Mesquite, TX – January 6, 2021 – With the loss of jobs in the community due to the pandemic, the City of Mesquite stepped forward last year to help the public gain employment opportunities, skills training and hope through a series of public outreach efforts. The Mesquite Chamber of Commerce recognized this and presented the City with the 2020 Mesquite Business Retention and Expansion Employer of the Year Award.
Mayor Bruce Archer said, “I am so very proud of the City receiving this honor. One of my goals is for Mesquite to be the ‘Most Employed’ city in America. This award shows that our relentless hard work to develop programs in order to get people working again made an impact. Jobs, jobs, jobs and economic opportunity for all of our residents is what we are about!”
Steven Bridges of Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas said, “The City of Mesquite has done an outstanding job of working with the local workforce system to get the people of Mesquite back to work. With high unemployment and numerous layoffs due to COVID-19, the City leapt to the challenge of filling their own job vacancies as well as helping others with job seeking tips.” Bridges shared the City’s efforts with the Mesquite Virtual Job Fair video for job seekers, the Roadmap to Resources for business owners and the Dining with Social Distancing website for local restaurants have been instrumental in helping the community’s economy. He also indicated the City’s “Shop Mesquite TX” campaign and “Small Business Saturday” during the holidays were catalysts for helping to maintain a strong economy.
Bridges presented the award to City Manager Cliff Keheley during a brief ceremony at Mesquite Municipal Center. Keheley said, “This award is a testament to the Recovery Mesquite program we launched last year. We will continue to assist the unemployed find job opportunities, guide our local businesses through resources and regenerate the Mesquite economy with programs to move forward and onward to recovery.”