To the Editor:

On behalf of the Franklin Job Club, a joint partnership between the Ruth Camp Campbell Memorial Branch of the Blackwater Regional Library and the Virginia Employment Commission, I would like to express our sincere thanks for the wonderful comments we received in the Friday, Jan. 11, issue about the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters event held the day before at the Franklin library.

We were so pleased to see front page coverage of this important meeting in which personnel representatives from Green Mountain presented information about position openings at their new facility in Windsor.

Public response to this employment opportunity was overwhelming and both Job Club partners were so happy to offer our employer connections, meeting space, advertising support and planning efforts to make the event such a success. Many applicants turned in resumes and spoke with Green Mountain representatives about jobs.

As always your newspaper is cordial, friendly and responsive in its ongoing support of what we’re trying to do in the Franklin Job Club. Club sponsors’ goals are to make each meeting a valuable, ongoing resource for people in Franklin and the surrounding community, to facilitate networking and to provide support and hope for struggling workers in this uncertain job market.

The club could not function without the publicity we receive from your newspaper! You are helping to make our program an integral community resource for our citizens.

At the Job Club meeting every Thursday from 9 to 11 a.m., VEC facilitator Vernetta Mason presents all kinds of useful information ranging from interviewing strategies, dressing for success, proper email and phone message etiquette and so forth. We often bring in outside speakers and employers who impart information and take resumes. In fact, Remedy Staffing, an employment agency, has hired over 150 workers from our Job Club meetings, many on the spot.

One of the most important aspects of this collaboration is enhancing community partnerships. We are grateful that the Paul D. Camp Workforce Development Center sent two volunteers to assist us yesterday. As a public library, we depend heavily upon our volunteers, and truly couldn’t function without them. Assistance from the Workforce Development Center was invaluable at this busy event!

We hope that the Franklin Job Club will be able to continue to facilitate employment opportunities in this area, and we encourage anyone interested to attend the meetings.

Bonnie Roblin
Manager, Ruth Camp Campbell Memorial Branch
Blackwater Regional Library