At the invitation of Governor Engler, Texas Governor and Presidential candidate George W. Bush paid a visit to SEMCA’s Wayne Service Center in the city of Wayne.
Employment and Training Designs, Inc. (ETD) a principal partner at the center, was one of the first privately owned, publicly funded service providers that specialize in assisting people who are leaving public assistance and entering employment.
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Greeting Governor Bush at our Michigan Works Wayne Service Center (from left to right) were SEMCA Board Chairman, Frank Lopez; Bruce Ottenbreit, President of ETD; and Antoinette Wirth, Vice President of ETD. Mayor of Wayne Jim Dickerson is pictured on the far right. |
Michigan and Texas were both awarded “High Performance Bonuses” from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for ranking among the top ten states in one of TANF’s four bonus categories in 1999.
This common interest in reducing welfare dependency led Michigan Governor John Engler to offer fellow Republican George W. Bush a guided tour of a Michigan Works! One Stop Center to hear first hand some of our state’s success stories.
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ETD’s own René Hughes. Hughes successfully completed ETD’s “Work First Program” last year and is now employed as a graphic designer for ETD.
“Before entering ETD’s program, I worked two jobs, received public assistance and supported two young children,” Hughes said. “When it became too much, I looked for help and found it at ETD. They were immediately helpful,.”
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René Hughes tells Governor Bush about her Workfirst experience with ETD. |
At the press conference held after Bush’s tour of the facility, Hughes told Bush how ETD has helped her find child care, transportation and even proper businessattire for job interviews. Hughes concluded by saying: “Not only did they help me find employment that was better suited to raising a family, they taught me to believe in myself and showed me that I could achieve success on my own.”
Bush responded “Being a single mother is the toughest job there is.” He then congratulated Hughes on her career success.
After Hughes concluded her story, fellow panelists, Cora Gregory (Manager of ETD Wayne), Dr. Barbara Bolin (Director of the Michigan Department of Career Development) and Michigan Governor John Engler explained the Michigan Works system to Bush.
They told him how the federal and state funding allows our programs to be offered at no charge to the citizens in our service area.
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Pictured above at the press conference with Dr. Barbara Bolin (left) is Governor John Engler (right). Bush joked with Dr. Bolin, the Head of the Michigan Department of Career Development that he was partial to people named Barbara. |
Prior to the press conference Bush was given a tour of the SEMCA Michigan Works Wayne Service Center. Angela Kalkofen, Fatima Anthony and Josie Guajardo, Downriver Community Conference (DCC) representatives, greeted Bush in the Employment Services Resource Center, and walked him through the Michigan Talent/Job Bank to demonstrate how we connect employers with on-line resumes of potential employees.
Bush joked that he had come to the right place because he was currently “looking for new work.”
From the Resource Center Bush moved on to meet with a few of the job developers at ETD.
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Explaining the Michigan Talent bank to George W. Bush are (from left to right) Michigan Governor John Engler, Angela Kalkofen, Josie Guajardo, and Fatima Anthony of the DCC. |
Red Varner, Eileen Defalco, and Bob McDonald explained to Bush how they meet with clients on a follow up basis to ensure that each client receives the individual assistance needed to find and keep a job.
Bush told the media how impressed he was with the Michigan Works! program, and congratulated the people who work hard to make it happen every day. “This isn’t theory, it’s reality.” Bush stated.
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Bush and Engler’s visit to ETD was a major media event that was covered by local Detroit stations as well as CNN. |
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This visit not only highlighted the fine work of the ETD staff at the Wayne Service Center, but also brought national attention to ETD, all of the Michigan Works! One Stop Centers, the programs that we offer, and the people of Michigan that we are helping every day! |
