Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 1, 1994 TAG: 9412010084
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Gainsboro resident Homer Johnson has endured the months of noisy construction at the Hotel Roanoke for just one reason: he wants his old job back.
Johnson was the hotel's doorman before it closed in 1989, and he hopes to be standing by the front door when the remodeled hotel and conference center reopens in April.
"They said it would bring jobs to Roanoke Valley, and I was listening," said Johnson. "I'm going to hold them to it."
On Wednesday, the project's owners - the city of Roanoke and Virginia Tech Foundation - and its operator, Doubletree Hotels Corp., took the first step toward fulfilling that promise and a legal requirement by holding a job fair targeting low- and moderate-income residents. The fair was at Roanoke Civic Center.
A grant the Hotel Roanoke project received from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development "stipulates that we do anything we can to provide jobs for low- to moderate-income people," said Gary Walton, the hotel's general manager.
At this point, that means means providing information about the 350 jobs that will be available in February and offering training for people interested in those positions.
"We're trying to give people the opportunity to be competitive, and put them on a level playing field when they go into the interview," said Vickie Price, administrator for the Fifth District Employment and Training Consortium, which is handling training of the hotel's staff.
To do that, the consortium is offering 10 five-day sessions on job-seeking skills. The workshops will help people update or create their resumes and improve interviewing skills. And for skilled jobs, such as housekeeping and front-desk clerking, there will be training sessions starting next month, Price said.
Training is available only for those meeting certain requirements based on income.
But even with the training and information , Walton and the other Doubletree representatives at the job fair insisted that there were "no job guarantees."
"The point is getting people to realize that the jobs are there. ... A lot of people didn't believe that the hotel would keep its promise," said Carl Tinsley, who was instrumental in arranging the job fair. He is president of the Gainsboro Neighborhood Development Corp. "We didn't see enough black contractors when they were building, but the time schedule may have been one reason for that. But starting now we want to make sure there are no excuses, and we can do that by getting the work force in place."
Leilani Sanders is part of that work force. Sanders, who works part-time in a furniture store, worked in the Hotel Roanoke while she was in high school. More than 20 years later, she's back looking for a full-time job.
"When I heard about the hotel opening again, I knew I wanted to get back here to the old landmark, and I like the idea of training. You can always learn something," said Sanders.
For those who could not make the job fair on Wednesday, it will be repeated for the public, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Roanoke Civic Center's Coliseum concourse.
by CNB