have helped him. For example, he spoke highly of his two VR (vocational rehabilitation) counselors, Basil Lucas and Monica Posey. He felt that these two individuals, of the Bainbridge VR office, helped him attend college and excel there by providing him with assistive technology and other accommodations which enabled him to maintain a high grade point average and be active in the school. Mr. Butler also stated that VR assisted him greatly in his vocational pursuits.

Tom Connelly is a public affairs specialist with the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency. This is the third in a series of weekly guest columns for National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October.