Friday, Oct 9, 2009
Log onto the Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce Web site, and at the very top, you’ll see the organization’s slogan: Get Connected. Get Results. Attendees at the Chamber’s Career Connection Expo, sponsored annually and hosted by Rider University, know that the connections they make will lead to the very results they seek.
This year, a primary link between the two organizations was Beverly Braddock, special events and projects manager at Rider. Working tirelessly on the committee to plan the annual career fair, Braddock helped the Chamber unite job seekers and career networkers with employers at the spring event on the Lawrenceville campus. Even in a year that has weathered tough economic times, the fair was an unqualified success.
“We had a great turnout of employers as well as people looking to give their careers a boost,” Braddock explained.
For her efforts, Braddock was honored by the Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Month for July. She was presented with her award by Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Michele N. Siekerka, Esq., at the its award luncheon at the Baldassari Regency in Trenton
“I was surprised and honored by the award,” Braddock said afterward. “We had a terrific committee, though – lots of real professionals who all had a lot of great ideas.”
Liz Tindall, vice president of the Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce, said Braddock was a natural choice for the honor, given her multifaceted role in coordinating the Career Connection Expo.
“Bev was ‘aces’ for the Chamber during the whole process of planning and coordinating the Career Connection and workshops at Rider,” Tindall explained. “We could never figure out how she could be involved in multiple conversations at our committee meetings, and take copious notes at the same time, which she then distributed to all involved.”
Braddock says the Career Connection Expo was not simply a job fair. “It was a day to polish your career, even if you were already working,” explained Braddock, who credited the employees of Rider’s Office of Career Services for their efforts as well. “We had a full day of workshops for résumé writing and other subjects, and excellent opportunities to network.”
Tindall was particularly impressed by Braddock’s ability to work between various departments at the University, while simultaneously collaborating with two other Chamber committees involved with the Career Connection Expo: the Education & Workforce Development and Women in Business committees.
“Bev kept us all on the same page, and was always most pleasant and professional,” Tindall said. “She pulled things together quickly and efficiently, and always with a smile. What an asset to Rider!”