Bonnie Conn affectionately callsTeresa Wheeler “our job club

Bloodhound.”

“She was always out andabout, hearing about jobs

and telling all the otherJob Club members,”Conn, an expert career

advisor and facilitatorof the Lawrence County

Job Club, said of Wheeler,a recent participant. “She

just had a nose for it.”

Wheeler jokes that hertenacity could have been

mistaken by some as stalking.

“They teased me about gettingarrested,” Teresa said. “I just madeit a point to go see people who Iknew were hiring. If not for me,then for the other job clubmembers.”

Even after Wheeler successfullylanded a job last May, she hascontinued to phone in and emailall the job leads she hears about.Like the Louisa bakery thatrecently opened and was in needof staff.

“I knew Bonnie had two people(in job club) who wanted to workthere.”

The 54-year-oldWheeler knows thevalue of a goodjob, and what it’slike to lose one.Her position as anaccountingspecialist with NationwideInsurance in Columbus wasoutsourced to India in the summerof 2010.

After 31 years with the company,Wheeler said the future wasuncertain and scary.

“In one day, I saw three peoplewith over 100 years of experiencecombined walk out the door,” shesaid. “Incredible.”

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EASTERN KENTUCKY’S WORKFORCE CONNECTIONS

EKCEP941 N. Main StreetHazard, KY 41701606-436-5751

©2013Eastern Kentucky C.E.P., Inc.

• Teresa Wheeler Job Club helps her re-start

• Vincent Ramirez on the road in a new career

• Charles Moore Job Club helped him prepare for a new career

For more than 40 years,Eastern KentuckyConcentratedEmployment Program,Inc. has served 23mountain counties ineastern Kentucky withworkforce development,training, and employ-ment programs to meetthe region’s changingneeds.

EKCEP operates the

network of workforcecenters, where morethan a dozen state andfederal employment andtraining programs aregathered under one roofto meet the needs ofeastern Kentucky’s jobseekers and employers.

EKCEP also administersprograms that delivertiered levels ofservices–includingassistance with tuitionand books–to adults,dislocated workers, andeconomicallydisadvantaged youngpeople under theWorkforce InvestmentAct of 1998 (WIA).Delivered through theJobSight network, theseWIA programs use a widevariety of resources tohelp customers advancetheir careers.

For more information onwhat EKCEP’S WIAprograms can do for you,visit www.ekcep.org,contact your localJobSight location(www.jobsight.org), ore-mail EKCEP’scentral office atekcep@ekcep.org.

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Teresa Wheeler: Moving Home and Moving On

Teresa Wheeler (right)with career advisor Bonnie Conn

just barely after Wheeler had enough time with the company toreceive retirement benefits. But it wasn’t enough for her to liveon; she knew she had to find a new job soon.

Wheeler’s father is from Louisa, and she haslots of family in the area. So, after losing herjob in Ohio and going through a divorce, itseemed like a good time to move back home,which she did in the fall of 2011.

“I had heard of other places having job clubs, so I started lookingfor one. I knew they could help me,” she said. “I was pleasedto find one right in Louisa, and once I started going, I thoughtit was great.”

The Lawrence County Job Club is run by Conn and other staff ofthe Northeast Kentucky Community Action Agency (NKCAA), andalso sponsored by the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated EmploymentProgram (EKCEP) and the Kentucky Office of Employment andTraining (OET).

A job club is a small group of job seekers who meet weekly withlocal career advising experts to provide support, share job leadsand learn techniques for improving their

Job Club isa great way to networkand get to know people.