HOWELL – The Howell Business Expo and Job Fair will be held from 4-8 p.m. Nov. 10 in the former Bed Bath and Beyond store at 4075 Route 9 North in Aldrich Shopping Plaza.
Dr. Steve Friedeman spoke to the members of the Township Council at the governing body’s Oct. 26 meeting to spread awareness about the job fair.
“I have been a resident here since 2001. I have been a business owner in town since 2013 and I have been an active member of the Howell Chamber of Commerce since 2016.
“I am also representing the chamber here tonight as the first vice president, and as an active member of the Business Expo team. We have been working for several months trying to get things going again here in Howell from a small business standpoint,” Friedeman said.
As of Oct. 26 there were 53 vendors signed up to participate in the expo and additional vendors were expected to sign on.
“We are using (the expo) as a way to promote employment in town and to have our residents find employment in town. … Vendors will be accepting applications and advertising that they have positions available,” Friedeman said.
Howell is one of the expo sponsors and Friedeman thanked the council members for their support. He encouraged people to “shop local and shop Howell.”
Councilwoman Evelyn O’Donnell called the chamber members a “tenacious group” and said Howell is lucky to have them.
Deputy Mayor Thomas Russo chairs the Howell Business Recovery Task Force, which has been planning the job fair for several months. The task force’s goal is to ensure the vitality of Howell’s economy.
Russo said Jeff Bassett, the owner of a Chic-Fil-A restaurant in Howell, and Sue Dominguez had the idea to host a job fair.
“Sue used to be the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce and she I have been serving on (the task force) for a year,” Bassett said. “Now that we are are kind of coming through the other side of COVID, local businesses, ourselves included, are finding that we need employees to come back to work.”
