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Chamber Career Fair Connects Hundreds With Open Jobs

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Those looking for a better job got to browse openings at more than 50 companies. More photos can be found here.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Hundreds of job seekers flocked to Berkshire Hills Country Club on Thursday for the annual Berkshire Chamber of Commerce career fair.

The fair featured 51 employers from all over the region to collect resumes and tell people what positions they need filled.

"We've already had 230 people [at noon] and we're anticipating more than 400 for the day," said Darci Hess, Berkshire Chamber of Commerce's director of marketing.

Of note, Hess said many of those job seekers listed themselves as "underemployed" rather than "unemployed," showing an increase in attendees looking for another career step.

The jobs featured ranged from entry level all the way to management.



"Last year, we had a lot of unemployed and people working part-time looking for full time," she said.

The closure of the North Adams Regional Hospital, which left 530 people out of work, triggered a rise in attendance from North County. Immediately following the closure, Hess said some health-care companies joined the array of presenters to gain staff for what is expected to be increased need.

"We did get an influx for medical positions," Hess said.


Tags: employment,   job fair,   

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Simon's Rock Awarded Freedom to Read Grant

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Bard College at Simon's Rock was awarded a Freedom to Read Grant by the Newburger Schwartz Family Foundation. 
 
The grant was awarded to support the Alumni Library and Bard Queer Leadership Project in building a more robust collection of queer scholarship, starting a Queer Book Club, and hosting Drag Story Time events in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires.
 
According to a press release:
 
In response to current educational threats with book bans affecting schools and libraries across the country and further proposed legislation against LGBTQ+ people's access to basic rights and education, Simon's Rock is actively seeking to create inclusive and equitable spaces for queer individuals. 
 
The Bard Queer Leadership Project and Alumni Library will utilize the grant funding to expand the library's current collection of queer books in order to fully enable the longevity of the Queer Book Club and the Bard Queer Leadership Project. The Queer Book Club will be an intergenerational space, open to local middle school students through rainbow seniors and will partner with local community organizations, to discuss queer books and learn about LGBTQ+ issues and experiences. Bard Queer Leadership Project students will eventually help lead this initiative as part of their leadership project training. 
 
The Queer Book Club will host their first meeting on April 6 at 3:00 p.m. at the Alumni Library, with following meetings on April 27 and May 11. This semester, the selected books are "Obie is Man Enough" and "He/She/They," both by Schuyler Bailar, inspirational speaker and first openly transgender NCAA Division swimmer, who was a guest speaker in the inaugural Queer Leaders Vision Forum in fall 2023 at Simon's Rock. Schuyler Bailar will return to campus for a book signing and pool party at the Kilpatrick Athletic Center on April 19 at 7:00 p.m. Participants in the Queer Book Club will receive a free copy of either book of their choice. 
 
The first Drag Story Time will be on Saturday, March 30 at 2:00 p.m. at the Simon's Rock Alumni Library and is open to all LGBTQ+ affirming individuals. The event is in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires with local drag queens JV and Poppy DaBubbly. The second Drag Story Time will be Saturday, April 27 with drag queen Poppy DaBubbly and drag king Sativo Green.
 
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