by Raythel E. Jones
With the passing of Charles Simpson in late 2001, Oklahomans with visual impairments lost a quiet but effective leader.
In the early 1950s Charles became the manager of the vending facility at Children's Hospital in Oklahoma City. Under his management the location became one of the most profitable facilities in the state. He was committed to employing blind people in his business and a number of these went on to become successful managers in the program. Throughout his life Charles demonstrated a strong feeling for the vending facility program as a business occupation that offered both economic opportunity and a chance to apply individual talents and skills.
Shortly after 1960 Charles and other state vending program leaders were instrumental in establishing the first training program for blind vendors in Oklahoma. The Children's Hospital facility was selected as one of the first on-the-job training sites.
Charles worked with blind vendors in the state to guide the Oklahoma vendors' organization into the Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America (RSVA).
Among his many contributions to the Oklahoma vending program, perhaps the one that most directly benefitted facility managers and operators was getting the state legislature to include blind vendors in the health insurance and retirement programs available to all state employees. This would not have happened if Charles had not worked with office holders and candidates at the grassroots level at the time their campaigns were under way.
In 1974 Charles became president of the Oklahoma League for the Blind board of directors. He served in this capacity until 1988. During this period, while working with the league's executive director, LeRoy Saunders, the board established an employee benefit package which included health insurance and leave, instituted policy requiring payment of minimum wage or above for all workshop employees, and introduced new product lines including the manufacturing of wooden step ladders. Also during this period, the board was reorganized in a substantial way to increase the number of community leaders serving as board members. In the late 1990s, Charles again accepted the responsibility of league president at a time of transition and challenge.
Certainly current and former league employees and blind vendors in Oklahoma owe Charles Simpson a debt of gratitude for the many contributions he made throughout his life to promote employment opportunities and improve working conditions for Oklahomans with visual impairments.