Former student helps WCTC fundraising
Douglasville, GA - April 8, 2007
Douglas County Sentinel, By Staff Writer Winston Jones
At age 17, Anita Buffington was a single mother, a high school dropout and was stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of minimum wage jobs. Now 28 years later, she is a successful Realtor, among the nation’s top five commercial real estate agents with Metro Brokers/GMAC. She credits West Central Technical College (WCTC) as the major factor that turned her life around. Buffington recently joined the WCTC Foundation Board for the school that played a major role in the course of her career. “Although I’m very busy in my job, I’m happy to serve on the foundation board,” she said. “Because I attribute most of my success to WCTC, I want to give other people the opportunity I had.” She was born in Haralson County, but moved with her mother to Newnan at age eight when her father died. After leaving high school in 1979, she found herself with a child to raise and no job prospects. “I couldn’t find a decent job and couldn’t see myself finding one,” she recalled. “I can’t remember who it was, but somebody suggested I go to Carroll Tech (now West Central Technical College). That was truly a life-changing event.”
Buffington quickly earned her GED diploma and began a diploma program in marketing management. She attended the school under Job Training and Partnership Act (JTPA) assistance. “It was very difficult,” she said. “I would go to school eight hours and then work a second shift job. I was determined if I could invest a year of my time, I would have a career and wouldn’t be stuck in dead end jobs.” By the time Buffington received her diploma, the school had already lined up job interviews for her. She accepted a job as manager of a Pic and Pay shoe store. “They handed me the keys and told me I was the store manager,” she said, “I couldn’t believe it.” After eight years as store manager, she moved to a management job with Wal-Mart in Rome. A few years later, she joined Julian LeCraw, Inc. as manager of an apartment complex. In the meantime, over a number of years of night and online classes, she earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from University of West Georgia in 1999.
It was while managing the apartments that she began looking into small business options. In 1992, she opened Herbal Body Works, Inc. in Douglasville. Over a 12-year period, with the help of good store managers, she built the business into a success, finally selling it a year ago. She went into commercial real estate work with Metro Brokers three years ago. She is now a leading agent, selling residential and commercial development property. “WCTC plays a role in many people’s career changes,” said Ned Fowler, chairman of the WCTC Foundation board. “We try to stay on top of the workforce’s needs in the programs we offer. The college is still small enough that students have one-on=one experiences with faculty.” “We’re totally responsive to business and industry needs,” said Jim Winchester, WCTC public relations specialist. “If there’s something new, we can readily adapt to it.” Winchester said the school strives to be the changing force in many students’ lives, as it was for Buffington. “Today I see a lot of people exactly where I was,” Buffington said. “Hopefully, by serving on the foundation board, I can let them know there’s a way out for them, too.”
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