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Photo by Roger Werth
Melanie Grothen of Castle Rock was among those hired by
Foster Farms in Kelso through Longview's Goodwill
vocational program.
Goodwill honors
Foster Farms after company hired two dozen of its
clients over the past year
Tom Hendrickson, Kelso
facility manager for Foster Farms, is in Tacoma today to
receive the Goodwill Large Employer of the Year Award.
The Kelso
chicken-processing plant received the award after hiring
two dozen Goodwill clients in the past year through the
Vocational Unlimited program of Longview Goodwill. The
Kelso Foster Farms plant employs about 700 people.
"Our partnership with
Goodwill has been helpful for us to reach our production
goals," Hendrickson said. "As a family-owned company, we
appreciate employees who value work and producing
quality products, and that's what Goodwill gives to us."
Melanie Grothen, 28, was hired by Foster Farms last
September.
The Castle Rock resident
had been working off and on through temporary job
agencies until the Goodwill employment program hooked
her up with Foster Farms.
"It's a good place to
work," she said Monday. "I really enjoy going to work
every day. Our whole crew is like a big family. We talk
after work and we're all friends."
Ron Blasco, Vocational
Manager of Longview Goodwill, said Foster Farms has been
a "fantastic partner."
"Not only do they hire
people from our vocational program, they are involved in
our interview process," Blasco said Monday. "They
conduct practice interviews, review resumes and give us
tips on what employers look for on applications." Blasco
said that the feedback from Foster Farms is helpful to
clients.
"They get into logistics
-- the nuts and bolts of employment," he said. "For
clients, it's real. It's not someone teaching from a
textbook. They listen to what they learn from Foster
Farms. It's more than theory."
Goodwill offers
employment opportunity for disadvantaged and disabled
clients, seniors over 50 looking for work and
ex-offenders returning to the workforce.
In addition, anyone can
walk into Goodwill and get help with employment skills,
such as writing resumes and learning how to go through
interviews, Blasco said.
"The partnership has
allowed Foster Farms to receive work-ready employees
while helping train Goodwill workers toward meeting
their future needs," said Terry A. Hayes, Goodwill CEO.
Longview Goodwill is a
division of Tacoma Goodwill, with a service area
covering 15 counties in Washington.
The awards breakfast
today is at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade
Center and is a celebration of accomplishments for
individual clients and corporate partners such as Foster
Farms.
Proceeds from the
breakfast support the Goodwill Scholarship Fund to
support job-placement and training programs.
By Janine
Manny
May 08, 2007 - 06:54:36 am PDT
From the Daily News
Longview, WA |
