Webster Enterprises celebrates its 25th anniversary

By Rose Hooper

Webster Enterprises of Jackson County is a non-profit corporation using work and work-related activities to provide vocational evaluation, training, job coaching and supportive services to individuals with disabilities. However, one does not have to be either disabled or disadvantaged to work at Webster Enterprises.

The organization, fully accredited by the National Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, is the county's fifth largest employer. Now a $2 million-a-year business, Webster Enterprises is a well-established manufacturer of disposable medical devices used in surgical procedures all over the country, as well as several foreign countries. Last year they made and shipped more than 5.5 million surgical drapery sheets.

"Somebody has to fight off the alligators while others build a bridge across the swamp," former Executive Director Gene Robinson told the group during the celebration Monday. "Your job is just as important as the next person's."

Employees, both past and present, were recognized as part of Webster Enterprises 25th anniversary celebration Monday, Feb. 12, at the Family Resource Center. The FRC, formerly the Old Webster School, housed the original Sheltered Workshop, forerunner of Webster Enterprises.

During the early years, the Webster Enterprises operated as a day program for county residents with severe and profound mental retardation. Emphasis was placed on recreation and pre-vocational job training through the completion of structured tasks.

In the early 1980s, the workshop began seeking different avenues of training. Subcontracts were landed with various local companies. Program participants assembled and applied decorative hardware to band hats for the Ashley Corp. Light fixtures were assembled for Ragan Hardware. Various computer parts from Cashiers Plastics were shipped to the workshops for filling and sanding. Wooden pallets were built for both Cashiers Plastics and Texas Instruments.

When Robinson became director in 1981, he immediately set out to turn the struggling financial program into a respectable business. "Sure we struggled," said Robinson. "Part of that struggle was to wean ourselves from government funding."

A big believer in recycling, Robinson initiated WE's recycling program. With that successful operation and the production of medical drapes, the organization ceased to be a workshop. In 1984, the name was changed to Webster Enterprises.

"The name change made a significant impact on the way the community viewed the organization. Webster Enterprises wanted the community to know that individuals with disabilities were not just Œsheltered' for the day, but where actually producing marketable goods, earning a pay check and contributing to the economic growth of the community," said Arlene Stewart, who became director last year when Robinson retired.

"My job is fun," Stewart said. "It gives me a chance to use my strengths, which are planning and coordination. Most of the time I have to be thinking five years down the road, and I like that futuristic approach."

In 1990, Webster Enterprises, now the county's official recycling agent, moved into its new 18,000-square-foot building on Little Savannah Road in Webster.

Five years later another expansion was under taken when WE purchased the old Buster Brown plant in Dillsboro, adding an additional 16,000 square feet to its medical device business.

In 1997, the recycling plant moved to the Dillsboro facility to continue operating until 2000 when the recycling business was leased to Country Collections.

Throughout the years, not only did this non-profit expand its business, but it also expanded its training programs.

"At Webster Enterprises, we create a protected, stress-free environment. In such an environment, people can develop skills that they will need in other work situations," said Stewart.

Workers learn punctuality and the importance of coming to work on time. They are taught quality concepts and the importance of producing a quality product.

Trainers work with clients in developing self-esteem and skills in getting along with people. WE serves an average of 88 individuals with disabilities each year. Of these, an average of 13 are placed in competitive community employment each year.

Approximately 85 percent of WE's funding comes from its medical device operation. The remaining 15 percent is generated from community agencies such as Smoky Mountain Mental Health and N.C. Vocational Rehabilitation for contracted services.

In 1999, WE, along with Smart Start and Southwestern Child Development Center, organized and established a new daycare center in Webster.

"We see ourselves as a significant part of the economic development of Jackson County," said Stewart.

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