The Roanoker - January/February 2015 - 80

PEOPLE FIRST*
"People." That's what Bobby, a smiling
Kroger employee with disabilities says
he likes best about the job he has held
for 15 years. According to Kelly Sandridge Coleman, VP for Marketing at
Goodwill Industries of the Valleys, and
VDARS, the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS),
qualified employees with disabilities
like Bobby can help employers achieve
goals of retention, dependability, high
safety ratings, attention to detail and
strong morale among team members.
Some Valley employers are hiring qualified persons with disabilities to work a
variety of jobs and discovering that the
benefits far outweigh any costs.
A major study of employers' experiences conducted by VCU found that employees with disabilities are as capable
and productive, in terms of timeliness,
punctuality, task consistency and work
speed, as employees without disabilities. Allison McGee, spokesperson for
Kroger Mid-Atlantic, a company that
consistently hires people with disabilities, notes that "people with disabilities bring loyalty, dedication and
commitment to their jobs that result in
increased retention, which, in turns reduces recruitment and training."
Employee support and training
through Goodwill partnerships is neces-

sary for many programs, such as Project
Search, a one year high school transition program where students learn job
training skills and participate in internships at Carilion hospital. Goodwill also
provides supported employment at
several sites, in which job coaches assist
employees with disabilities in all aspects
of employment, from asking for days
off to completing computer training.
Neil Ordway, General Manager at
the Holiday Inn, Valley View successfully
partners with Goodwill in a program
of the Intercontinental Hotels Group
called the IHG Academy. People with
disabilities train in different areas of
the hotel business, graduate from the
Academy and seek permanent employment. Ordway, who has hired some of
his graduates to work at the front desk,
in maintenance, housekeeping and dining services, has been surprised at how
much joy and pride these employees
have instilled in the rest of his team.
"We are really making a difference," Ordway says, "and giving these
people hope."
*"People First" is a phrase members
of the disability community often repeat. People with disabilities are people first; their disability is only a part
of who they are.
-MARTHA BOURLAKAS

"There's a lot of potty humor here," admits TechLab
president Charlie Pennington
At the company's headquarters in the Virginia Tech
Corporate Research Center, a poster outlining diseases
of the digestive system decorates a breakroom. The company puts out a newsletter titled Diarrhea Digest. The
marketing manager hands out tiny toilets emblazoned
with the slogan "No. 1 in the No. 2 business."
For all the jokes, TechLab employees don't consider
their work a laughing matter.
"Everybody here takes their job seriously," Pennington says. "Because we know that the products that go
out the door could be used on a family member to find
out what disease they have. . . What we do saves lives."
TechLab formed in 1989; the company grew out of research led by Tracy Wilkens at Virginia Tech's Anaerobe
Laboratory on Clostridium Difficile, commonly known

80 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

as C-Diff, a bacterium that causes diarrhea, intestinal
inflammation and pain.
David Lylerly, co-owner of TechLab and vice president of research and development, says he and Wilkens
(now largely retired) quickly discovered they'd found a
niche all their own.
"We realized not too many people like to talk about
the intestines," Lylerly recalls. "Not too many folks care
about diarrhea. We said, 'Why don't we jump into that
and expand that too.'"
Today, the company's bread and butter remains kits
for hospital labs that aid in diagnosing C-Diff. TechLab
also sells diagnostics for a variety of other troubles, like
parasites or a toxin caused by eating contaminated water
or food. Company executives are especially eager to get
the word out about a newer product, which aids in the
diagnosis of intestinal inflammation. That diagnosis can
help doctors distinguish between irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease.
TechLab's products are sold in 47 countries, according
to Pennington. "A lot of the biggest growth opportunities
are in the global market," he says.
In 2011, the company expanded by turning a
54,000-square-foot shell building in Radford into a hightech manufacturing facility. TechLab has 115 employees,
split evenly between the Radford and Blacksburg locations, according to Pennington.
Many of TechLab's employees come from Virginia
Tech and Radford University.
"We like to use local talent," Pennington says. "Not
just employees, but also other companies."
TechLab purchased robotics used in manufacturing
from Blacksburg's ESS Technologies, Inc., and relies
on Roanoke's Plastics One for a diagnostic component. Individuals with disabilities provide some labor
through Goodwill Industries of the Valleys.
TechLab is now at an ideal size as far as employees,
Pennington says, but he would like to see the company
grow its product line.
THE

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