Submitted by Amee Albrecht
October 1-December 31, 2009
221 N. Main Street, Alturas, CA 96101
(530) 233-4161
www.aworkforce.org
SBDC Workshop
Financing Options for Your Small Business
This workshop was held on Tuesday October 6th, 2009 at the Modoc Employment Center from 10:30am-12:00pm. Indria Gillespie, Program Manager for the Sierra College Small Business Development Center and David Castaneda, Marketing & Outreach Specialist for the Small Business Administration partnered with AFWD giving a free workshop on Financing Options for Your Small Business at which four people were in attendance. The workshop answered question such as: How does a small business get money? Are bank loans impossible? How SBA might help and how they look and loan requests. They also gave tips for dealing with lenders. SBDC provides management assistance to current and prospective small business owners. The program is a cooperative effort of the private sector, the educational community and federal, state and local governments and is an integral component of Entrepreneurial Development's network of training and counseling services.
Submitted by: Amee Albrecht
Government Contracting
In a partnership with the Federal Technology Center, the Modoc Employment Center was the location of a seminar entitled "Getting Started with Government Contracting" on October 28, 2009. Four people attended the seminar, which was presented by FTC's Jayne Murnane. Murnane led attendees through the basics of both Federal and State registrations and certifications that allow businesses to contract with various government agencies. Although the process of getting started with government contracting is a complex and multifaceted one, Murnane was able break down the steps and provide information relevant to the specific businesses of the participants. For more information, visit the FTC web site at www.TheFTC.org.
Submitted by: Amee Albrecht
Census Bureau Recruitment
The Census Bureau is continuing their testing at The Modoc Employment Center. Robert Pugh, recruiter for the Census Bureau, handed off the position of recruiter to Alan Wynne of Alturas in November. Alan will be hosting future rounds of testing and coordinating crews in the Alturas area. There have been four rounds of census testing over the past three months with a total of 19 people tested.
Submitted by: Roxanne Fredrickson
American RedCross Meetings
On Tuesday evening, September 29, 2009 the first monthly meeting of the Red Cross was held at The Modoc Employment Center. While only four people attended, it nevertheless was a beginning as the Red Cross seeks to develop its presence in Alturas and Modoc County. Charles McCaul, the Emergency Services Director for the Three Rivers/Shasta North Region Chapters, gave a presentation on the various activities the Red Cross does and what services it can provide to Alturas and Modoc County.
These potential services include:
- CPR and First Aid Training, including training instructors
- Babysitting Training
- Pet First Aid
- Service to Armed Forces Emergency Messaging (can be done by a volunteer from their home)
- Disaster Action Team (responders to local incidents such as single family house fires - the Red Cross provides short-term food, clothing, and lodging)
- Mass Care, including mass feeding and sheltering during disasters
McCaul spent the following morning getting acquainted with potential partners in Alturas.
The Red Cross is seeking to recruit volunteers and train them for these key positions. There are many opportunities to volunteer with the Red Cross, and many can be done from home by making phone calls. Volunteer positions include:
- Public Affairs Officer
- Disaster Action Team Member
- Emergency Evacuation Shelter Manager and Staff
- Service to Armed Forces Emergency Messaging Caseworker
- CPR/First Aid Instructor
- Client Assistance Volunteer
- Emergency Evacuation Shelter updates
- Volunteer Coordinator
- Community Liaison
There will continue to be monthly evening meetings held at The Modoc Employment Center.
Submitted by: Kim Stanford
Business Workshop Series
The Business Workshop Series held in partnership with Sierra Economic Development Corporation, NoRTEC, WIRED and the Alliance for Workforce Development, Inc. was four days of workshops and one-on-one counseling. It was held from Monday December 7th through Thursday December 10th, 2009 at The Modoc Employment Center. A survey was sent out to area businesses in early November asking them what kind of training that they could most benefit from, the results of those surveys showed the most need for training on QuickBooks, Marketing, Buy Local Campaigning, and Financial Analyses. SedCorp was able to respond to that need on short notice by tapping into its experience with fielding Business Boot Camps in six counties this year. SEDCorp CEO Brent Smith and trainers Dave McDougall, Christa Peterson, and Don Olsen provided the training with information on how to respond to the customers who won’t buy locally, how to market their business at little or no cost, basic QuickBooks training, and provided an new look at cash flow and break-even. There were 29 attendees from all types of businesses retail to wholesale. The feedback from the attendees has been very well received and they are all looking forward to the possibility of future training.
Submitted by: Amee Albrecht
Success Stories
Morning Wilson
Morning Wilson-Martinez, a young outgoing woman had never held a full time job prior to coming into the Modoc Employment Center. At age 17, Morning's main goal was to get her High School Diploma from Adult Education and get a job that she would be able to provide for her young son. On May 5, 2009, Morning came into the Modoc Employment Center interested in participating in the 2009 Summer Jobs Program. As a Summer Jobs Program participant, on June 22, 2009, Morning was placed at Plumas Bank as a teller. She received daily training from dedicated supervisors that mentored her throughout the Summer Jobs Program. Morning's participation in the Summer Jobs Program concluded on August 7, 2009. Plumas Bank made a request for Morning to return as their intern. This was great news for Morning. When asked how she felt about continuing her work at Plumas Bank, she responded:
“"This job has been so helpful in so many ways to not only me, but my family too. I am very lucky to be able to experience this great opportunity and meet new people. As a little girl my dad and I would go into the bank and he would tell me one day you will be one of those people behind the counter living a good successful life. I am happy to say that with the help of Alliance for Workforce Development and Plumas Bank, I am actually achieving that dream. I would like to thank everyone for helping me out with getting into the program and making me feel comfortable with my new job."
Plumas Bank has offered her a permanent paid position with benefits starting on January 4th, 2010.
Submitted by: Amee Albrecht
Todd Smith
Modoc Employment Center Staff would like to congratulate Todd Smith on his new job as a Site Supervisor for the new Head Start program in Cedarville. He was laid off in 2008 from a Master Teacher position due to economic conditions. He came into Modoc Employment center looking for job leads. He diligently kept meeting with his Career Center Advisor, reviewing the job board, and applying for jobs. He was referred to the Site Supervisor job which is ran by TEACH, Inc. Todd went for an interview and was informed a few days later that he had been chosen for the position. He begins his Full-Time employment on January 4, 2010.
Submitted by: Jackie Tillery
Traci Fairchild
Modoc Employment Center Staff would like to congratulate Traci Fairchild on her new job as a CNA at Mayers Memorial Hospital. She was laid off in August 2009 from Mountain Valley Health Center due to economic conditions. She came into Modoc Employment Center job searching and was interested in researching training options. She thoroughly researched her training options and wanted to become a CNA. Traci was able to begin training with our help. She successfully completed the training, got her certification, and was hired at Mayers Memorial Hospital on December 14, 2009 as a Full-Time CNA. She was very grateful for our help during her training.
Submitted by: Jackie Tillery
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UPCOMING EVENTS
January 13 - Labor Law Update Workshop
January 19- Modoc Economic Vitality Group Meeting
February 16- Modoc Economic Vitality Group Meeting
March 16-Modoc Economic Vitality Group Meeting