Purple Communications hosts open house for interpreters in Atlanta

Transcript On Saturday Purple Communications held a small open house at its Atlanta office in search of eager video relay service (VRS) interpreters. The event offered potential interpreters a chance to see what a VRS center looks like and shared the benefits of working with a company like Purple Communications. To our surprise, it was also a chance for Sign1News MMJ Martha Anger to reconnect with a woman who says she decided to become an interpreter 20 years ago because of the influence and impact a 10-year-old Martha had on her. But first Purple Communications Atlanta center manager Christopher Patterson explains how the company goes the extra mile to make its employees feel right at home. This is an example of our interpreter culture here. February for Valentine's Day we asked interpreters to put short messages on the wall about the things that inspire them, what they are thankful for, why they work here and why they continue to work in VRS. And every day they look at the wall, it will continue to uplift them. For St. Patrick's Day we will put up green clovers with messages. We do that every month to help interpreters feel inspired and happy. The reason we have a massage chair is because interpreters can sometimes feel stress, frustration or just need a break to rest. They come into this room to relax and get a chair massage to help relieve the stress. My first teacher was you. I had not taken any sign language classes before. I was a teachers assistant in a public school when I walked into a Deaf classroom. I had no clue about sign language. But when I walked into the classroom, I met Deaf children, Deaf teachers and other hearing interpreters. I learned sign language quickly and became passionate about it. I met you! Posted - 3.1.2020