CANNONSBURG — In what many said was a vivid illustration of the harsh economic times the nation and region are experiencing, hundreds showed up at Kyova Tri-State Mall on Thursday looking for work.

An annual job fair sponsored by the mall, Ashland Community and Technical College, the Southwestern Community Action Council and the TENCO One-Stop Career Center drew one of its largest crowds in years.

The event wasn’t scheduled to begin until 10 a.m. However, people were lined up at the mall’s main entrance about 8:30 a.m. waiting to get in, said ACTC’s Nancy Menhouse, one of the organizers of the event.

While there wasn’t any kind of system in place to count the precise number of job-seekers, Menshouse estimated that more than 300 had showed up by noon.

Guy Workman’s story was no doubt typical of many of those who were filling out applications, passing out resumes and chatting with prospective new employers.

Workman, of Kenova, said he was laid off earlier this month from his job as a truck driver after his employer of 23 years decided to downsize because of the economic climate.

Workman’s wife, Penny, said her household, which also includes an elementary school-aged child, an older child living at home and a grandchild, was having to make the adjustment from her husband’s $50,000-to-$60,000-a-year job to living on $1,700 a month in unemployment benefits.

“It’s scary,” she said. “We’re looking at possibly losing our house.”

Asked if he had found anything promising at the job fair, Guy Workman said he thought he had. He said he liked the idea of enrolling in pharmacy tech school.

“I’ve been driving a truck too long,” he said. “It’s time for me to do something else.”

Allison Mills, of Rush, was seated at one of the tables in the mall’s food court, filling out job applications for King’s Daughters Medical Center and Tri-State Airport.

Mills, 22, said she was looking for a new job to replace one she recently left at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center because it interfered with her academic schedule.

“I’m looking for just about anything right now,” she said. “I’m just interested in getting my foot in the door.”

About 60 businesses and organizations were represented at the job fair, said Menshouse, who is coordinator of career and job placement at ACTC.

Several of the managers and human resource directors who were staffing tables at the event said they were impressed with many of the applicants who had been by to see them.

“We’ve had some quality candidates, and there’s been a lot of interest in the jobs we have to offer,” said Peggy Everman of Diversicare, who was recruiting employees for Boyd Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Everman said the nursing home was looking for registered and licensed practical nurses, nursing assistants and students for nursing assistant classes, which she teaches. She also said the home had housekeeping, laundry and dietary positions available.

Jim Moore, a sales representative with Ashland Office Supply, said a number of highly talented folks had dropped off resumes at his table.

Moore said the company wasn’t currently hiring, but wanted to be at the job fair so it could build a pool of qualified applicants.

“We’re not going to be hiring anyone today or tomorrow, but you never know when that might change,” he said.

Jerri Compton and Chuck Howson, who were representing the U.S. Census Bureau at the event, said a number of folks had expressed interest in working full- or part-time for the 2010 Census.

Howson, a regional assistant manager for recruitment with the Census, said he wasn’t particularly surprised with the large turnout for the event. At a similar one in Pikeville he attended recently, “people were lined up for blocks,” he said.

Sonny Allen, director of I-N Touch School of Massage Therapy in Huntington, had one of the more popular tables at the event. As part of his effort to recruit new students, he was offering free massages to anyone who wanted them.

“It gives people the opportunity to experience what a professional massage is like,” he said. “That’s kind of how I got started. I wanted to be able to make people feel as good as I felt when I got my first massage.”