Nevada Appeal job fair a "good looking event"

There were 32 employers at the Nevada Appeal's Spring Job Fair Saturday at the Carson City Community Center.

"It's a good looking event," said Carson City job seeker Robert Knaus, looking sharp in a tucked-in short sleeve blue dress shirt. "I'd attend again."

Did he find any good opportunities at the fair?

"There are three of them that I like," he said. "The corrections one looks good, the counselor/coach thing at Rite of Passage and the Tahoe Biltmore security position."

The event, organized by the classified/advertising department of the Tahoe-Carson Area Newspaper group, drew a large crowd.

"A lot of the employers are getting a huge amount of what seem to be qualified applicants," said Tahoe-Carson Area Newspaper Recruitment Specialist Kim Kuntz. She said they anticipated more than 2,000 people would attend. The event, one of two annual job fairs the newspaper group hosts, has been in the works for about three months, she said. A fall fair will be held in South Lake Tahoe.

"There is a wide mix of employers here," Kuntz said. "We've got everything from staffing agencies to colleges who specialize in re-skilling the work force -- basically employees from all industries."

Two employees of the Tahoe Biltmore Hotel and Casino came down to find applicants for their new restaurant -- The Texas Grill.

"We've already broken ground so we desperately need people," said human relations assistant Jennifer Williams.

They are open to folks who have to commute from Carson or Reno to their North Lake Tahoe location and are even willing to hire families, said restaurant manager Suzanne Neves.

James Nakada, of Incline Village, has been retired for 22 years. He attended the fair to see if there was anything for his son, Mark.

"I'm glad there are professional as well as ordinary, unskilled jobs," he said. "And I like the low-key atmosphere -- you don't have a bunch or barkers here trying to get people to listen to their spiel."

Employers donated items to a raffle for the job fair, with items raffled off every half hour.

"Most of the items are to help people get jobs," Kuntz said.

Stuart Miller, of Carson City, won two deluxe, full-service car washes at In & Out Car Wash during the 10 a.m. raffle. Other items included a $75 gift certificate at the J.C. Penney styling salon and a $25 certificate at Gotchy Shoes in the Carson Mall.