OGDEN -- It's hard to believe that Pat Robinson is 40 years old when you ask him about how excited he is to start talking on the phone all day.
Robinson, who has been blind since birth, started a new job Monday answering phones at Enable Industries, thanks to a new phone system equipped with Braille identification for each of the various extensions.
Enable Industries is a private, not-for-profit organization that provides jobs, skill training and employment services to people with disabilities.
The new position takes Robinson away from his previous job where he sorted and packaged dog biscuits and was paid by the box.
"I'm excited about the money," said the Pleasant View resident. "I'll be making $7.25 an hour."
And Robinson said answering phones was going to be much more "laid back" than his job sorting biscuits.
"You were always moving on that job," he said. "Now, I will get to meet people and all that."
Robinson's job and the new equipment were made available by a grant from The Daniels Fund, a charity created by the late cable television pioneer Bill Daniels, who left his entire estate of about $1.3 billion to philanthropic use. The Daniels Fund Grants Program funds selected projects in Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico.
Sue Barker, public relations and fund development director at Enable Industries, said officials at the Daniels Fund were quick to respond to the grant request.
She asked in July for the $10,000 needed to install the system, write a manual for the new phones and provide job training for Robinson. She heard from the fund a month later.
"I am extra grateful to Daniels because they have never funded us before and it was so quickly done," Barker said.
On Monday, Robinson was typing on his personal Braille machine the 44 professional staff members' phone numbers as well as the other dozen numbers he'll need to know.
He also learned not to answer by saying "Hello" and to ask people to "please hold" while he researches the numbers he is looking for to transfer calls.
Robinson said he wasn't afraid of any angry phone calls or any other problems that may arise.
"I don't take it too personal," he said. "I know they're not mad at me. I just let it go."
Enable receptionist Wendy Farnsworth said she's also excited about Robinson's new position.
"It gives me more time for filing, data entry and many other things," she said. "Somebody will be here to answer the phones when I'm not available."
And Barker said she's hoping Robinson soon won't be available to answer the phones at Enable either.
"Our goal with this project was to train Pat so other companies would want to hire him," she said. "Then the new system will be available to train someone else. ... We think this will be a benefit to others with disabilities besides Pat."
Barker said the project was the brainchild of Enable Industries Vice President Jan Torgerson.
Barker said that during a meeting in which training ideas were being discussed, Torgerson said such a phone system would expand Enable's capability for training.
Barker immediately believed the project was perfect for the Daniels grant.
"They are real into electronics because Bill Daniels was considered the father of cable TV," she said.
And the new electronics will accomplish much, she said.
"When you have an opportunity to develop people with disabilities just with the purchase of some equipment, man, that's good," she said.
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