Triad Job Search Network was started by Dr. Jane Walters, a career counselor, in Greensboro in the late 80's. She had a government grant to help the unemployed in Greensboro. It met for several years under her direction in the YMCA in downtown Greensboro.
At some point the grant was terminated and Dr. Walters let the members continue the meetings on their own direction. There were approximately 6 men who continued to meet and lend support to each other while they were going through the unemployment process.
The group relocated its meeting place to the Covenant United Methodist Church on Skeet Club Road in High Point in the early 90's. It still meets there today.
In 1995, Glenn Wise was an invited speaker from Ciba-Geigy Corporation. Mr. Bill Ruth was the overall moderator for the group. Bill was with Belks for over 20 years and his last position was head of their merchandising department. He had been out to work for over a year. He worked tirelessly for TJSN in scheduling speakers, moderating the meetings, and recruiting volunteers as members gained employment.
Glenn volunteered to help the group beyond being a speaker. Bill asked him to become his backup in case he got a job. Glenn agreed.
Bill got a position in early 1996. Glenn retired from Ciba-Geigy in Jan. 1966. He had studied under Richard Bolles, author of "What Color Is Your Parachute?". He started his own career workshop company called Career Focus. His workshops were offered to the general public.
Glenn stayed on as the advisor for TJSN. The attendees fluctuated from 1 to 55. On one occasion, in spring of 2001, the attendance level was at an all-time low. Glenn showed up with a program prepared, but after 30 minutes, no one had shown up. Since attendance had been so poor, Glenn closed his briefcase and proceeded to the door of the choir room where they had been meeting and had decided to close down TJSN due to lack of attendance and interest. As he got to the door to turn out the lights, Ms. Beverly Tedder walked in. She had attended one of Glenn's workshops a few years earlier and decided to drop by to say hello since she had been layed off from her last position.
The two chatted for a while and caught up on what had been going on in each others lives. So, because Beverly walked in, Glenn decided to keep the doors open for a while longer. Today, TJSN operates in three triad locations and serves over a hundred job seekers each week.