Ed James

| Director
200 Piedmont Avenue, SE, West Tower, Suite 502A, Atlanta, GA 30334 | Phone: 404-2327800
Fax: 404-232-1800 | TTY: Relay 711 | Web: www.gvra.georgia.gov/vocationalrehab

December 1, 2015
To whom it may concern,
Thank you for the opportunity to work with Katrina Watson this semester. I serve the state of
Georgia as the state coordinator of Deaf Blind Services for Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation.
Mrs. Watson has assisted us in the planning of a professional learning opportunity for the
interpreters, Deaf educators, Support Service Providers, and Deaf Blind community members
of our state. Within the professionals serving consumers with Deaf Blindness a growing
movement in communication practices has started to gain strength across the nation. This
is being called touch signal communication. Several philosophies with in this style of
communication have gained popularity such as Pro- Tactile, Haptics, and Touch Signaling
from the Helen Keller National Training Center. These communication styles and methods
are new to our state. We are all in the novice stages of learning these methods, and
recognize the need for more training opportunities within our entire community. Our project
has been two fold. First host a Touch signals workshop as a preliminary fundraising and
awareness building event, and then host a larger Pro-Tactile training workshop. Mrs. Watson
has faced this large task with great enthusiasm.
Mrs. Watson has been able to bring great organization skills and goal setting to the
planning for this undertaking. Even though the actual events could not be completed within
one academic semester Mrs. Watson has been able to break down the daunting task into
stage of smaller achievable goals, such as fundraising, advertising, marketing, community
inclusion and buy in to the need for these training opportunities. She has been able to
partner with the Georgia Association of the Deaf Blind, Deaf Blind Access of the South Camp,
and members of the Interpreter, Deaf, and Deaf Blind community in order to ensure the
success of the utilization of these communication strategies within our state. Her openmindedness, flexibility, and ability to think outside of the box has been a great asset to have
working on this task. I look forward to watching her grow within our community of
professionals. Interpreters with knowledge of Deaf Blind needs and communication
strategies are hard to find within our state. I wish her the best of luck in her future
endeavors, and would whole heartedly recommend her for future employment opportunities
in our field.

Most Sincerely,

Business Enterprise Program Disability Adjudication Services Georgia Industries for the Blind Roosevelt Warm Springs Cave
Spring Center Vocational Rehabilitation

An Equal Opportunity Employer And An Equal Access Agency

Rebecca Cowan- Story, MRC, CRC

State Coordinator of Deaf Blind Services

Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency

7 Georgia Ave. | PO Box 303 | Cave Spring, GA 30124

Business Enterprise Program Disability Adjudication Services Georgia Industries for the Blind Roosevelt Warm Springs Cave
Spring Center Vocational Rehabilitation

An Equal Opportunity Employer And An Equal Access Agency