As you may remember from the last Board meeting, congratulations was given to the staff from the WDB and WGB on meeting our performance measures. It was suggested at the meeting that we share that congratulations at the center level, for all their hard work and dedication to the citizens and businesses of Tarrant County, which lead to Workforce Solutions meeting all of our performance measures. I am happy to report that Board Staff worked with our Elected Officials to get a recognition letter out on their behalf. Thank you to our Elected Officials and their staff for helping to make such a special recognition possible. 

As you know Mayor Price (along with Board Member, David Berzina and others) have been in China and traveling on Business, but we are happy to report we will be recognized at the October 14, 2014 Fort Worth City Council Meeting. As we get a little closer and obtain more details we will share them but we invite the members of the Board, if your schedule permits, to join us Tuesday, October 14, 2014.
 

We recently welcomed one new Board members to our Workforce Development Board (WDB) since we last met. 

Rosa Navejar is replacing Berta Banta on the Board as a business representative and was nominated by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Navejar is the President of The Rios Group. Her complete bio can be found in this month's Board packet. We are excited to welcome Rosa to the group!

Mark your calendars and please help spread the word for the 3rd Annual 

Job Fair 

November 13, 2014 

9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 

Globe Life Park (The Ballpark in Arlington) 

Both Employer and Job Seeker Registration is now open and we encourage you to share this information will all who might be interested. Pre-Registration for Veterans and Job Seekers is encouraged to beat the long lines. All of this information can be found on our website.

Veterans, Family Member's and the General Public: 

We invite you to join the Texas Workforce Commission, Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas, Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County and our partners for the 3rd Annual statewide Hiring Red, White & You! Job Fair.

Please pre-register online to expedite your entrance to the event. We will also have onsite registration, but to avoid waiting in line and to maximize your time at the job fair we encourage you to pre-register online today!

Veteran, Family Member and General Public Registration Link:

http://2014rwyjobseeker.eventbrite.com

Employers:

Join the Texas Workforce Commission, Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas, Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County and our partners for the 3rd Annual statewide Hiring Red, White & You! Job Fair, designed to connect you-Texas employers-with Texas veterans and their spouses who can bring valuable experience and discipline to your workplace.

Employer Registration Link:    

https://2014rwyemployer.eventbrite.com  

We have been busy this month participating in conferences, meetings, events, etc... sharing all of the wonderful way Workforce Solutions can help both employers and job seekers. 

• Board Chair, Keith Muskrat and Business Services Director Amber Gosser presented at the September, Texas Business Conference, which was hosted by the Texas Workforce Commission and Commissioner Hope Andrade. Over 800 employers heard about the services available to business in Tarrant County. 
• Amber Gosser also spoke on behalf of Judy McDonald and Workforce Solutions to the Arlington Rotary. Amber introduced the Rotary Members to the variety of services offered by Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County. The Arlington Rotary Clubs were a sponsor of the ArlingtonAnswers Job Fair this month. 
• Board Member, David Berzina was the featured speaker and Executive Director Judy McDonald also spoke at the Fort Worth Chamber's Job Links and Distinguished Employers of Fort Worth Teens. 
• FACT Program Director, Mervil Johnson was asked to present at The Healthy Marriage, Responsible Fatherhood, and Tribal TANF - Child Welfare Grantees Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. The Annual Meeting theme was Going The Distance, Charting New Horizons. Mervil was on a panel that presented on Leveraging Public and Private Partnerships to Advance and Sustain the Field.

Thank you to all of those who work to Keep Tarrant County Working! 

Our fall ArlingtonAnswers.com Job Fair was held on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at The Church on Rush Creek.  We had 90+ employers and a dozen resource agencies participate in this year's event.  Job Seekers were able to participate in workshops on Networking Basics, Networking and Job Searches as well as resume critiquing.  The City of Arlington Public Library Mobile Unit and the Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas Mobile Unit, were also on hand to provide computers for job seeker so they may apply for jobs online and register on www.workintexas.com. 

 Preliminary numbers indicate that we helped over 700+ job seekers! It was a great turn out. 

Thank you again to our partners in this event: The City of Arlington and the Mayor's Office, ArlingtonAnswers.com, The Church on Rush Creek and The Arlington Rotary Clubs. Mayor Cluck gave the opening remarks and met with many of the job seekers and employers. We are always thankful for his support of this project.

From Left to Right: Amber Gosser, Mayor Robert Cluck, Carey Morgan and Brian McFadden. 

Thank you again to ArlingtonAnswers.com, The Church on Rush Creek and The City of Arlington for partnering with us on such an important event! 

We had a very informative August Board Meeting. This was a joint meeting of the Workforce Development and Workforce Governing Board. Members of the WGB presented updates on the latest projects and initiatives in the Arlington, Fort Worth and Tarrant County area. 

 We celebrated Luis Estrada's years of service on the Board. Luis recently accepted a new job that will take him to San Diego. He will be missed. It was also the last meeting for Buddy Puente to serve as Chair. Below are a few picture highlights from the meeting: 

From Left to Right: Then Board Vice-Chair Keith Muskrat, Mayor Robert Cluck, Luis Estrada, then Board Chair Buddy Puente and Judge Glen Whitley. 
 

At the August Board Meeting we also recognized Buddy Puente for his Three years of service on our Board as our Workforce Development Board Chair. It was a pleasure to have him service as our Chair. 
 

Celebrating Buddy!
 

We love to hear success stories from our partners. Thank you to Family Pathfinders of Tarrant County for sharing such a wonderful story with us. Below read about Michelle and her inspiring story!

*Michelle began the mentoring program in January 2013 when she was referred by the Youth Program with Workforce Solutions of Tarrant County. She was already enrolled in school but was having difficulty purchasing her textbooks. Through the Family Pathfinders Scholarship Fund she was able to obtain them. Ten days into the program, she was matched with her mentor. "I really appreciate the hard work you put in to make this happen for me," she said. As her mentor had worked as an administrator at her mentee's college, she was able to help her navigate some difficult classes and ensured she was receiving the proper financial aid. She also helped her manage the stress of balancing a heavy work and school schedule, helping her establish goals and priorities in her daily routine.

Her mentor reported some significant changes with her mentee six months into the mentorship. With her mentor's help she was able to overcome some relational difficulties at work. She not only passed but excelled in her coursework, having learned to take the initiative in asking for help when it got difficult. In this regard, her mentor was a tremendous asset because she truly grasped the importance of helping her mentee weigh the potential outcomes of her actions and suggest options. "Michelle has every chance of being successful," she writes. "She is showing a lot of maturity and is able to think about how today's actions affect her future. This is not something a mentor can create - but I enjoy helping her widen her perspective."

Since the mentorship formally ended in February 2014, Michelle graduated with her associate's degree from Tarrant County College and will continue at Texas Women's University majoring in nutrition and dietetics. She accepted a position as a Nutritionist with TX Health and Human Services making $36,000 a year. Her success was due in large part to someone who simply believed in her. "I think the most I've done is to give her the affirmation that she is a strong and smart person who can achieve. It helps to hear that from someone other than family!" She says her mentor helped her specifically in the sense that it gave her the confidence to make the choice that was best for her.

Child Care Management Services (CCMS) is offering child care enrollment opportunities to our customers and it has exhausted our wait list!! We are looking for parents living in Tarrant County we are working or in training 25 hours a week or teen parents who want to complete school.  

Please help us spread the word within our community!! If you know of someone who needs some assistance with child care please share.  Thank you for helping us get this message out!! This information can also be found on our website. 

 Ribbon-Cutting ceremony celebrating the grand opening of the Tarrant County College Center of Excellence for Aviation, Transportation & Logistics. 

FACT Program Director, Mervil Johnson with the group of panelists at the Healthy Marriage, Responsible Fatherhood, and Tribal TANF - Child Welfare Grantees Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

 We were proud to have a table at the Chamber State of the County address, featuring our Workforce Governing Board Chair, Judge Glen Whitley. This year the luncheon took on a new format - Becky Redman with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics sat down with Judge Whitley for a Question and Answer session, so we could all learn more about the latest projects and goals for Tarrant County. Pictures provided by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. 

Dr. Lisa London joined Estrus Tucker, Carlos De La Torre, Judy McDonald, Sal Adamski, Amber Gosser and Mervil Johnson at our table for State of the County.  

As you may remember from the December Annual Meeting -  we named Rich Froeschle, Director of Labor Market and Career Information for the Texas Workforce Commission as our State UnSung Hero. Rich was unable at that time to join us, but was recently in Tarrant County to speak at the DFW Aerospace Cluster Committee Meeting. Board Member Jon Gustafson helped us present Rich with his award. 

From Left to Right: Executive Director Judy McDonald, Stacie Bridges and Glenn Nixon with the Fort Worth Housing Authority. We were excited to be reunited with Stacie at the Fort Worth Chamber's Distinguished Employers of Fort Worth Teens event, she was a previous youth Work Experience who has since been hired full time with Amazon. 

Mayor Betsy Price along with Board Member David Berzina and others were in China this month. 

This was a picture of the Bullet Train they took to Nagoya, Japan. The Mayor said: "The trains are sleek, fast and comfy. Somewhat like riding in an airplane without all of the security hassle. The technology is pretty amazing!" Picture from the Mayor's Facebook Page. 

The City of Arlington's Booth was always busy at the ArlingtonAnswers Job Fair
 

Mayor Cluck took time to visit with and shake-hands with job seekers and employers at the ArlingtonAnswers Job Fair. This Policeman was so excited to take his picture with the Mayor
  

Workforce Solutions participated in a panel discussion called : Creative Funding for Workforce Projects" at the Texas Economic Development Council (TEDC) Conference in Houston, Texas this month.  From left to right: Colin Nichols, Director Corporate College, Workforce Center of Excellence, Alamo College San Antonio, Texas, Michele Cantu, Business Services Liaison, Workforce Solutions Alamo, San Antonio, Texas, Amber Gosser Business Services Director, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County, Cally Graves, Employer Services Coordinator Industry Liaison, Workforce Solutions Houston, Texas, Patrick Newman, Workforce Consultant and Former Executive Director Workforce Solutions Alamo, San Antonio, Texas and Pat Jamison, Manager Business Retention Expansion and Workforce Development Mansfield Economic Development Corporation (Panel Moderator) Photo Credit: Judy McDonald who was also in attendance at the conference. 

The U.S. Conference of Mayors Workforce Development Council held its 25th Annual Congressional Forum in DC in September. The group was fortunate to hear first hand the latest information on WIOA as well as the Department of Labor Priorities. From Left to Right: USCM/WDC Officers Rick Beasley, South Florida Workforce and Andrew McGough, Portland Oregon Workforce, Portia Wu, Assistant Secretary Employment and Training Administration U.S. Department of Labor, USCM/WDC President, Laurie Larrea of Greater Dallas (WDC President) and Scott Cheney, Senior Advisor, Budget Committee U.S. Senate.