PIC RECEIVES EXCELLENCE AWARD

The Southeast Missouri Private Industry Council (PIC) has won the coveted Special Achievement of Excellence Award in the Customer Focus and Satisfaction category for the year ended June 30, 1998. Announcement of the award was recently made by the Missouri Training and Employment Council. The award was presented to the PIC by the Governor at the Annual Governor's Job Training Conference on Oct. 13, 1998 at the Lake of the Ozarks.

The PIC was recognized for excellence in providing employment training services to its customers as demonstrated by the attainment of exemplary performance standard outcomes. Ron Swift, the PIC's Executive Director, said, "We are delighted to have our organization recognized for the excellence brought to the job seekers in our 13-county area for the past year. This is the second consecutive year we have been honored to receive this particular award.

"The success our PIC has achieved in performance outcomes is in part because of the development of our Work Connections Center, a suite dedicated to serving the needs of all individuals seeking a first-time or new job," continued Swift. "The dedication brought to the employment training system by the PIC's partner organizations, such as the East Missouri Action Agency, SPIRALS Job Training Program, Susanna Wesley Family Learning Center, Missouri Division of Employment Security, Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School, and Farmington Public Schools, as well as the PIC board of directors and staff, has contributed to this success."

The PIC board past chairperson is Cleat Stanfill from Caruthersville and the current chairperson is Ben Bradshaw from Malden.

The PIC's corporate offices and the Work Connections Center are located at 760 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. In addition to housing the PIC staff, representatives from the Division of Family Services FUTURES Program, the Division of Child Support Enforcement, East Missouri Action Agency, SPRIALS Job Training Program, Missouri Mentoring Partnership, and Missouri Jobs, Employment and Training Program share space in the facility. The PIC also has partner organization staff located in Dexter, East Prairie, Hayti, Park Hills, Perryville, Marble Hill, Fredericktown, Pilot Knob and Ste. Genevieve.

For more information on the PIC and its programs, call (800) 451-0990, extension 13. The local Cape Girardeau area telephone number is (573) 334-0990.