By David Taylor / Managing Editor
A recent job fair organized by Darnald Kimble, Jr. and the North Channel Area Chamber of Commerce brought together over 40 vendors and more than 750 job seekers, marking a significant effort to provide value and opportunities for the community.
Kimble, Jr., who led the initiative, explained the inspiration behind the event.
“At our board meeting, I was asking our fellow board members if we’ve done a job fair recently. All of them said no,” he said.
Unhappy with that response, Kimble felt like it was something that would bring value to the membership of the chamber. So, they appointed him to lead the event.
The event was a collaborative effort, with Precinct 2, Workforce Solutions, and San Jacinto Community College joining as partners.
“All four of us collaborated together and we’ve been working on this since May or June,” Kimble said. The planning process took several months, but Kimble noted, “It seemed to come together seemingly effortlessly. Everybody was really collaborative.”
Support from sponsors helped make the event welcome for vendors.
“Be Well Texas provided all the snacks for the vendors and then I asked Chick-Fil-A if they could bring some sandwiches too. And they were gracious enough to say yes,” Kimble said. In total, Chick-fil-A brought 130 sandwiches, and Be Well Texas supplied chips, snacks, cookies, and pretzels.
The fair featured a wide range of employers, including staffing agencies, hospitality businesses, and major organizations like the Port of Houston, which alone had over 60 positions open. Military recruiters from the Navy and Marines also attended.
Feedback from vendors was overwhelmingly positive.
“I talked to Sunshine [Personnel Solution] specifically, she said, yeah, she found a lot of good candidates that put their information down. One lady, she said she literally had five full pages of names and numbers of people to contact and conduct interviews,” Kimble reported.
“The most important thing is people get jobs. My heart is, there’s a lot of crime that’s happening in that area and I really want the crime rate to go down because both my parents still live in that area and so does my sister. I want to make it an amazing community for them to live and work,” he said passionately.
The job fair also included incentives for job seekers, such as a drawing for prizes donated by vendors, encouraging attendees to visit multiple booths.
Looking ahead, Kimble expressed gratitude for his team and a willingness to organize future events.
“I definitely want to thank all my team. They’ve been with me since June, working behind the scenes and I couldn’t do this by myself at all. It’s definitely a team effort,” he said.
The chamber is now planning a workshop to help small businesses connect with larger entities like NASA, the county, and the city, furthering its mission to empower local entrepreneurs.
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