GoodNews

25 Year Old Solving A Problem with Local Job Fair

By Connie Alsobrook
Thomas Chastain Jr. is helping to solve a major problem in Rockdale County.  For the 2nd year in a row he has held a job fair to put people back to work. The Job Fair took place on June 3rd at Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 5290 in Rockdale, Georgia.  Rockdale  is the second smallest county in the state of Georgia, with a unemployment rate of 6.4% as of April 2015 and a population of 85,215. (Source)

Thomas Chastain

When Chastain was asked why he felt the need to hold such an event he stated, “The county Chairman & CEO Richard Oden said it was not in the county’s budget”. The bright young man did not let lack of finances stop him from helping his community. He started asking companies and individuals for any type of donation they could offer. Chastain had a budget of zero dollars when he hosted the first Annual Job Fair and a budget of $100.00 dollars this go around. Both Job Fairs drew over 300 hundred individuals, this is the number the poll collected, many applicants slipped past the poll and did not log in.

In 2 months his Facebook group, Rockdale Jobs Group, has put 88 Unemployed Rockdale Citizens back to work. (per Facebook page)

Chastain said he had few donors for this event, but the one that is a continuous supporter made a huge impact for both job fairs. Veteran of Foreign Wars (VFW Post 5290) in Rockdale has been the biggest supporter and sponsor. VFW donated their building and equipment to host the event.

The Job Fair brought some big companies out, like Pratt Industries, Future Staffing, Rockdale 911, Rockdale Fire Department, Rockdale Sheriff  Department, Southeast Sealing, and Banner Security to name a few. Pratt Industries and Southeast Sealing had a private area set up due to them hiring applicants of the spot. Former Rockdale Post 2 County Commission JaNice VanNess and current Post 1 county Commission Oz Nesbitt was also in attendance to show support for the event.

Here is the full list of businesses that participated:
Pratt Industries
Banner Security
Southeast Sealing
Carter-young
Primerica
Truss Components
GA Driving Academy
Medic Inc.
Rockdale Sheriff Department
Rockdale Fire Rescue
Rockdale 911 Call Center
Randstad Staffing
Future Staff
Surge Staffing
Wagner Solutions

Rockdale, Georgia companies and individuals get ready for the next Job Fair because he has already started to prepare for his 3rd Annual Job Fair.

Contact Thomas Chastain Jr. at:
Rockdale Jobs Group