Eggleston workers know there's freedom in work

Luke Grossman, 30, hasn't let Down syndrome get in the way of holding a job, living in his own apartment, having friends and being one of the Lady Monarchs' most avid fans.

He, as do more than 600 other disabled adults across Hampton Roads, lives a full, productive life, thanks in large part to Eggleston Services, a nonprofit organization based in Norfolk.

Larry Grossman said his son, Luke, joined Eggleston Services after graduating from Churchland High School in 1999.

"In the past, adults like Luke would be in an institutional setting, sitting in a day room watching TV, not communicating, not productive, not earning a pay check," Grossman, a Virginia Beach resident, said. "People with disabilities can have incredibly full lives if they have the opportunity and support."

Luke, who lives in Norfolk, works in the organization's laundry facility on Ingleside Road, also in Norfolk, one of the work options available to Eggleston associates.

The air is humid and heavy with the rumble of machinery. An associate punches buttons, setting the computerized equipment while other associates work with the laundry, sorting, loading, folding and tying into bundles.

"They're tough working conditions but Luke shows up every day and sometimes walks around like he owns the place," Grossman said.

Paul Atkinson, Eggleston president and CEO, said one of the agency's goals is to seek out more opportunities for associates to interact with the general public in jobs, such as retail.

"The sheltered workshop is an old, outmoded concept with dead-end placement," he said. "We look to merge the disabled with other employees in a more meaningful job situation with less stigma."

The Eggleston laundry started in 1992 processing laundry for the Navy. Now the computerized facility does more than eight million pounds of laundry annually for all branches of the military, local hospitals and other accounts. The business created 100 jobs and has revenue of about $2.7 million.

Bobby Hartsell Jr., 44, is a lot attendant at the Eggleston Automotive Center on Sewells Point Road in Norfolk. He installs batteries, checks vehicle fluids and can give a rundown on every vehicle awaiting auction on the lot.

"I like it all," the Chesapeake resident said. "All friendly guys here."

The Eggleston Automotive Center grew from the agency's vehicle donation program. The Eggleston workers clean and perform minor maintenance to help prep the vehicles for the bi-weekly auctions held at the Sewells Point Road center. They also do oil changes and other minor maintenance work for the public at competitive prices.

A recent auction saw 56 of 60 available cars sold off the lot. The average selling price is $921, but some of the center’s auctions have sold cars for as much as $6,000, according to the center manager Rick Anderson.

James Forbes, 41, from Norfolk, details cars and is learning to use a high-speed buffer and repair lawnmowers. The Eggleston job is a lot more fun, he said, than his last job working for a pancake house.

Every weekday Kirk Willis, 35, travels by van from his home at the Zuni Presbyterian Homes in Windsor to Hampton where he works in the Eggleston document destruction facility at the Sarah Bonwell Hudgins Center.

He fidgets with enthusiasm as he talks about his four years there assembling brochures and other small items and working with the shredding operation.

"I want people to know there's plenty of work to do here," he said. "It's our job, and we're very serious about doing paperwork for people."

Eggleston opened the secure document destruction operation, a full-service, shredding service for businesses and individuals. Associates sort and shred 17,000 pounds of paper a day for recycling. It's the agency's fastest growing line of business.

Derek Schwerer, 41, of Hampton, takes his job in document destruction so seriously he gets upset if he's not working according to his father, Joe Schwerer.

"People get the same thing out of work no matter who they are - it's important to any one of us," the older Schwerer said. "He knows he's pretty good at what he does and takes pride in that."

As have most of the other Eggleston associates, Derek Schwerer has multiple physical disabilities as well as an intellectual disability. But he has an incredible memory.

"Don't get into a rock 'n' roll trivia match with him," Schwerer said. "He'll win every time."

Eggleston also operates a food service program for the military. There, culinary professionals work with food service attendants from the agency, which is located in Norfolk and Portsmouth.

Associates also have worked in a horticultural center on the grounds of the Virginia Zoo since the mid- 1990s; a half dozen or so are towel runners at the Downtown YMCA in Norfolk, and other associates disassemble printers for Canon in Hampton.

Clynton Caines of Suffolk contracts with Eggleston Services to package his TongMitts, disposable mitts that keep tongs clean and meats germ free.

It's part of his commitment to the community, he said, "to use an agency that's devoted to helping people to package a product designed to combat illness from improper food handling."

Eggleston associates are paid according to their production.

"It's important to Luke's self worth to feel valued, independent and earning a paycheck," Grossman said. "He earns slightly under minimum wage but the trade-off is enormous - all for the good."

Phyllis Speidell, 757-222-5556 or Phyllis.Speidell@pilotonline.com