Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County was proud to again be a Platinum Sponsor at the Fort Worth ISD Hiring Fair. The event was a big success and we were proud to be a part of it.

 From Left to Right: Susan Amaya,
Executive Director Judy McDonald, Daniel Davenport and Allan Chehadi (summer intern). 

Here we caught Cynthia Fisher Miller, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce distributing balloons and smiles while setting up!  

Workforce Development Board Meeting - June 12, 2013

Our June Board meeting featured a very special guest! We were honored to have the Commissioner Representing Employers for TWC, Hope Andrade join us for her first official Workforce Board Meeting. She shared a quick update about her new role with TWC and her insights into Employers in Texas. 

Board Chair, Buddy Puente poses for a picture with Dr. Stephen Waddell. Dr. Waddell was the former Superintendent of Birdville ISD and is now the Superintendent of Lewisville ISD. This was Dr. Waddell's last Board meeting as a member of the Board. He will be greatly missed. We hope he will come back to visit. 

We had an informative briefing at the June Board Meeting it was all about Technology! From Left to Right: Ramsey Olivarez, Jann Miles, Scott Esycher, Buddy Puente, Judy McDonald and Keith Muskrat. You will hear more about our Technology efforts at this month's Board Meeting. 

Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County is a proud supporter of, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price's SteerFW initiative. We have staff that are involved with the Homelessness Task Force as well as staff member Renee Parker who is the Chair of the Employment Task Force. This is a picture from the recent SteerFW Big Reveal. 

 From left to Right: Hayden Blackburn, Steve Murrin, Mayor Betsy Price, Councilmember Kelly Allen Gray, Renee Parker and Keome Rowe.  

 We are lucky to have such a good working relationship with our area Chambers of Commerce. They support us in so many ways and on so many initiatives. We are thankful for those partnerships.

From Left to Right: Board Chair Buddy Puente, Board Members Carlos De La Torre and Estrus Tucker enjoying the Fort Worth Chamber's Annual Awards meeting. 

At the June Board Meeting Janet Benton, Center Manager at the Alliance Opportunity Center represented this wonderful group of volunteers. They were recognized at the Board meeting for their work at the Alliance Hiring Fair in May. Board Chair Buddy Puente along with Workforce Improvement Director Sal Adamski visited the group and handed out certificates to them at the June Alliance Job Club. 

At the June Board Meeting Buddy also spoke about all the growth happening in the Alliance Area. Our Business Services Department has been working closely with companies such as Flextronics, Amazon, etc.. to help with their hiring needs. You can read more about the new growth in Alliance in this month's HOT HOT Information Piece.

The group of volunteers with Board Chair Buddy Puente after they received their certificates of appreciation for their work at the Hiring Event. 

In between legislative updates and the sharing of best practices at the June US Conference of Mayors Meeting in Las Vegas - our neighbor in North Central Texas got married! What happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas when it is such exciting news! Congratulations to our friend Natalie Moffitt who married Rick Beasley (Miami Workforce President) while in Las Vegas for the conference. It was a beautiful ceremony.

 From Left to right: Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas President Laurie Larrea, Workforce Solutions Central Texas Executive Director Susan Kamas, the beautiful bride - Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas Workforce Development Manager Natalie Moffitt - Beasley and our own Executive Director Judy McDonald. 

The Texas Workforce Delegation congratulates the happy couple!

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) held Adult Basic Education Public Stakeholder Meetings across the state this summer. The purpose of the public meetings were to hear from interested Texans concerning the transfer of the Adult Basic Education (ABE) program from the Texas Education Agency to TWC. Stakeholders were invited to attend these meetings to provide ideas and suggestions about current successes and challenges, and opportunities for further advancement.

On July 18th, almost 200 students gathered at the Wilkerson Greines Activity Center for a community-wide GED graduation ceremony.  These men and women had studied in programs sponsored by the Fort Worth ISD, Tarrant County College, Tarrant Literacy Coalition and numerous community and faith based organizations.  Many had waited years for their opportunity to put on a cap and gown and walk across the stage to celebrate this monumental accomplishment.  The event was sponsored by Workforce Solutions and brought together students, teachers, friends and family members for a wonderful evening of celebration.

The Graduating Class of 2013

Proud Graduate Brisia poses for a picture with her newly acquired diploma. 

Joe Warren, Senior Director was the keynote speaker at the event and made Workforce Solutions very proud!

Our friends at Tarrant County College (TCC) just celebrated a BIG Birthday! On July 31, 2013 at the Trinity River Campus TCC celebrated 48 years of service to students and the community. Guests were invited to take a "brief journey down memory lane and to see where they have been and learn where they are going." 

Some familiar faces were among the nights speakers: WGB Chair, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitely, Commissioner Roy Brooks, Board Member Lillie Biggins and of course Louise Appleman. Louise recently celebrated a milestone of her own..... 25 years of service with TCC. 

A good time was had by all, Workforce Solutions Executive Director Judy McDonald and Workforce Improvement Director Sal Adamski also attended the event and helped our friends celebrate. 

Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley and Commissioner Roy Brooks helped TCC celebrate the BIG 48!

TCC Chancellor Erma Johnson Hadley with Board Member Lillie Biggins

Workforce Improvement Director Sal Adamski with Board Member (and TCC Cheerleader) Louise Appleman 

It is hard to believe it but another Summer is behind us! We are so thankful to all of the wonderful employers who gave tours of their facilities, presentations and of course gave our youth a chance and a place to work this summer. This was a wonderful learning experience due to the efforts of the Employers who participated! It was also a great way to learn about your company and the work you do in Tarrant County. Staff worked hard to match youth into positions that matched their skill sets. As a result of their hard work and dedication in this program, many youth earned the valuable skills needed to be an asset to any employer in Tarrant County. Thank you to Board Member Jim Miller, for taking some of the summer youth on a tour of your facilities (We heard they were in awe of what you do). Also a special thank you to Board Member Jennifer Limas, who provided a worksite for one of our youth!

A closer look at the Numbers

Board Member Jim Miller gave the group a tour of his facilities in Mansfield at Southern Champion Tray. Tours like the one Jim gave helped give the youth a look into the many different fields and companies that are available to them in Tarrant County!

This is a group picture from the presentations at the Northside Workforce Center - Thank you to Maryann Means with the City of Fort Worth for talking to the youth about the opportunities they may want to think about in the future. Who knows we might have a future Mayor among us!

 We saw many smiles from the youth this summer. This young man spent his summer helping others at Mission Arlington. We are very proud of our Tarrant County youth!

Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County was proud to again be a part of the Governor's Small Business Forum. This is a very important event and we were proud to be a sponsor. The Governor's Small Business Forums are designed to educate the Texas entrepreneur and small business community on workforce development, marketing businesses, hiring and managing employees, and training and growth opportunities. 

Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County nominated Fluidic Techniques in Mansfield for the Small Business of the Year award at the Governor's Forum.

Fluidic Techniques, founded in 1973, is the leading manufacturer of custom designed primary flow elements.  We nominated Fluidic Techniques for their commitment and support of the Texas workforce system and their help to get Tarrant County job seekers back to work.

From Left to Right: From Fluidic Technique: CEO Ken Harrison and President Tom Blanton, from Workforce Solutions: Executive Director Judy McDonald and Board Chair Buddy Puente, TWC Chairman Andres Alcantar and  Pat Jamison Manager Business Retention Expansion at Mansfield Economic Development Corporation. 

From Left to Right: Board Chair Buddy Puente, Workforce Improvement Director Sal Adamski and Business Services Unit Director Amber Gosser. Congratulations to Amber who was also one of the speakers at the event. Amber along with John Kuznar with Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas gave a presentation to the group about all of the services we have available to employers.

The Texas Association of Workforce Boards (TAWB) and the Executive Directors Council (EDC) had their Strategic Planning Session this month in Tarrant County. The meetings were very productive. Thank you to Board Member David Berzina who dazzled the crowd with his update on Economic Development and how our partnership with the Chamber works. Brenda Harrist also updated the group on another important partnership we have - one with the Library. During the Conference, attendees were able to enjoy a Rangers Game as part of the Networking Night. The group enjoyed Tarrant County so much that they want to come back next year! 

2012-2013 EDC Officers: Vice President Martin Aguire (South Plains), President Judy McDonald (Tarrant County), Secretary Mona Statser (North Texas) and Treasurer David Setzer (North Central Texas). Judy McDonald just finished up her two year term as President of this dynamic group. At the meeting Martin was named the new President. Congratulations to everyone! 

Commissioner Hope Andrade and Chairman Andres Alcantar giving their thoughts on the State of TWC and their Vision for the future. 

Networking Night at the Ballpark. Thank you to all of our special guests who helped the group from around the State feels welcome while in Baseball Town! From Left to Right: Larry Temple Executive Director for TWC, Tarrant County Board Chair Buddy Puente, Commissioner Representing Employers for TWC Hope Andrade and President and CEO of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce Wes Jurey. 

We were fortunate to have Mayor Cluck and his lovely wife Linda join us and welcome the group as well. The Mayor spoke passionately about Arlington and all that it has to offer. He made the crowd feel welcome in his city and showed them what real hospitality was all about. Thank you again Mayor Cluck for helping make this night so special.

Board Member Leslie Sisk (who is also the current Vice Chair of TAWB) posed for a picture with our WGB Chair, Judge Glen Whitley. Thank you to Judge Whitley and his lovely wife Brenda for attending our networking night and networking with the group. 

EDC President Judy McDonald posed for a quick picture with one of our featured speakers John Twomey who visited the group from New York. John's presentation was titled: "Behind the Curtain: Changes Affecting the Country's Labor Market and What They Mean to the Local Workforce System."

TAWB/EDC members were greeted with welcome posters created by our talented staff. Our resident Photoshop Guru, Tillie Taylor placed the EDC members at Bass Hall in Fort Worth as well as:

At the Ballpark in Arlington - Enjoying a Rangers WIN!

And of course enjoying the Tarrant County Court House.... 

Each year Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County conducts a Budget Workshop. This meeting is open to Board Members and other partners to provide budget details to interested parties. 

From Left to Right: Board Attorney Carvan Adkins, Board Members Jon Gustafson and Leslie Sisk.

From Left to Right: Board Members: Estrus Tucker, Mark Barberena, Lillie Biggins, Vickie Powell and Carlos De La Torre. 

Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County has been heavily involved in the recruiting that Amazon has been conducting over the past few months. You can read more about our efforts in this month's Keeping Tarrant County Working Report. Below are a few pictures of some of the staff who have worked countless hours helping to recruit for Amazon.  

A Special thank you to Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas who lent us their Mobile Workforce Unit for multiple Amazon Application Events. To check out the latest information about Amazon's hiring efforts please visit the Job Fair Information section of our website.  More information about the growth in the Alliance Area can be found in this month's HOT HOT Information Piece. 

From Left to Right: Susan Amaya, Renee Parker, 2 representatives from Amazon, Heather Giles and Janet Benton. 

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 Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County recently received word from The Texas Veterans Commission that we were selected for TVC Employer Hire Veterans Award Program in the Workforce Development Board of the Year category. The 66th annual statewide conference will be held September 20, 2013 from 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., at the Sheraton Hotel in Dallas.

Congratulations to Sal Adamski who played a large role in this award win. The picture below is one of the many veteran initiatives Workforce Solutions was involved in. More information about our award win can be found in the Items of Interest packet as well as in this month's HOT HOT Information Piece. 

 Captain Robert Bennett, Commanding Officer, NAS JRB Fort Worth and Sal Adamski, Workforce Improvement Director at the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Hiring Event.