GREATER HARTFORD — The Simsbury Public Library will offer two free workshops for job seekers in November.

“Your Hired! How to Land the Perfect Job in Any Economy” will be held on  Thursday, Nov. 4 from 2 p,m. – 4 p.m .

Pete Winiarski, Results Coach and Consultant will discuss how job seekers can get clear about their perfect job and how to employ the three types of action and why goals are reached faster when these three are employed.

He’ll also discuss the power of environments and how they can create desired results and be critical for identifying a ‘perfect job’.“Breaking Through the Employment Barriers: The Inside Scoop” will be held on Tuesday, Nov.  16 from 2:00 – 3:30 pm.

Marcia LaReau PhD of Forward Motion has spent over two years working with job seekers, recruiters, and HR professionals. She will present key findings regarding the barriers that slow the road to employment success. In addition, attendees will learn how to make friends with the ‘black hole’ – partnering with technology, how to appeal to recruiters, human resource professionals, and hiring managers, job seekers’ self perceptions, interviewing strategies that work, and how to stay motivated.

The programs are free of charge, open to the public and will be held in the Program Room of the Simsbury Public Library at 725 Hopmeadow Street (Rte. 10). To register or for more information, visit the Library’s web site at www.simsburylibrary.info or contact Jennifer Keohane, Business Outreach Librarian at (860) 658-7663 x 2107.

HARTFORD COUNTY  –- The Simsbury Public Library will host a free business
workshop, “Bullet-Proof! How to Achieve Great Results in Any Economy” on
Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m.

The program is part of the free, ongoing “Wednesday Night is Business Night” series and will be presented by Pete Winiarski of Win Enterprises, LLC.

Pete Winiarski, results coach and consultant will lead attendees through some interactive exercises to them understand some underlying principles of success and goal achievement that enable long-term and sustainable results. In addition, participants will learn fundamental formulas that pave the way for all success, the Power of the 9 Environments for sustainable results, the correct way to set goals and some simple, game-changing secrets to guarantee they’re achieved and how to determine what a Life Purpose is and why to align with this purpose.

The program is free of charge, open to the public and will be held in the Program Room of the Simsbury Public Library at 725 Hopmeadow Street (Rte. 10). To register or for more information, visit the Library’s web site at www.simsburylibrary.info or contact Jennifer Keohane, Business Outreach Librarian at (860) 658-7663 x 2107.

HARTFORD — City native Dana Lauren is among a dozen jazz musicians  selected  from applicants from around the world to be semifinalists in the 2010 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition in Washington, D.C.

Dana Lauren

The competition, slated for  Oct. 3-4 at the Smithsonian and Kennedy Center, will feature  semifinalists from France, Germany, Japan, and the United States. These budding jazz musicians will compete for over $100,000 in scholarships and prizes, including a guaranteed recording contract with Concord Records.

Lauren, 22, began her classical training at age 15. She currently studies at the Berklee College of Music, where she plans to complete her degree in vocal performance this fall. In 2008, her band, the Dana Lauren Sextet, was chosen as one of four groups to study with Christian McBride and other jazz greats at the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Academy.

Lauren will join Simsbury native  Richard Saunders, who started singing at age two. He attended the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, where he began studying jazz. Saunders was the first vocalist to sing with the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra at the 2009 Monterey Jazz Festival and North Sea Jazz Festival.  Saunders studies at the New England Conservatory of Music.

Both semifinalists will have the pleasure of meeting President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama, who are the Honorary Co-Chairs of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition Finals & Tribute to the Great American Songbook Gala Concert.

They will also get to be in the company of Aretha Franklin, the  judge  of the event — along with legendary jazz vocalists Kurt Elling, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Al Jarreau, Patti Austin, and Dianne Reeves. The Queen of Soul will also receive the 2010 Maria Fisher Founder’s Award.

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Connecticut’s capital city online newsmagazine The Hartford Guardian is one of three winners of the 2010 McGraw-Hill Companies Personal Finance Awards national competition.

The Guardian’s founding editor Ann-Marie Adams won third place for stories that tackle economic issues facing minority communities. Adams’s story,  “Losing Ground: Foreclosure Rate Higher Among Minority Homeowners”, details the particular hardships faced by minority homeowners in Connecticut facing foreclosure.

The Guardian covers Hartford and its surrounding areas and focuses on untold stories about the city’s diverse residents.

First place went to Elizabeth Ostos of a monthly newspaper Mercado de Dinero for her article “Credit consolidation in a country in debt”. Second place went to Carlos Rajo of Telemundo, Los Angeles for his article “A House of Their Own: Is the American Dream too Expensive?” Rajo explains how the mortgage crisis has changed the perception of home ownership among the Hispanic community.

The journalists were among 30 reporters who participated in The International Center for Journalists online program in English and Spanish. The program sought to provide in-depth knowledge of consumer finance issues of particular importance to minority communities.

The winners will be honored in September at The McGraw-Hill Companies’ headquarters in New York. The New York Times Columnist Ron Lieber will give the keynote address.

SIMSBURY — The Simbury Public Library’s Business Resource Center will offer a free workshop, “Under Construction: Building Your Resume for College” on
Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7pm.

The program is free of charge, open to the public and high school students who are planning to attend college are encouraged to attend.

Job seekers aren’t the only ones needing to create a resume; universities and college applications are now asking for this type of document as part of their application process. High school students need to know how to create a strong resume that reflects their skills, experience and educational achievements. During this interactive workshop, Claudia Mosley of North Star Educational and Career
Consultants will show students how to build their resume for college. Attendees will learn about the college applicant game, what makes a sound resume/application and tips for structuring their resume.

Claudia Mosley, completed her studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she received both a Master of Science degree in Educational Administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Afro-American Studies. Formerly Interim Assistant Dean for Teacher Education at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside , her diverse range of experience includes pre-college advising, guidance counseling, college level academic advising and student service administration.

The program is free of charge and open to the public, but reservations
are requested. To reserve a seat visit the library’s website, or call 860.658.7663. The programs will be held in the program room of the Simsbury Public Library, 725 Hopmeadow St.