>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

STEPPING STONE JOB: Stephanie McCoy looks on as Tina Kearns makes a latte Monday at the Totally Excellent Coffee cart in the Integrated Services Building on Gekeler Lane. (The Observer/PHIL BULLOCK).

The next time you buy a cup of coffee at the cart in the Integrated Services Building on Gekeler Lane, think about this:

Totally Excellent equals training and employment.

A few women looking to improve their work skills operate the cart, called Totally Excellent Coffee, for the Training and Employment Consortium.

The job is temporary, a stepping stone to better things. By the time the women are ready to move on, they'll have more confidence in themselves and their ability to deal with the pressures of day-to-day employment.

"It's helped me to be more reliable, taught me some new experiences and given me more responsibility," said Stephanie McCoy, a 31-year-old La Grande woman who has staffed the cart since January and recently moved up to a supervisory position.

The Training and Employment Consortium is a publicly-funded, non-profit organization that helps people learn new skills and find work.

A couple of years ago, the TEC staff was thinking of ways to create a training ground for clients with disabilities.

"We work with lots of individuals who are at different places in their work history,"said Executive Director Terri Simonis. "We thought it would be nice to have some kind of training environment where they get a chance to gain job skills before they go on to the private sector."

Simonis and other staffers began to work out the idea for a coffee cart. Once they had a plan, they they set out to find some seed money.

They applied for a $40,000 Workforce Investment Grant, and were pleasantly surprised when the project was actually awarded $58,000.

They set the concession up in the Integrated Services Building, providing the legion of office workers there with a handy place to take their coffee breaks.

The building houses offices of the Department of Human Services, a Small Business Development Center, Blue Mountain Community College and the TEC Jobs Program. It also is the site of some Eastern Oregon University classes.

Like any business start-up, the coffee cart had its own set of challenges, said Simonis.

"We had to meet the health codes, the city codes, and requirements for food handlers. It was a big learning curve for us," she said.

Johanna Everidge, a Jobs Program trainer, was instrumental in getting the project off the ground. Workforce Development Specialist Marianne Sipe joined the effort, adding some unique expertise.

Sipe was a valuable addition because she had once worked at an espresso stand and knew the ins and outs — right down to the proper temperature for steamed milk.

"I knew the specifics about making lattes," she said.

After the cart opened last December, TEC invited the public to take part in a contest to name it.

One person came up with Totally Excellent Coffee, a moniker whose three initials match those of Training and Employment Consortium.

"We thought that was really cool," said Simonis.

Clients selected to work the coffee cart are judged to be disabled in some way, and have low incomes.

Their disability may be physical, or it could be mental or emotional, as in the case of a victim of domestic violence.

"Some who come to us come from a bad place, and here they feel safe and comfortable," said Everidge.

Added Sipe, "It's a safe environment and they don't have to fear the history they've left behind."

In all cases, the main object is to help the workers improve their work ethic and customer service abilities.

"They have to learn how to operate the equipment, but it's really more about gaining those all-important soft skills," said Simonis.

Sipe said she sees the coffee cart enterprise as a mentoring program.

"Working with the public is always an adventure," she said. "When the girls run into problems or circumstances they don't know how to handle, they come and bounce their thoughts and ideas off us."

The coffee cart workers are participants in Volunteer Work Experience, a part of the Department of Human Services self-sufficiency program.

As such they don't receive an hourly wage, though they may be trading labor for social service benefits.

Later, they might qualify for Jobs Plus, a state program that pays a trainee's wages for six months.

Once they reach that level, they're thinking seriously about private sector employment, said Sipe.

"The volunteer program has no time limit, but Jobs Plus is a ticking clock. In six months, they're no longer eligible," said Sipe.

At present, three women work at Totally Excellent Coffee. On a routine day, they'll serve about 20 drinks, plus snack items.

There's a lot to learn and remember. The menu features eight standard coffee drinks that come in three different sizes and are available with extras like syrup flavors, whip cream or soy milk.

Also included are several fruit juice drinks created and named by the workers: The Funky Monkey, Mango Bango, Island Blast, Orange Dynamite, and Tutti Frutti.

And not every day is routine. The population of the building swells when there are conferences and seminars.

"When there's a big conference, the girls will sell 50 drinks or more. They love it when it gets busy," said Sipe.

The cart is also open to the general public, and walk-in traffic is increasing. It is becoming popular with employees working in the U.S. Forest Service building nearby.

Totally Excellent Coffee hasn't been open long enough for the TEC staff to be able to point to success stories. It will be a while before they can properly gauge the influence the experience has on clients.

McCoy, who recently moved from the volunteer program to Jobs Plus, said she may or may not look for a similar job when her stint at Totally Excellent Coffee is up.

"I don't know for sure yet what I'm going to do. If there's a coffee shop hiring I'll do that, or else I'll look for other jobs," she said.

Where she applies for her next job isn't what counts the most. What's crucial is that she has more to offer an employer than before.

"I've enjoyed working here," she said. "It's done a lot for me. I've met some great people, and I've got a lot more experience to put on my resume."