Jeff Williams was elected to the office of Mayor of the City of Arlington in May 2015 after decades of public service in Arlington.

Mayor Williams is president of Arlington based Graham Associates, Inc., an award-winning engineering and planning firm. He has worked on a host of Arlington-based projects, including: AT&T Stadium, the I.H. 30 Three Bridges Project, Globe Life Park, River Legacy Living Science Center, the Parks Mall, the Viridian development and the Richard Greene Linear Park. In 2009, Williams was presented with the State of Texas Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award.

We are excited to have Mayor Williams join our Workforce Governing Board and we look forward to working with him on future endeavors. 

The Arlington Chamber of Commerce hosted an "Inauguration Luncheon" for Mayor Williams. This complimentary, come and go luncheon event was held from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. at the South Street Patio, 400 E. South St. Special recognition goes out to Spring Creek Barbeque for furnishing the lunch and Ryan Dodson for the venue. Come out and chat with our new mayor!

Many of our Board Members joined Judy McDonald to chat with the new Mayor! Thank you to Keith Muskrat, Estrus Tucker, Carlos De La Torre, Deb Jones, Dr. Marcelo Cavazos and Tyrone Taylor for attending. Also a special shout out to our resident photographer Estrus Tucker for sharing some photos. (Check out the photo section of the newsletter). 

On June 5, 2015, The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce held its 133rd Annual Meeting. At this meeting the prestigious Spirit of Enterprise Award was given. 

The Chairman's Spirit of Enterprise Award was initiated in 1975 to recognize local companies that have made significant contributions to the development of our community. Selected by the four most recent chairs of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, the recipient is selected for its contributions to the advancement and prosperity of the city, as well as its commitment to the preservation of the American private enterprise system.  

Congratulations to our friend and community partner Tarrant County College (TCC) for receiving this prestigious award.

TCC Chancellor Erma Johnson Hadley and TCC Board President (and WDB Board Member) Louise Appleman accepted the award on TCC's behalf. Thank you to both Chancellor Hadley and Ms. Appleman on their shout-out to Workforce Solutions and the Texas Workforce Commission for our long standing partnership in their remarks. Also a congratulation to the Fort Worth Chamber, the program and reports you shared at this event were beautiful and thank you for the many mentions you gave us. Also one last thank you to Andra Bennett House, Vice President of Communications for the Fort Worth Chamber who shared this beautiful photo with us for the newsletter. 

Board Members David Berzina, Carlos De La Torre, Rosa Navejar and Dr. Di Ann Sanchez joined Judy McDonald at the event. We were happy to be part of the cheering section for TCC as they were awarded Spirit of Enterprise Award. More information about this award can be found in this month's Items of Interest. 

Congratulations again to Tarrant County College!

We would like to congratulate a few of our Board Members on some recent recognition's:  

Mike Doyle and Cornerstone Assistance Network were featured in this month's 360 West Magazine

Also two of our Board Members were recognized at the recent FWHCC 42nd Annual Awards Gala

Lillie Biggins received the: Corporate Advocate of the Year Award

 Rosa Navejar received the: Chairman's Choice Award

Buddy Puente and his beautiful daughters were featured in the Star Telegram promoting their work with the DFW Red Cross BASH.

The Regional Workforce and Adult Education Integration Initiative Forum for the Tarrant County and North Central Texas Workforce Board areas was held on May 28, 2015 at the Botanic Gardens.

The purpose of the forum was to facilitate integration of the Adult Education and Literacy and Texas Workforce System (Texas Workforce Commission TWC) in collaboration with local Workforce Development Boards. There were a series of ten regional meetings structured to identify gaps and solution-oriented strategies that address regional workforce and adult education system integration. 

Thank you to our Workforce Development Board Vice-Chair, Estrus Tucker who did an excellent job facilitating the event. The interactive forum included Workforce Board and center staff from both North Central and Tarrant County. In addition, colleges, Universities and school Districts along with community partners were represented at the forum. The Texas Workforce Commission sponsored the event. 

The Center for Continuing Education and Workforce Development was established in 2004 as a partnership of The Arlington Chamber of Commerce, University of Texas at Arlington, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County and the City of Arlington. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the City of Arlington were used, in part, to construct the Center. We are celebrating its 10th Anniversary with an open house and tour of the facility on June 25, 2015 as part of the National Community Development Association (NCDA) Conference. Partners are co-located in the center to provide both employers and job seekers with quality workforce development services.  The focus of this center is on improving employability, enhancing job skills and identifying career pathways for job seekers and citizens of Arlington.  Employer services are customized to meet business needs for a qualified workforce and include a focus on both current and emerging employment opportunities.

We are very proud of this partnership and hope you will join us for the celebration. Below is a copy of the invitation, if you would like to attend the RSVP information can also be found below. We hope you will join us on June 25, 2015 to celebrate over 10 years of Excellence in Arlington! 

Texas Association of Workforce Boards (TAWB)/Executive Directors Council (EDC) Meeting

In early May, Keith Muskrat and Judy McDonald joined TAWB Chair Leslie Sisk at the Quarterly TAWB/EDC Meeting in Austin. You will hear highlights from that meeting in this month's Chair Update.

SER Conference 

Executive Director Judy McDonald and Strategic Planning Unit Director Jann Miles presented at the SER Jobs for Progress Annual conference in Las Colinas on May 27th. They presented to a full audience regarding the use of Labor Market information in the new WIOA regulations. The audience was very engaged and many stated the presentation helped them better understand how WIOA will affect their customers. 

Aerospace Breakfast

Economic Development Meeting

A round table breakfast and business meeting is being planned for July 16, 2015 with local Economic Development Chairs to introduce participants to the new Workforce legislation and hear the variety of ways to work with workforce and strengthen Tarrant County. This meeting will foster relationships and build rapport that supports their cities' job and training needs, as well as, partner with them on funding grants for High Demand Job Skills Training that is suitable for their respective cities/areas.  

 Clean Audit

Congratulations to the Finance team for a clean audit! More information including a briefing from Saunders and Associates will be conducted at the joint August Board Meeting. 

June 3-5, 2015 the Texas Economic Development Council (TEDC) held its Annual Conference in Galveston, Texas. During the conference last week, Pat Jamison was recognized for his years of service as an Economic Developer.  

 Other Conference Highlights include: 

• Numerous general and breakout sessions on economic development trends and resources
• Two Peer Group Roundtables...where your economic development colleagues and peers share their knowledge on key economic development matters
• Awards Luncheon honoring the recipients of the 2015 Workforce Excellence Award and the 2014 Economic Excellence Recognition program
• Update on the 84th Legislative Session and bills impacting economic development
• And many opportunities to network with your peers 

 Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County would like to honor and congratulate Pat Jamison on his retirement from Mansfield Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). Pat will retire with over 42 years of service. Pat has worked with businesses throughout North Texas and has assisted with their growth and expansion. 

During his tenure with MEDC, Pat partnered with WSTC on many projects including three large job fairs. He also developed an HR Roundtable and HR Peer Group to provide local businesses with guest speakers, presentations, and training. This past year, he worked to put together an Advanced Precision Metal Manufacturing Program at Ben Barber Career and Tech Academy. He helped bring together MEDC, the local school district, WSTC, and five local manufacturing companies to partner and build this training program. He has worked with Ben Barber to help not only double the number of companies that will be involved next year, but also start a similar program for welding. Pat also served on the Workforce Improvement Committee of our board. 

Pat has played an integral role in the work that has been done to serve our local Tarrant County businesses and grow our future workforce. We would like to recognize and thank Pat for all he has done to assist WSTC throughout the years.

Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County is involved in many job fairs throughout Tarrant County on a monthly basis. All job fairs that we take part in can be found on our website under the calendar of events. More detailed information about the Job Fairs that we partner on/ host can be found on a new page on our website called Job Fair Information. Here is an update on some of the most recent job fairs we participated (or will participate) in:

JOB FAIR UPDATE: 

• Tarrant County College (TCC) Districtwide Job Fair was held on April 16, 2015 at the South Campus. Workforce Solutions was a proud Platinum Sponsor at this event. It was a great event and we are looking forward to partnering with TCC in the future on other job fairs. Below is a group shot of our Youth Staff that attended the event to work our booth as well as volunteer at the event. 

• ArlingtonAnswers Spring Job Fair - Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County, Arlingtonanswers.com, Grace Community Church and The City of Arlington were proud to again partner for this spring job fair on April 23, 2015. It was held at the Grace Community Church in Arlington from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mayor Cluck joined us to kick off the event and we were fortunate to have Board Member Dr. Di Ann Sanchez on one of our Employment Panels (see picture below). It was a great event, we had over 79 employers that met with over 515 job seekers. 

• The Alliance Texas Hiring Fair was held on May 7, 2015 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. It was a GREAT event, despite the rain. Over 43 employers met with over 957 job seekers.

Save the Date:

• Fort Worth ISD Hiring Fair (for FWISD Students) - Thursday, June 11, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. at Will Rogers Memorial Center - Workforce Solutions is a proud sponsor and will have a booth at this event.
• Hiring our Heroes Job Fair - Tuesday, July 14, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Resource Connection Gym. Workforce Solutions will have a booth at this event.
• South Fort Worth Job Fair - Thursday, August 13, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. - American Legion Hall Post 838. Registration is open, space is limited.
• Back to School Roundup - Thursday, August 20, 2015 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Will Rogers. Workforce Solutions is proud to have a booth at this event.
• ArlingtonAnswers.com Fall Job Fair - Wednesday, October 7, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Church on Rush Creek.
• FALL Community Job Fair (targeting youth adults ages 18-24) - Wednesday, September 23, 2015 at Hurst Conference Center. More information and registration will be available soon.  
• Hiring Red, White and You! Job Fair - Thursday, November 12, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  - More details including pre-registration for job seekers will be available soon on our website.

New Job Fairs/On-Site Hiring Events are added all the time!

For the latest Job Fair and Event Information/ or to register and get your FAST PASS and avoid the lines please visit our calendar of events on our website www.workforcesolutions.net 

Lavar Harvey stands proudly in his cashier position at Walgreen's where he successfully obtained employment through his participation in the Workforce Solutions FACT program.  FACT, Fathers And Children Together, provided Mr. Harvey with employment assistance as well as training in responsible fatherhood and healthy relationship activities.  Over 1,000 Tarrant County fathers and other parents who met program eligibility requirements have enrolled in FACT since enrollment began in March of 2012.

For Lavar, who smiles brightly when speaking of his participation in FACT, it's been a long journey since entering the FACT program in 2013 where he attended a 2-week intensive boot camp,  completed vocational training and eight weeks of subsidized employment.  He describes the FACT program as a bright light on his way to even greater success as a person and a productive member of society--  but more importantly as a dad now able to provide financial and emotional support to his four children.

To be eligible for the FACT program, fathers and other eligible parents must be residents of Tarrant County, have children under the age of 17, and meet certain income guidelines.  For additional information about the program, please contact Project Director, Mervil Johnson at 817.413.4400.

Workforce Solutions staff volunteered to participate in the Compassion Abounds: Fort Worth Hunger Project on May 9, 2015 at the Wilkerson Greines Athletic Center.

Volunteers of all ages joined forces to package a goal of 300,000 meals that will feed children in Matamoros Mexico and Fort Worth, Texas. During the event hundreds of volunteers packaged a mixture of rice, lentils, a vitamin blend and dehydrated vegetables. This particular blend of ingredients is designed to support the body, combat malnutrition and provide nourishment to hungry children. 

Compassion Abounds: Fort Worth Hunger Project exceeded its goal by 1,000, assembling a total of 301,000 packaged meals. The Workforce Solutions staff assembled 528 packaged meals that will help feed hungry children here in Fort Worth and abroad.

Sign Up for Workforce Alerts: Sign up for our Workforce Alerts... to stay on top of all of our Latest News. Some of the items you will see, include: Latest Labor Market Information, Our Newsletter, Calendar Changes and Special Events. Believe me you do not want to miss it! 

Executive Director Judy McDonald with Board Members Carlos De La Torre and The Selfie King himself, WDB Vice-Chair Estrus Tucker attending Mayor Williams Luncheon. 

Board Member Tyrone Taylor with Board Chair Keith Muskrat at Mayor Williams Luncheon.

Anson Green, Director of Adult Education for Texas Workforce Commission shared some remarks at the Adult Education & Literacy Regional Forum. 

The Tarrant County group at the Adult Education & Literacy Regional Forum

Executive Director Judy McDonald along with Workforce Development Manager for North Central Texas Kay O'Dell met with a group of European Dignitaries at the Arlington Workforce Center. Judy and Kay discussed workforce and other employment related services and issues with the group.

Judy McDonald and other Workforce Development Professionals from around the country met for the Spring Workforce Development Council (WDC) of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Meeting in April. Judy sits on the WDC Board. 

Staff working the Alliance Opportunity Center Registration.

From Left to Right: Janie Sanchez, Jo Juelg, Travis Stoughton and Christy Allen