BBCC Job & Career Fair returns Thursday
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 months, 2 weeks AGO
A job seeker chats with Okanagan Specialty Fruits recruiter Nataliya Yushchuk at last year’s BBCC Job Fair. The event, which returns Thursday, will feature more than 60 employers and agencies looking for workers.
FILE PHOTO
About 700 job seekers came to last year’s BBCC Job & Career Fair. This year’s fair is Thursday.
Job seekers at the Big Bend Community College Job & Career Fair are encouraged to dress professionally and bring lots of copies of their resume.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | April 20, 2026 3:20 AM
MOSES LAKE — There are jobs out there, and people who are looking for jobs, and the two will come together Thursday at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake.
“We’re incredibly excited to welcome more than 60 exhibitors to campus for the 33rd annual Job & Career Fair,” Alissa Scriven, Career Pathways Coordinator at Big Bend Community College, wrote in an announcement. “Each year, this event continues to grow, and it reflects the strong partnerships we have with local employers and organizations that are committed to strengthening our workforce. It’s a unique opportunity for students and community members to have real conversations with employers and explore what’s possible right here in our region.”
The Job Fair is hosted by BBCC, and organized in conjunction with Washington State Employment Security, OIC of Washington, the Department of Services for the Blind, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services/DVR, SkillSource and Job Corps, all agencies that help connect people with jobs. Those entities will have booths, but they’ll be joined by scores of employers from the private sector looking to expand their teams.
Last year about 700 people came to the job fair looking for employment, according to Columbia Basin Herald archives. Some were fresh out of school, some were new to the area and looking for work, and some just wanted to find something better.
“We’re getting people who are fresh out of college, people from the Job Corps, people who are still in college, people who are back in the job market after a while,” Sebastian Moraga, representing the Washington State Department of Transportation, told the Columbia Basin Herald at last year’s fair.
Job seekers should dress professionally and bring copies of their resumes, according to the announcement. An open mind is also a good idea, because job seekers often find opportunities they hadn’t thought of before.
“One of the biggest complaints is that sometimes people will say ‘They might not have a job here for my specialty, or in my field,’” said James Beck, a career and training manager with SkillSource, at the 2025 job fair. “That is going to be one of those things that rises and falls. Some fields are going to be hiring at certain times and others won’t.”
In addition to the main fair, there will be two workshops sponsored by Microsoft to help job seekers strengthen their professional readiness, according to BBCC’s website. A question-and-answer session on careers in the data center industry is scheduled from 11 to 11:45 a.m., followed by a workshop on job readiness and workforce participation from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
“With the continued demand for skilled workers across Grant County, events like this are more important than ever,” Scriven wrote. “We want attendees to leave feeling informed, confident, and connected. Having the DSHS mobile office bus on site allows us to meet people where they are by helping with cash, medical, and food benefits. It truly turns the Job & Career Fair into a one-stop resource for anyone looking to take their next step.”
BBCC Job & Career Fair
10 a.m.-2 p.m. April 23
Big Bend Community College ATEC Building
7611 Bolling St. NE, Moses Lake
Exhibitors
(List current as of April 17)
City/County/Government/ Military/State
BBCC Human Resources Department
Family Services of Grant County
Grant County Juvenile Youth Services
Grant County Public Works
Grant County PUD
Grant County Sheriff’s Office
Grant County Veterans Services
Grant Transit Authority
MACC 911 Dispatch
Mattawa Police Department
Moses Lake Police Department
Moses Lake School District Human Resources Department
People For People
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Spokane Police Department
US Navy
Washington Army National Guard
Washington State Department of Agriculture
Washington State Department of Children, Youth, & Families
Education/Training
BBCC Aviation Maintenance Technology Program
BBCC Agricultural Program
BBCC Applied Bachelor Degrees in Applied Management & Behavioral Health
BBCC Automotive Program
BBCC Business Information Management/Business/Accounting Programs
BBCC Computer Science Program
BBCC Early Childhood Education Program
BBCC Manufacturing & Process Technology Program
BBCC Outreach Department
BBCC Nursing Program
BBCC Welding Program
Central Washington University
Charter College
Eastern Washington University
Institute of Beauty Professionals
Moses Lake School District Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program
Washington State University
Washington State University College of Nursing – Yakima
Healthcare/Wellness/Medical
All Ways Caring
Columbia Basin Health Association
Confluence Health
Coulee Medical Center
Fresenius Medical Care
Genesis Healthcare
Life Flight Network
LifeLine Ambulance
Molina Healthcare
Moses Lake Community Health Center
Othello Community Hospital
Samaritan Healthcare
About 700 job seekers came to last year’s BBCC Job & Career Fair. This year’s fair is Thursday.
Job seekers at the Big Bend Community College Job & Career Fair are encouraged to dress professionally and bring lots of copies of their resume.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.