Assessing Options

Sandy James
Published: April 3, 2008

People entered the room with smiles and hugs and there was a family reunion atmosphere as displaced employees from Orange’s AB&C call center filled the Town of Orange Public Works Community room Tuesday afternoon.
Representatives from the Virginia Employment Commission, Orange County Administration, Orange County Department of Social Services, the Culpeper Career Resources Center and several local employers met at the community room on Warren Street to try to find solutions to hardships caused by the abrupt closing of AB&C Group’s call center.
A March 10 layoff affected 20 people, and the business shut down completely March 14, without warning to the remaining 60 employees.
Online news articles reported AB&C call centers were also shut down in West Virginia and Rhode Island and parent company Blue Sky Brands filed for bankruptcy in March.
Attempts to reach company officials were unsuccessful.
Located in the Old Silk Mill Building since 1988, the call center employed as many as 155 people, who handled orders and responses for leading catalog companies.
Cynthia Morris worked at the call center four years.
She was among the 20 affected by the March 10 layoff.
“We had an idea the company was in trouble, but we didn’t think things were this bad,” she said.
“My insurance is gone and my IRA is frozen,” Morris said.
She has put in several applications and seems quite optimistic about her future.
“I’m willing to try something different,” she said.
Morris holds a master’s degree in planning and design and hopes to make it work for her.
Nikki Young was at the call center seven years.
“I loved my job. I miss all the people. It’s really hard to be with them every day and suddenly it’s over,” she said.
“You can look around and see we’re all like family,” Young said.
She is also willing to try a different type of work. She recently put in two applications at State Farm and has been to four interviews at MacMillan Publishing Services.
Nora Bell, who worked at the call center for the last year, waited in line to get employment information.
“I miss my friends,” she said. “I really didn’t expect them to shut the doors.”
Peter Mocarski, manager of the Culpeper office of the Virginia Employment Commission provided claim filing information for people who had not received paychecks, and information on unemployment benefits.
Local employers, Associated Training Services, Plow and Hearth, World Strides and MacMillan Publishing Services all have job openings and encouraged attendees to apply for the jobs. 
Orange County Department of Social Services and the Culpeper Career Resources Center provided information on benefits.
Julie Jordan, assistant county administrator, invited people with any questions to call her at 540-672-1238.