Charlie Collins Featured in Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind

Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind

THE SOURCE FOR BLINDNESS NEWS AND INFORMATION SINCE 1907

Feature Writer Steven Famiglietti - Interview with Vision Dynamics Owner, Charlie Collins

December 15, 2010

"My childhood was fun, I spent a lot of time dreaming, I was a dreamer", said Collins. "I used to ride my bike in the woods and dream about what I would do when I grew up. I wanted to ride and race motorcycles and fly air planes!" Collins said enthusiastically. He grew up with five other brothers and sisters and as children, they were all a very close family and everyone got along well.

Before Charlie was officially diagnosed with macular degeneration, he had the sense that something was wrong and that he was "different" than the other children in school. "I noticed that I could not read as quickly as the other students in class, I started to feel like I was not as good as everyone else." Then, in 1977, after seeing many doctors in Connecticut, the family went to Mass Eye and Ear where Charlie and some of his brothers and sisters underwent many hours of testing. "I actually thought it was a lot of fun" recalls Collins, "I got to take a few days off from school and go up to Boston for all of the testing." After three years of testing, the doctors told Charlie and a few of his siblings that they were legally blind. "I thought when the doctors were done that they were going to fix what was wrong with me. But, they told me I had an eye disease and that I would be legally blind for the rest of my life because of this macular degeneration thing. These doctors who did all this testing, they couldn't make my vision get better and they said there was nothing they could do for us, that was the biggest let down for me. I immediately felt like I just wasn't good enough and that all my dreams were never going to happen, it was majorly depressing to me."

For the next several years, Charlie continued to fall deeper into the mind set of believing he was someone who couldn't do the things he wanted to do in his life. It made both middle and high school extremely difficult for him. Charlie recounted a guidance counselor who said, "Well, since you are legally blind, you might as well get used to the fact that you can't attend college and learn how to let others take care of you, because you can't do it for yourself. We'll have to figure out how you can just coast through your life." The negative attitude coming from the guidance counselor further degraded Collins and he had just about given up on any furture for himself.

He began visiting a local motorcycle dealership where he started to mow the lawn and maintain the grounds. One day, the owner of the facility asked Collins if he would be interested in working inside the dealership selling motorcycles. Charlie went home that day and told his mother abouth the offer. He also told her that he couldn't understand why they would want someone who was legally blind to work at the dealership. "When are you going to stop settling for the good, and begin going for the greatness that is within you?" asked his mother. After much thought, Charlie accepted the position at the dealership. He began to enthusiastically learn everything he could about the business and soon became their top performing salesperson. After a few years, the owner approached him and asked him if he wanted to become part owner.

Charlie accepted the offer and spent several years as the Vice President. "I sold a lot of motorcycles and made a lot of money, and it was great. After a while though, I realized that even though I had accomplished many goals, I wasn't completely happy. I felt like somet6hing was missing, I wasn't feeling whole." Charlie realized that individuals with vision impairments and other disabilities can achieve their goals. Coming from a past of depression, and overtime learning how to overcome obstacles and use adaptive devices, Charlie wanted to help others realize that they could do teh same. "I wanted to start doing something to help other people," he said. "So, I decided to leave the motorcycle business to find a career doing soemthing to help others."

In 1997, Charlie opened Vision Dynamics, a store filled with products and services designed to help people with low vision, blindness, and learning difficulties. "I asked my father, George Collins, if he would come by and help me hang slat wall and he has been wroking with me ever since that day! With Vision Dynamics, I am working with people who are going through much of the same things I did. We are able to provide them with tools to help individuals learn to be successful and independent. Our staff is also able to help them overcome the negative attitude and to understand that they too can accomplish great things in their lives. If the needs of a customer become such that they need the help of a low vision doctor, we have Dr. Randy Kinkade available at our facility to address those needs."

Charlie also travels around the country sharing his experience, strenth, and hope with others. "It doesn't matter if the people in the audiences are visually impaired or not, we all have struggles in our lives, these struggles give us choices. We can choose to let the negative side beat us down, or we can choose to turn the negatives into positives and work towards accomplishing our goals."

When I started to write this article, I realized that I heard two voices from Charlie. When we discussed his life before he found his calling, I heard a low adn quiet tone to his voice. When we discussed his career at Vision Dynamics, I heard a loud and enthusiastic voice.

Collins said, "We don't see with our eyes, we see with our brains and with the correct attitude and outlook we can accomplish anything!" The last thing Charlie said was, "Although my sight may be bad, I have clear vision- hence, Vision Dynamics, the clear vision company!"

If you would like to know more about the products and services offered at Vision Dynamics, you can reach them in one of the ways listed below:

Vision Dynamics

470 West main Street

Cheshire, CT 06410

Phone: 203-271-1944

Fax: 203-271-3997

http://www.visiondynamics.com/