Many people have mixed feelings about their telephone. Not Sheri Clemons. She thinks her phone is the best thing to happen to her in a long time.

Mrs. Clemons, who has a hearing impairment, recently received a caption telephone through the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department for her office in the city's Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

The CapTel phone works like any other telephone - with one visible difference - it displays every word the caller says during the conversation, allowing the city's tourism coordinator to read the caller's words.

"It just makes me a lot more productive," Mrs. Clemons said. "I'm more independent. Everything's just faster. I think I'm bringing in more work."

Mrs. Clemons wears hearing aids and reads lips. Before she received the phone about three weeks ago, she often had to rely on e-mail and faxes to communicate.

She also had to depend on her co-workers to transcribe messages for her, and her supervisor, Barbara Gassman, had to field most of the incoming calls.

About a year ago, Mrs. Clemons, who also is the producer for the city's cable Channel 4, decided she needed to take more responsibility for her job. She learned about CapTel through Internet research.

She then went to the local vocational rehabilitation office, and a counselor, Amanda Crooks, helped her get the phone.

"I feel more normal. I feel like everybody else now," Mrs. Clemons said.

Her duties also include working on the employee newsletter and running a speakers' bureau.

"That's a lot of telephone work right there, which I'm now discovering," she said.

Mrs. Clemons, who has a bachelor's degree in art with an emphasis on graphic and advertising design and communications, has worked for the city for 10 years.

"It hasn't been easy," she said. "You've got to push, push, push. If you've got the talent, you're educated, I don't think you should let anything stop you."

Reach Betsy Gilliland at (803) 648-1395, ext. 113, or betsy.gilliland@augustachronicle.com.