LAWTON Okla_ Nearly 8% of
our nation is jobless, but Cameron
University is working to
make that number smaller a little bit at a time.
Thursday, they hosted the 16th Annual Red River Career Expo, giving an
estimated 1,000 job seekers an opportunity to find work with more than 80
companies.
Everybody who
attended the career expo had one thing in common: they want to find a job. The
market is sturdier than expected, even though the economy is under pressure. Time
is ticking, and the threat of government spending cuts is just around the
corner. That doesn't stop Carla Henry Baker from going after her dream job.
"I want to
be in one of the public accounting firms doing taxation," Baker said.
Expo Coordinator
Wendy Locke said Baker is in the right place to do that. She said the expo is
working and wants to see that continue.
"We have
so many people that have come out that have come back with success stories,"
Locke said. "We want to hear more stories about that."
The success
stories don't come just from job seekers. A lot of vendors find good employees
at the expo as well. Steve Reis is a recruiter for Bradley-Morris, a military
placement company that was happy to set up shop so close to Fort Sill.
His goal is to help out the men and women who have sacrificed everything for
our country.
"Our focus
is putting prior military folks in jobs," Reis said. "There are a lot with the
end of the war, the draw down and all that. "They are out in the workforce
trying to get a foothold in a new career."
No matter what
the background, everyone, including Juan Ureste, appreciates the chance to find
the right fit.
"All these
businesses gathered here, you can go from different booth to different booth
and see what you qualify for or what you can't qualify for," Ureste said.
Juan said he
really enjoyed the expo and said he wished there were career fairs around when
he started his first job in 1967. He said back then, people had to either know
the right person or had to be just plain lucky.
The expo coordinator said about 70% of this year's booths were local
companies, and about 30% were from out of town.
