GLOW Workforce board honors 2 workers in Orleans, Medina floral business
Photos by Tom Rivers: Timothy Roath, a building and grounds worker with the Orleans County Highway Department, accepts an award on Dec. 13 as the participant of the year for Orleans County through the GLOW Workforce Development Board. He is joined up front by Jessica Sutch, left, and Pamela Chatt, who are both employment and training counselors with the Orleans County Job Development Agency.
BATAVIA — The four-county GLOW Workforce Development Board recently held its annual meeting and honored businesses and workers in Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties.
Jay Lazarony is director of the GLOW Workforce Development Board.
The GLOW program has six sites in the four counties, including two in Albion – the Orleans County Job Development Agency at 14016 Route 31 (County Administration Building) and the Orleans Center for Workforce Development at 458 West Ave. Those six sites in GLOW served 25,000 people, helping people with job searches, resume and job interviewing preparation, and helping to connect them to classroom and job training programs.
About 300 businesses listed 1,300 job openings in the program, and 1,900 people were able to find jobs through the program during a time of very low unemployment in the region, said Jay Lazarony, executive director of the GLOW Workforce Development Board.
Norb Fuest is chairman of the GLOW Workforce Development Board.
“Their work guidance and sometimes tough love is exactly what is needed,” Lazarony said on Dec. 13 during the GLOW Workforce Development Board annual meeting at Terry Hills Restaurant in Batavia.
The four counties also served about 300 youth through a summer job program.
Lazorony praised the adult and youth participants in the programs for showing resilience and determination. Some have needed to overcome homelessness, car accidents, learning disabilities, financial hardships and other challenges to find and maintain employment.
Norb Fuest is chairman of the board for the GLOW organization. He praised the Job Development staffs and the people they serve.
“What this program is all about is helping people meet their goals,” he said.
The region needs more workers of all different skill sets, especially in the trades. The GLOW Workforce Development Board is partnering with local school districts to promote careers in the four counties.
“There’s a lot of needs throughout our region,” Fuest said. “We need to educate our youth about the careers that are available in our region.”
The GLOW board supported a first-time event for the region on Sept. 24. The GLOW With Your Hands event brought 800 students to the Genesee County Fairgrounds to get hands-on experience laying bricks and sampling other jobs in the building trades. The program will continue next year.
Some of the award winners from the four counties gather for a group picture at the conclusion of the GLOW Workforce Development Board meeting.
The GLOW board recognized the following in Orleans County during the annual meeting:
• Timothy Roath was named the “Participant of the Year” from Orleans. He had been a long-time employee at Community Action. He started with the Orleans County Highway Department in buildings and grounds by giving people rides in a golf cart while the County Administration Building was undergoing an addition. He helped keep visitors to the building safe while many contractors were working on the addition.
Provided photos: Creekside Floral in Medina was recognized by the GLOW Workforce Development Board with a Business Recognition Award. Pictured from left include: Hans Rosentreter, owner Mary Lewis, Jamie Wagner and Sue Fuller.
Roath went on to get his driver’s license and secured a full-time position with the Highway Department as a custodian. Highway Superintendent John Papponetti praised Roath for being an excellent addition to the staff, bringing a friendly demeanor and strong work ethic to the job.
Roath praised the Job Development staff in Orleans County for their motivation and helping him to overcome some of the obstacles to getting a full-time job.
“I want to thank Job Development from Orleans County,” he said during the awards program. “They’ve been the backbone I just didn’t have.”
• Creekside Floral in Medina received a “Business Recognition” award. The floral shop has been owned by Mary Lewis since 2006. Creekside participated in the summer youth employment program for the first time this past year. Lewis proved to be an enthusiastic mentor to the youth worker, and accommodated the student’s schedule for classes.
Creekside taught the youth participant floral décor and how to prepare and maintain flowers, as well as teaching other job skills such as customer service, communication, time management, responsibility and patience.
• Autumn Dercqu received the “Youth Recognition” award for her work at Creekside Floral in Medina. Autumn impressed Creekside so much she was offered a job after the summer program ended.
Autumn also is working towards earning her high school equivalency diploma and plans to attend Genesee Community College in 2020 in the Veterinary Technology program.
Autumn Dercqu received the Youth Recognition Award for her work at Creekside Floral.
