Upsides of the downturn

Every cloud, the saying goes, has a silver lining.

And that's true even of the darkest and gloomiest economic cloud to hang over this country in three generations.

Amid all the painful job losses, pay cuts, financial setbacks and nagging fear, there are people who have found that with adversity can come opportunity.

They include two people whose loss of jobs ultimately took them to greater happiness, an Omahan whose business has thrived exactly because of the recession, a young woman whose life has been jump-started by the effort to fix the downturn, and a new college graduate who feels lucky to be pursuing his dream.

• Tax credit means it's a great time to make the move into her own home
• Loss of banking job leads to fulfilling work with nonprofits
• Grateful for dogged job-search recruiter and opportunity to bring his family back to Nebraska
• Busier than ever with a job thriving in this economy
• Right out of college and able to follow dream of teaching

***

Tax credit means it's a great time to make the move into her own home

As a young woman making her way in the world, home ownership wasn't even on Marilynn Herman's radar screen a year ago.

But that was before the new $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, an effort by the federal government to stimulate the moribund real-estate market and get the economy moving again.

Thanks to that credit, Herman today is the proud owner of a cozy little $80,000 bungalow in the middle of Omaha.

“The tax credit was really the only reason I was looking,'' said Herman, a 21-year-old hairstylist. “When it came out, I knew I wanted to buy a house.''

Herman is an example of how the downturn for some has been a time of opportunity. Not only has it been a good time to buy a house, it also hasn't been a bad time to buy into the depressed investment market.

Of course, to do either it helps to have a stable job. Herman knows well how tough it is for many out there, hearing the stories from her clients as she's cutting, perming and styling their hair.

She feels fortunate that income-wise, she hasn't been negatively affected. She works for a mid-priced salon that she says has fared well compared with high-end competitors, and she's gradually been building her base of clients.

That left her in position to take advantage when President Barack Obama signed the stimulus bill that included the home tax credit.

She looked at a lot of houses before finding the century-old wood-frame house near 42nd and Center Streets. The price had recently been reduced, so she felt she was getting a good deal even without the credit that, in effect, will cover 10 percent of the purchase price.

She moved in November and has set about making it home, decking it out for the holidays. She enjoys lounging in the living room with Molly, her Great Dane, and Bella, her rat terrier. And though she works out west, she loves living in an older neighborhood.

“It's got a lot of character.''

***

Loss of banking job leads to fulfilling work with nonprofits

When Mabel Alarcon-Craven lost her banking job, she figured finding a new one would be a cinch. What she didn't know was that the banking industry nationally was on the verge of a meltdown.

It soon became clear it was time to find a new career path. That yearlong journey ultimately not only landed her in a new job, it also got her involved in something else she's found fulfilling and gratifying: providing financial education to low-income families.

“I work with a lot of families with financial problems, a lot of single moms,'' she said. “It has been a wonderful experience helping these families realize they can get financial freedom.''

Alarcon-Craven, a native of Colombia who married an American and is now a U.S. citizen, had worked as a business loan officer for an Omaha bank, focusing on the thriving Hispanic commercial district on South 24th Street.

She was disappointed to lose the job in May 2008. Luckily, her husband had a good job and could support the family during her job search.

In that process, she became acquainted with a pair of Omaha nonprofits, helping design a micro-loan program for one and working with another to help start a center for female entrepreneurs. While the positions didn't offer much in pay — one paid nothing at all — she met a lot of great people and was impressed by their desire to help others.

She eventually took a job as a financial professional with AXA Advisors, selling insurance and other financial products. She realized there was much untapped potential among the business contacts she had in south Omaha, many of whom had not really considered how their families could get the most out of their success.

But while that work is paying off, she's kept up her nonprofit involvement. She has been hired by a cooperative of local agencies to educate economically struggling families.

A definite silver lining in the recession has been how it has forced families at all income levels to focus on their finances. Under a grant, Alarcon-Craven will counsel 100 families over the next two years on how to budget, clean up their credit records and avoid financial traps.

“Mabel has expertise, wisdom and a good heart,'' said Julie Kalkowski, director of the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Financial Stability Partnership. “It's a winning combination.''

***

Grateful for dogged job-search recruiter and opportunity to bring his family back to Nebraska

For Kelly Blair, the job offer came out of nowhere.

It had been more than a year since he'd even talked to the Omaha job-search firm that tried to help him after he was laid off. He had long since accepted another job, taking a 40 percent pay cut and having to relocate his family to Kansas City.

But the recruiter not only remembered Blair, he tracked him down.

“Kelly, I have the perfect job for you,'' the recruiter said.

Turns out, he was right.

Thanks to the new logistics management job with Green Plains Renewable Energy, a fast-growing Omaha ethanol company, Blair and his family are now back in Omaha. He's back up to his former salary. And he feels both he and Green Plains have a bright future.

“I think this is a company for the long term,'' Blair said. “I'm doing what I love to do and working with a great bunch of people.''

For Blair, it's been a long and sometimes painful journey.

A previous employer went bankrupt and laid him off in November 2007, just as the two-year recession was kicking off. In a depressed job market, he struggled for eight months to find a job. But the 15-year military veteran says he kept faith that he'd ultimately land on his feet.

At one point Matt Edstrand, a recruiter Blair dealt with for Omaha's InSearch Recruiting and Staffing, told him he'd keep Blair's résumé on hand — a statement Blair took with a grain of salt. Subsequently, Blair accepted the Kansas City job.

But months later came Edstrand's fortuitous call. Blair started with Green Plains in January.

Despite the down economy and being in a commodity industry that has had its ups and downs, Green Plains is thriving, its Omaha headquarters staff doubling in the last year.

Blair's job is to make sure that once ethanol is sold it gets to the buyer, whether by rail or truck. He's had the satisfaction of negotiating deals that have saved the company millions of dollars.

“This is the most fun I've had,'' he said. “I'm really grateful.''

***

Busier than ever with a job thriving in this economy

Having worked for more than three decades as a job placement consultant, Joanne Peters knows well how her business fortunes tend to rise or fall with the economy.

How are you going to make money placing people in jobs when there are hardly any jobs out there?

But these days Peters is literally sleeping with her BlackBerry by her side and financially having her biggest year ever.

The reason: She was lucky to find a fluky niche, placing dozens of people with an insurance company whose business has thrived exactly because of the troubled economy.

“For the past year, it's been pretty much 24/7,'' Peters, 64, said. “I've been lucky.''

By all rights, this should have been a dismal year for Peters. Several business clients she's done work for in the past just aren't hiring.

But insurance is one industry that has fared relatively well. And one particular title insurance company that does business nationally has seen its need for attorneys skyrocket, in part because of the nation's foreclosure crisis.

This year she's already helped fill more than 100 positions for that company alone, double the total number of workers she normally places in a year. As she's scrambled to find workers, she's done business as early as 6:30 a.m. and as late as 2 a.m.

Despite all the demands, Peters has still found time for family, to do volunteer work and to travel. She plans to mark the new year with a trip to Spain.

But you can bet, she'll bring along her BlackBerry.

***

Right out of college and able to follow dream of teaching

This isn't exactly a good time to be coming out of college. Few of the recent graduates that Aaron Gillaspie knows have found jobs. And as his own graduation approached — commencement for Gillaspie was Saturday — things were kind of scary. A lot of potential employers wouldn't even look at his résumé.

But he feels very fortunate that in a span of days last month three offers came in, including the one he was most hoping for — Teach for America.

“I was very blessed,'' he said. “I knew in the back of my mind that if Teach for America came through, I would take it.''

As far as Gillaspie is concerned, there's never a bad time to pursue your dream.

That's why the confident 22-year-old declined the pair of good corporate job offers, is moving to New York City with his fiancee, and next fall will teach in an inner-city school.

“For me, it was all about my passion,'' Gillaspie said. “The more I thought about it, the more I realized I wanted to teach kids and impact their lives.''

Gillaspie already knew a little bit about what it's like to pursue dreams, no matter the odds.

The grandson of a former University of Nebraska-Lincoln quarterback, Gillaspie grew up in Littleton, Colo., with visions of playing for the Cornhuskers.

After enrolling at the university in 2006, he joined 150 other hopefuls during an open tryout in the spring of 2007 and was one of only two to make the team.

Though the walk-on fullback left the program after two years without ever seeing the field, his time in a Husker uniform profoundly changed his life.

The business major eventually realized through community outreach work with his teammates that he wanted to teach. It was too late to change his major, but someone in his church mentioned Teach for America, which would allow him into the classroom with his business degree.

His football contacts served him well in another way. He recently proposed to his girlfriend, former Husker cheerleader Elicia Dover, on the 50-yard line at Memorial Stadium. Former teammates Roy Helu and Zac Lee and NU Athletic Director Tom Osborne had a role in the elaborate, surprise proposal, appearing in a video that instructed Dover to meet her future husband out on the field.

Especially given the high cost of living in New York, Gillaspie knows his starting teaching salary won't go far. Still, he figures he has lots of time later to get out and make money.

“One thing the university has taught me,'' he said, “is you better do what you love.''

Contact the writer: 444-1130, henry.cordes@owh.coms

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