For Immediate Release
October 24, 2018 

Media Contact: Kandy Cayce
Division of Services for the Blind
[email protected]

Duncan  honored by DSB:  From the left, Earnest C. Merritt, Local DWS Office Manager, accepts a business partner award presented to Arkansas Department of Workforce Services (DWS) by the Department of Human Services Division of Services for the Blind (DSB), and Adren Duncan, DWS Community and Social Services Specialist, receives an achievement award for his career and community accomplishments. DSB Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Kyle Kiper nominated Duncan for the award. Nearby is guide dog Uma.

Local Man Who’s Blind Updates Technology Skills, Earns Achievement Award

Adren Duncan of Little Rock has been named the area’s outstanding Consumer of the Year by the Department of Human Services Division of Services for the Blind (DSB).

Duncan, who has been totally blind since birth, is a Community and Social Services Specialist with the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, where he has been employed for nine years. Prior to this, he had been a Social Worker since 1972.

DSB Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Kyle Kiper nominated Duncan, age 77, for the achievement award because of his determination to overcome adversity, serve the community, and succeed at work. He was selected from the Little Rock metro area.

The award presentation was made at the noon meeting of the Little Rock Founders Lions Club on October 24,at World Services for the Blind.

His employer, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, was recognized by DSB as an outstanding business partner for its commitment to promoting the employment of persons with vision impairment.

Duncan said he appreciated the services he received from DSB. He worked with his counselor to address changes in the workplace and received training in the DSB Technology Lab to learn the most modern technology available to professionals who are blind to remove those barriers to success.

“He was unable to compete his work assignments and keep up with the case management at his job, because his personal Braille Notetaker was 20 years old,” said Kiper. “After Mr. Duncan received a new Notetaker from DSB, he was once again able to perform the essential functions of his job in a competitive manner.”

Duncan is an active member of the Benton Lions Club and a Distinguished Toastmaster, the highest level of educational achievement in Toastmasters. He and his wife Barbara have been married 40 years.

This is the 11th year that DSB has given Consumer of the Year awards to recognize individuals who have managed their rehabilitation plans, gained marketable skills, secured good jobs, and become role models for others. An overall state winner will be selected at the end of the year.

DSB provides vocational rehabilitation services to adults who are blind or severely visually impaired and whose goal is successful employment. The division also serves youth and older blind individuals. For information about DSB’s programs and services, visit the DSB website at https://humanservices.arkansas.gov/about-dhs/dsb, or call 1-800-960-9270, 501-682-5463, or deaf relay 711.

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