"Here's what UT&E did for me."

To whom it may concern:
I am writing this letter to thank the people of UT&E as well as give my highest recommendation and regard for the hard work and personal attention that enabled me to land a great job with Associated Oregon Loggers.
I was born and raised in Douglas County and like many people here, I made my living in the woods industry. Unfortunately, the mill I worked for closed the doors at the end of 2009 and finding a job in Douglas County, Oregon at that time was extremely difficult if not impossible. I immediately went to Umpqua Training & Employment for help. I enrolled in a computer and keyboarding class through UT&E and learned the basics of how to operate computers. Within three weeks of finishing the class, UT&E placed me in a great job for the Douglas County Parks Department. Although this job was only a temporary job, it led to making great contacts that would later prove useful to landing the job I ended up with.
I was extremely fortunate to qualify for Trade Act benefits which allowed me to enroll in the BAA program at Umpqua Community College. Going to college at fifty years old created new challenges for me, but I managed. During this time, my personal case worker, Stephanie Reed, continued to contact me with several job openings she thought I might be interested in but I never seemed to be able to get my foot in the door. I came close a few times but it seemed I always fell short.
In January 2012, I found a small ad for a Safety Consultant position in the local newspaper; a job with my name all over it. I had taken classes from UT&E on how to put together a resume and cover letter, but I really wanted to get this one right, so I went to UT&E for help. Literally, the whole office and most of the staff gave their input into my cover letter and resume. It seemed they were as enthused about this job as I was. After working out the kinks on my cover letter and resume, we finally put together the final product, and the rest is as they say, history; I start my job tomorrow.
I owe a thank you for my new opportunity to several people and organizations such as the Trade Act, Umpqua Community College, and especially to the people within Umpqua Training & Employment. Without their help, I would still be a statistic. Ironically, UT&E, due to a lack of funding, was forced to lay off some of the very people who helped me during my time of need. This seems ironic and wrong to me since the need for organizations like UT&E are in greater demand than ever.
Again, I would like to thank all of the people of UT&E for everything, including all of the training, workshops, guidance and most importantly, for believing in me and never letting me give up. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

 Sincerely,