Expo educates job seekers to career changes

Business feature for The Commercial Appeal

September 25, 2009

Piggly Wiggly founder Clarence Saunders fell on hard times in the 1920s and found himself out of sorts, out of money and out of a house.

So it seemed fitting Thursday that the famous Memphis entrepreneur’s pink Georgian marble mansion — the Pink Palace — on Central Avenue was the site for the first Opportunity Expo, a joint effort between OppCities, Brother Industries and the Bartlett Chamber of Commerce to help out-of-work professionals get back on their feet.

“People have been very open, very excited about the program,” said Carlos Fearn, OppCities vice president of development. “They see it as another vehicle to get their foot in the door.”

The event also marked the launch of OppCity.com, a Web site for those looking for work or career transitions … (read more)