AP, The New York Times And Wal-Mart?

Friday, July 25, 2008

By KEVIN DU
The UNITY News Online

The McCormack Convention Center’s main exhibit hall is packed and filled with life. From recruiters to exhibitors—and even massage booths—the hall consists of all walks of life.

The New York Times, CNN and NPR are just a couple of names you’re going to see and expect to be at the career fair here at UNITY. But there are a few names you might not expect to see when you turn the corner, such as Amtrak, World Wrestling Entertainment and Wal-Mart.

Yes, you read correctly, Wal-Mart is here and is one of the few unusual companies you would not expect setting up shop at a conference.

Though hesitant at first to talk to the press about their activities and reasons for attending UNITY, Wal-Mart representative Michelle Vash said, “We got involved with UNITY through representatives. (It is) an opportunity to get involved in terms of diversity recruitment, to bring in top talent for corporate affairs.”

Beyond Wal-Mart, other booths aren’t even looking to hire. Companies such as Amtrak and The Walt Disney Company are just here to promote their product. Disney, which has one of the more flashy displays, is here promoting their new line of Blu-Ray DVDs.

“We’re here to tell people why it’s better than HD (high definition),” says Disney representative Susan Feuer. “We just want to get people interested and for journalists to maybe write about it.”

Amtrak, unlike Disney wanted to give journalists a ride instead of something to write about. They are here promoting their train systems and offering writers an option when it comes to traveling from story to story.

Even though it’s expected for companies to be here at UNITY for their own promotional purposes, The World Wrestling Entertainment booth may surprise some attendees.
“It’s our first time here,” WWE recruiter Jon Weiner says. “Someone internally turned us onto UNITY, the company stepped up to make it happen, departments donated products and we’re happy to be here.”

When asked if they were just here to promote, Weiner said, “We’re always promoting but what’s equally important is we wanted to get out there to promote diverse hiring, but we’re also here to learn and meet good people.”

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