Job fair offers opportunities for community

By James-Denton WyllieAugust 27, 2009

Job fair offers opportunities for community
Sgt. 1st Class Yolanda Reese, senior human resource manager for G1, Third Army/U.S. Army Central, shakes hands with Lou Calabrese, assistant general manager, ARAMARK, after receiving employment information. ARAMARK is a food service company that has ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Three hundrend and ninety Soldiers, Civilian employees and Family members gathered at The Commons at Fort McPherson to network and collect information on employment opportunities at a job fair hosted by Army Community Service, and the Army Career Alumni Program, Aug. 20.

"With the state of the economy, we want to help military Families," said Alfonso Lewis, employment readiness program manager, ACS. "In addition to our Soldiers, we're putting emphasis on Family members because we want our Families to obtain a high quality of life through their employment."

The fair featured 43 vendors, including organizations such as the Department of Veteran Affairs, Coca Cola, Troops to Teachers, Lockheed Martin and ARAMARK. These companies and groups realize the great benefit that a military background can give to a potential employee, said Lou Calabrese, assistant general manager, ARAMARK.

"We are always looking to hire people from the military world," he said. "We value the outstanding leadership, work ethic and skill-sets that Soldiers and military personnel bring with them when they come to us."

This was good news for fair participants like Sgt. 1st Class Yolanda Reese, senior human resource manager, G1, Third Army/U.S. Army Central.

"I'm getting closer to the end of my military time," she said. "I decided to come here for some information on what businesses are hiring. It can't hurt to look."