By Brandon Fincher
02-14-2009
LINCOLN – Companies who were looking to hire certainly had no shortage of candidates who arrived at the old Lincoln gymnasium on Friday to participate in the Lincoln Job Fair.
Deborah Thornton, research analyst for the Talladega County Economic Development Authority, said, as expected, the turnout by job seekers and employers was large.
“So far it’s been great. We have 30 plus employers registered. I would say we probably have 200 to 300 employees who have already signed in who are now looking for jobs at the various employers’ tables,” Thornton said around 30 minutes after the doors opened.
People from all walks of life were in attendance including Reginald and Tonia Kelley, both of Oxford, who were job seeking as husband and wife.
Reginald Kelley said, “I’m getting ready to retire from the military, and I’ve been to job fairs before. In fact, I’ve participated in some job fairs, and the setup here is nice.”
Tonia Kelley added, “It’s pretty informative. We just recently relocated here, and it’s given us an idea of what’s in the area job wise.”
The Kelleys were far from the only job seekers in attendance, though. Danny Mitchell, of Cropwell, was also on the job hunt.
“I’ve just got my mind open. I’ve never been to one of these before,” Mitchell said. “So far it’s so good.”
Employers either passed out information or accepted job applications.
One of those was the Alabama Department of Corrections which was looking for correctional officers. Cynthia Nelson, with the ADOC, said she was looking for applicants that could pass the physical testing, background check and who were ready to come in and work in the state’s prison system.
Nelson said, “There are a lot of opportunities for advancement once they come in as a correctional officer trainee and after they’ve gone through the academy and established permanent status.
“Whenever we give our promotional exam or sergeant’s exam, they can take that and advance up. Once they’ve been in that classification, and if they desire to move up, they can take the next promotion.”
Nelson said the turnout was great, and there were many people who stopped by the ADOC booth who were interested in the job and picked up information to research.
“We have great benefits, and it is a career,” Nelson said.
The job fair was sponsored by the Talladega County Improvement Foundation, the Greater Talladega/Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce, the Childersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, the Sylacauga Chamber of Commerce and the Talladega County Economic Development Authority.
Thornton said she had received calls from job seekers as far away as Cleburne, Randolph and Chambers counties who inquired about the job fair.
“We started in January with a job fair in Sylacauga. We were trying to do them every 90 days, but the needs were so critical we decided to bump it up and do it sooner,” Thornton said. “We have another job fair scheduled for April 10 in Childersburg.”
Thornton said the sponsors had devised a list and contacted companies from Talladega, Calhoun and St. Clair counties to see if they would like to participate.
She said the job fair benefited from volunteers who manned the sign-in table and restaurants and grocery stores such as Domino’s Pizza, Carter’s Barbecue, R and B Barbecue, Jack’s, Wal-Mart in Talladega and Pell City, and Super Foods in Lincoln who provided food to feed the employers.
Thornton said she also was thankful for service group who provided information and assistance at the job fair. They were Alabama Department of Public Health’s ALL Kids Insurance, Cheaha Regional Head Start, the Coosa River Baptist Association, and FIRST Family Service Center.
Job seekers were just thankful for the opportunity to have a chance for a job.
“When you have an opportunity to participate in a job fair, you’re always looking for something, a new job or a better job. It gives you a good feel for what’s out there,” Reginald Kelley said.
