‘Paychecks for Patriots’ career fair helps veterans find work

10th annual event held at Full Sail University Thursday

WINTER PARK, Fla.CareerSource’s 10th annual “Paychecks for Patriots” job fair kicked off at Full Sail University on Thursday.

The event, which was supposed to take place in November for Veteran’s Day, was moved to December because of Hurricane Nicole.

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“Over 9 years, we’ve served over 6,700 veterans and their family members, so this is another opportunity for us to serve the veteran community here in Central Florida,” Veterans Program Manager Ken Shields said.

Shields welcomed veterans from all over Central Florida to let them know there are plenty of work opportunities for them and their spouses.

“The biggest challenge that veterans face, depending on what they did in the military, they have to figure out how they transition that military experience to the civil sector,” Shields said.

U.S. Air Force Veteran Dennis Dilley found out about the event and decided to give it a shot.

“I worked for transportation for like 7 years and the job ended, the government contract ended so they sent me over to vocational rehab and the VA,” Dilley said.

Dilley, 63, said he is hoping to land a job he can enjoy for the next few years and he’s hoping the same for other local vets.

“Some people don’t know what the veterans are going through, and the problem is trying to adjust when they come back from overseas,” Dilley said.

Those who could not attend the “Paychecks for Patriots” job fair can still go to any CareerSource Central Florida office for help.

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About the Author

Ezzy Castro is a multimedia journalist on News 6's morning team who has a passion for telling the stories of the people in the Central Florida community. Ezzy worked at WFOR CBS4 in South Florida and KBMT in Beaumont, Texas, where she covered Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Being from Miami, Ezzy loves Cuban coffee and croquetas!

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