By Howard Packowitz and WMBD-TV
LEROY – LeRoy Mayor Steve Dean said it was a great day for his community.
McLean County’s third largest city hosted a job fair at First United Methodist Church on Tuesday, less than a week after Corteva Agriscience closed the former DuPont Pioneer Hi-Bred soybean plant in LeRoy.
The sudden shutdown left about 75 people out of work, but anyone looking for a job was invited, and Dean was pleased with the large turnout.
Zachary Crawley of LeRoy seemed upbeat as he met with various employers.
“We’re sad to go, but it kind of gives us a new start, to put ourselves out there more,” Crawley told news partner WMBD-TV.
“It will be fun putting myself out there and seeing what I can get,” Crawley added.
Farmer City resident Dawn Mozingo was another job fair attendee.
“This was a great idea. Steve Dean, the mayor, all the praise to him to think of this,” Mozingo told WMBD.
“There are a lot of companies here, and it’s all in one spot. I’m really glad I came,” Mozingo also said.
Aerotek recruiter Will James says businesses setting up booths also benefited from the event.
“A lot of people don’t know about Aerotek. They don’t know the type of services we provide, so actually getting that face-to-face interaction just allows them to really put a face to a name if they are familiar with Aerotek, or really just find out about us,” James told WMBD.
More than 30 businesses participated in the job fair, according to Mayor Dean. He hopes to organize another job fair in the future.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
