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Hundreds turn out for job fair

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GASTONIA, N.C.-- A new year comes with some welcome new jobs for the Cleveland County area.

A company called "Ultimate Concerts" plans to open a call and distribution center in March that will employ an estimated 2,800 people.

On Monday, the company held a job fair in Gastonia to interview prospective employees. The response was overwhelming with folks from all over the region and all walks of life lining up for hours to fill out an application.

Royce Hoey lost his shipping department position when his Gastonia plant closed more than a year ago and he still hasn't found work.

"I've applied from Hickory to Spartanburg," he said. "I just keep on trying."

Sandra Dixon was so desperate to find work that she traveled from Blacksburg, S.C., and waited nearly three hours for an interview.

"I've been unemployed since March and unable to find a job," she said.

"There's a lot of people here. I've already talked to at least 300 people," company owner Napoleon Brewer told NewsChannel 36 just four hours into the job fair. "We're geared up to go in February. We want to have everyone ready and in place by March 1."

To do so, they need to hire a lot of people fast.

It's a reason to have hope, Dave Dugan said. He recently left his job at Epcot in Florida and moved to Cherryville, looking for more opportunities around the area.

"I think things will get better in 2009 and we're just waiting to see. That's all we can do at this point," Dugan said.

If you’d like to apply, applications can be picked up at any Employment Security Commission office.