Job seekers swarm Pritchard

From the News-Enterprise

By KELLY R. CANTRALL

Anita Ellison was looking for a job like it was, well, her job.

Ellison came prepared Thursday to the job fair at Pritchard Community Center. She parked across the street, knowing the parking lot would be full, and packed her lunch so she wouldn’t have to leave.

She was one of the 1,000 job seekers who had come within the first couple hours to the event sponsored by the Elizabethtown-Hardin County Chamber of Commerce, Lincoln Trail Career Center and the Lincoln Trail Area Development District.

Tommy Wheatley of the Lincoln Trail Career Center said attendants were lined up around the building by the time the fair began.

Chamber President Rik Hawkins said Thursday afternoon that the fair could be one of the biggest held, which he said has good and bad aspects. It’s good that it can match seekers to jobs, but the attendance also means “that many people are out of jobs,” he said.

Ellison was laid off in December after her company reduced its labor force.

“I’m among the ranks of the dislocated workers,” she said, laughing.

Elison has maintained a sunny disposition despite having had no luck so far in her search. She said she can send out 20 resumes a week and never hear back from anyone, so she knows companies are being inundated by job seekers.

So she’s learning to punch up her resume for each job she seeks, and keep a positive attitude.

“There are jobs out there,” she said. “That’s the good news.”

One employer Ellison made sure to check out was Fort Knox, and the new jobs being created by Human Resources Command.

Dawn Donovan was working with OneKnox at the fair. OneKnox provided training sessions throughout the day on how to apply for federal jobs. Donovan said she had seen about 250 job seekers by late Thursday morning.

She had heard from many attendees who said they came to the fair specifically to learn about jobs coming to the post because of BRAC.