Blind employee at Bulldog Burger recognized for perseverance, positive attitude

TUPELO — Rod Ervin works four days a week as a utility worker at Bulldog Burger in Tupelo where he washes dishes, weighs hamburger meat and preps sides like French fries and tater tots. But unlike other employees, his hands are his eyes.

Ervin, 49, has been blind for 23 years. He had problems with his sight as an adolescent, requiring corrective contact lenses. Retinal detachment in his left eye caused a gradual fading in vision, and at age 26, an accident in which he dropped a box on a dolly that caused the handle to crush his right eye resulted in complete loss of vision.

The Greenville native moved to Tupelo in 2004 to attend the Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind program and started at Bulldog Burger in May 2021.

What he's enjoyed most is being around people and bonding with his coworkers.

"I'll go to laughing and talking back there while I'm doing my job," Ervin said. "I do a lot of cracking jokes about myself, about my blindness. They may say something like, 'You see that?' and I'm like, 'Nah, I ain't see that.'

"You've got to have a sense of humor; you've got to keep that," he added.

It wasn't always easy to laugh about, though. After losing his sight, he went through the five stages of the grieving process. While he could've allowed the trauma of losing his vision to stop him from progressing in life, he made a decision to start over.

Through training he received at the Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind program, he learned to walk using a white cane. It, along with his hands, serve as his eyes now.

Earlier this month, Ervin was surprised with a Rising Star Award from the Mississippi Department for Rehabilitation Services for his work at Bulldog Burger.

He was shocked to receive the award, and he hopes it will inspire other blind people in the area, especially the youth.

"It means, to me, I'm doing something right," Ervin said. "I'm not sitting around at home feeling like the walls are caving in."

Chris Parker, general manager of Bulldog Burger, has known Ervin for three years and described him as upbeat and always ready to have a good time doing his job.

"I think he genuinely enjoys being here, and we enjoy having him here," Parker said. "He's a part of this family."

Bulldog Burger received a Small Business of the Year Award from the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services on the same day Ervin received his award.

"Most times, when we've got people that come in here, new hires and people who haven't been around him, I don't even think they realize he's blind at first," Parker said. "He doesn't let it slow him down. He does his job just as good as anybody else, and a lot of times, better than other people I've worked with in the past."

"It's hard to envision this team without Rod," he added.

Ervin's advice to others is to keep moving forward at all times. Every day won't be a good one, but putting in the effort to try is worth it.

"When you think people aren't paying attention, they are — especially when you're doing your best," Ervin said. "I am a utility worker, but I try to be the best."

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