Vancouver chosen for video relay call center

From: Portland Business Journal, OR - Feb 5, 2004

A company that provides video interpreters for hearing-impaired phone users plans to open a Vancouver, Wash., call center.

Hands On Video Relay Services Inc. of Rocklin, Calif., said its Vancouver center would open this spring and employ approximately 30 people.

Video relay service is offered as part of the telecommunications relay service mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act. VRS allows a deaf or hard-of-hearing person to connect visually with a sign language interpreter to place telephone calls.

The company also operates a VRS center at its headquarters in California.

Ronald Obray, president and CEO of the company, said that in an age of offshore outsourcing, Hands On "turned to Washington state as the source for these critical jobs. We found competitive and skilled sign language interpreters, which are a critical resource for our company."

© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.