The Kentucky Cabinet for Workforce Development recently presented awards for outstanding achievement to two former participants in EKCEP programs, one staff member, and a partnership which brought a new factory to eastern Kentucky. The awards were presented on November 20 at the 2002 Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Awards Luncheon in Frankfort.

Angela Roberts of Manchester and John Maynard Jr. of Pikeville, both former participants in EKCEP’s WIA programs, were honored as Outstanding WIA Alumni. The Outstanding Alumni Award, given to only nine WIA alumni statewide this year, recognizes the participants’ exemplary academic and employment achievements. (Further details about how Angela and John succeeded through WIA appear below.) Tammi Gorman, the On-The-Job Training Coordinator at EKCEP’s Perry County JobSight one-stop center, was honored for Excellence in Customer Service. (Further details about Tammi's achievements in customer service appear below.)

The Cabinet for Workforce Development also honored the partnership in which EKCEP joined with numerous other state agencies, local governments, economic development agencies, and educational institutions to bring an American Woodmark Corp. factory to eastern Kentucky. (Click here for more information about the award, EKCEP's role in the partnership, and the ongoing services that the Perry County JobSight provides to American Woodmark.)

Overall, four of the 22 statewide awards presented by the cabinet this year went to EKCEP programs, staff, and participants.

“Once again, we are pleased that EKCEP was well represented among the WIA Award winners,” said Mable Duke, executive director of EKCEP. “It is gratifying to know that the state recognizes the quality of EKCEP’s work and the achievements of our participants and staff. The two participants who were honored this year are representative of the many, many eastern Kentuckians who work hard and achieve success with the aid of EKCEP’s WIA programs.”

"We are especially pleased to be recognized for customer service," Duke added. "EKCEP places a great deal of emphasis on customer service in our JobSight centers, especially in regard to serving employers."

Angela Roberts—Outstanding WIA Alumnus: Angela Roberts had dropped out of high school and started a series of dead-end, low-paying jobs, following a pattern that she says was all too common in her family. After several years she decided that there must be a better way to live, and began to take back the initiative she had surrendered years earlier. She earned a G.E.D. and enrolled in nursing classes at Eastern Kentucky University. She persevered in her studies, despite health problems that forced her to take one semester off, but the financial strain of travel to classes and, later, to clinical rotations would have caused her to abandon her career dream if not for the assistance provided by WIA. WIA assistance even helped her overcome the academic obstacles brought about by by her father's terminal illness. After graduating with an Associate Degree in nursing, Angela was hired almost immediately at her hometown hospital.

John Maynard Jr.—Outstanding WIA Alumnus: After abruptly losing his job as a truck driver for a local coal company in a wave of layoffs, John Maynard enrolled in Mayo Technical College and earned a degree in Industrial Electronics with the aid of the WIA Dislocated Worker Program. Just before graduation, John applied for a soon-to-be vacant teaching position in electronics at Mayo Tech upon the suggestion of one of his professors. He landed another job and was just getting settled there when the call came inviting him to interview for the teaching position. He was hired by the college, and now spends his days teaching many of the same courses that helped launch him on a new career.

Tammi Gorman—Excellence in Customer Service: Late hours and going above and beyond the call of duty are part of the routine for Tammi Gorman, who is the WIA On-the-Job Training (OJT) coordinator at the Perry County JobSight. Tammi takes a great deal of satisfaction in helping provide direction for job seekers who ". . . come in here and have no idea where their lives are going." Her dedication has helped the OJT program lead over 100 eastern Kentuckians to employment and hands-on skills training while making the OJT program a significant factor in the economic development of Perry County and the surrounding area. During her tenure as OJT coordinator, the program was key in bringing American Woodmark Corporation's new $20 million cabinet makring plant and 260 new jobs to eastern Kentucky.