Nearly 400 area residents attend Athens Job Fair

Employers from around the region were taking applications, and several were hiring, at the job fair at the Athens Community Center on Wednesday, April 20.

This year’s event was the seventh-annual Area 14 One-Stop Job Fair, and more than 60 employers from southeast Ohio, Columbus and West Virginia took part. Hundreds of area residents attended the event so that they could apply for work and learn about job opportunities available in the region.

Tri-County Mental Health and Counseling Services, Inc., for example, currently has six positions available, according to Tammi Midkiff. She was talking to potential employees about the open positions and was very happy with the quality of applicants. She was especially enthusiastic about one potential employee who was extremely prepared and appeared to be a very good fit for one open position.

“This was for a position that has been difficult to fill,” she said. No decision had been made yet on that applicant or on any others, but Midkiff felt very positive about the job fair and said she is always impressed with the Athens event.

“This is by far the best job fair I have attended,” Midkiff said.

April Sinift went to the job fair hoping to find work, and said she was pleased with the number of employers. She has an associate’s degree in accounting and talked to several potential employers about job openings related to her degree.

Wilma Guess was also looking for work at the job fair and was thankful for the opportunity to talk one-on-one with so many employers.

“It’s a great thing to do to help people get jobs,” she said.

Abby Arrington was applying for jobs at the job fair and said she was happy with it.

“I think this is really helpful,” she said. She wished there were more positions for people age 18 and younger, but said she had found a few jobs that she was able to apply for.

Lowe’s Home Improvement store of Athens is currently hiring for several seasonal positions, and Steve Peterson was talking to potential employees about the positions. He was advising area residents to apply online and said he was pleased with the number of people he spoke with.

Bellisio Foods of Jackson was taking applications for entry level and supervisory positions at the job fair, according to Mike Goodwin. The business has openings in numerous areas and is looking for strong candidates for many different positions, Goodwin said. He added that he spoke with a large number of people applying for work at the job fair.

Eliza Coey of Home Health Care of Southeast Ohio said she was also pleased with the number of potential employees she spoke with.

“There were quite a few,” Coey said. Her agency is taking applications for open positions and she was pleased with the quality of the applicants she spoke with.

Logan Health Care Center is currently hiring nurses, and Mary Stack said she was pleased with the number of people who stopped at the booth to talk about job openings. This was her third year at the job fair, where Stack said has found qualified applicants every year.

Susan Lachman from Rocky Brands said she spoke with several people about the nine positions the company currently has open.

“Some of them looked very promising,” Lachman said. She has attended the Athens job fair previously, and said it is one of the best job fairs that she attends.