Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - Thursday, June 10, 2004 
Gia Dinges, Director of Marketing for Mobile Works, attended a workforce development conference � the 2004 Heartland Professional Development Symposium - Creating Thriving Communities � One Person at a Time, in Saint Louis, Missouri on June 8 through June 10, 2004. Of particular interest was a workshop on Demand Driven Marketing: Building the Value in Your Business. The conference was sponsored by the Department of Labor.

Tuesday, May 25, 2004 
Mobile Works brought in William Brock and Rachel Smith from the Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corporation to talk to Mobile Works staff and several of its board members, as well as invited guests including Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce staff, Dr. Tim Alford, Director of Workforce Development for the State of Alabama as well as labor market analysts for the state of Alabama.

William Brock, President of the Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corporation, and Rachel Smith, Senior Project Coordinator, delivered a presentation on key aspects of the development of industry clusters and how the development of industry clusters has benefited the central Pennsylvania workforce investment board, the economy of central Pennsylvania and the entire state of Pennsylvania.

Monday, May 10, 2004 
Mobile Works participated in the Dearborn YMCA Job Fair held on Monday, May 10, 2004 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Dearborn YMCA in Mobile. Bernadette Jones, Case Manager Coordinator-Youth, was there to explain all of the Mobile Works programs available to jobseekers at the Alabama Career Center.

Friday, May 07, 2004 
Mobile Works sponsored the Sixth Annual Business Expo and Jobs Fair held by the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission on Friday May 7, 2004 at the Mobile Civic Center. Over 83 of Mobile�s major businesses, including Mobile Works and the Alabama Career Center, participated at the jobs fair, with over 4,500 jobseekers also in attendance.

Mobile Works had Job Developers Candy Harbin and Belinda Thomason on hand to discuss On-the-Job Training programs available to businesses, as well as Case Manager Terri Cunningham and Case Manager Coordinator Brenda Bright to present training opportunities to many potential program candidates. Additionally, the Alabama Career Center in Mobile had Will Brown and Derrick Turner onsite to discuss potential job listings with businesses, take applications to pre-register jobseekers and explain the many free services available at the one-stop career center to businesses and jobseekers.

The job fair was a unique opportunity for businesses to find skilled jobseekers and for jobseekers to get familiar with the job opportunities in the Mobile Alabama area.

Thursday, May 06, 2004 
Mobile Works sponsored a best practices site visit to the West Florida High School of Advanced Technology in Pensacola, Florida on Thursday May 6, 2004 for local school administrators, city and county government officials, as well as local business and industry leaders, to tour the innovative Florida high school in anticipation of developing a similar school at the future John Shaw Advanced Academy of Business and Industry in Mobile, Alabama, which was voted on in late May by Mobile County Public Schools, with a decision made to move ahead with the development of the new academy.

West Florida High School of Advanced Technology has sixteen learning communities built with strong partnerships with business and industry in the Pensacola, Florida area that work very closely with the teachers and students, providing expertise and financial resources to build the learning community, while also providing internships and mentoring the students throughout high school. Students, parents and teachers work closely to explore and then choose one of the sixteen learning communities for each student, developing a career plan that is followed throughout high school to prepare students for the job market or furthering of their education in their chosen career. Leadership, business knowledge and technical skills are strongly emphasized.

Mobile Works President Sydney G. Raine and Robert A. Greer, Chairman of the Board for Mobile Works sponsored the trip because we recognize that it is vital to have students that are equipped with the technical and academic preparation to become the future business and industry leaders of Mobile County. Beverly Livers, Director of the Center for Workforce Development with the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, and Patty Hughston, Director of Career Technical Education for the Mobile County Public School System, hosted and planned the details of the trip.

In addition to Sydney Raine, Robert Greer, Beverly Livers and Patty Hughston, approximately 25 people went on the chartered bus trip, including the Mayor of Mobile, Michael C. Dow; Dr. Harold Dodge, Superintendent of the Mobile County Public School System; William Sisson, Vice President of Economic Development for the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce; as well as additional Mobile Works staff and several Mobile County Public School System employees, Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce staff, and representatives from local businesses, including Alabama Power.