This year’s five-day Winter Training covered informative topics ranging from the fraternization rules on Center to personal health, nutrition and weight loss.

Center Director Christine Sanchez kicked off the series of workshops with a presentation that reaffirmed staff’s goals and objectives for 2016. She led the group through an exercise that determined if each person was a leader, a follower or someone who was undermining the goals of the group.

Wendell Martin, the Administrative Assistant in Finance and Administration, has many years of experience working with youth groups. His talk focused on ways to better understand Job Corps students.

On the second day of training, Sonja DePratt, the Center’s Mental Health Consultant, urged staff members to use breathing techniques as a way to manage stress. During this part of the program, everyone sat in a large circle while reaffirming the commitment to the principles of the Job Corps Program.

Later in the day, Derrick Ballantine, the Human Resources Coordinator, provided infor-mation on interviewing skills to the managers, going over the questions and techniques allowed by law.

Human Resources Manager Charrice Miller led the workshop on the Center’s rules about fraternization. The information covered the polices relating to the relationships between staff members, and it also explained the rules regarding students.

During his session, Career Preparation Period Supervisor Marcus Cage talked about the proper mind set for healthy relationships, emphasizing the importance of a positive mental attitude. To illustrate his point, he mentioned the Green Bay Packers, his favorite football team, drawing groans from the room full of Chicago Bears fans.

One of the most popular workshops was given by Recreation Supervisor Gregory Gray, and it focused on health, nutrition and weight management. During the interactive session, he em-phasized the importance of drinking plenty of water while trying to lose weight.