One of my favorite parts of my job is event planning. It was always something I wanted to do, even when I was in J-school at the University of Kansas and I decided to take the news track instead of public relations. Who knew my work experience would lead me down that road anyway, and instead of parties and book signings, I would be planning events that would affect whole communities?

I love to be involved in the communities I live and work in. When I had a chance to help with the 26th Annual Fort Scott Area March Into Spring Home, Farm and Garden Show last March, I jumped at it. All of our hard work made the event a success! And it was such a great feeling. With every person that told me how great the event was and how it had improved, I knew it was well worth all of the hard work to bring people to Fort Scott, give the exhibitors exposure and raise money for the P.R.I.D.E. organization, which itself exists to give back to the community.

And now, I am in the midst of planning another event that has grown near to my heart in terms of its importance -- Job Fair 2007.

As an organization, when the Nevada Daily Mail/Fort Scott Tribune heard that O'Sullivan Industries in Lamar was closing and laying off approximately 700 people, I believe our hearts skipped a simultaneous beat. "That is so many people out of work," we thought. We had to do something.

In response, we teamed up with KNEM/KNMO Radio, The Lamar Democrat, First Christian Church of Nevada and Sauder Woodworking to host Job Fair 2007, not just for O'Sullivan employees, but for anyone from the surrounding area looking for a job. The fair is Saturday, June 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the First Christian Church Fellowship Hall, 102 E. Austin (formerly Aldi's, the southeast corner of Cedar and Austin) in Nevada. There is a wide range of employers signed up from Vernon, Bourbon, Barton, Bates, Cedar and beyond. We are encouraging anyone from the surrounding area looking for a job to stop in, visit with employers and sign up for one of many door prizes, such as groceries, gas cards and free merchandise.

The fact that this event could make the difference to so many people makes all the difference to me in how I work on it. I want it to be the best it can be through my efforts. I want people to get the help they need.

Why? It's not to make me look good. Or to make the sponsors look good, as it has been said by some. We are serious when we say this is our community, and yours. We are all about it. And when part of our community, be it local, or regional, needs help, we are compelled to help in anyway we can. We can never, and will never, have the attitude that it isn't our problem. It is. It's everyone's, because it does affect all of us, directly. And you never know, the next person to need a helping hand could be you. So why not extend yours while you can to help someone else?