The scratching of pens could be heard as rows of people hunched over on any flat space they could find at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center worked to hurriedly fill out a handful of applications, finishing one and beginning another.
Nearly 450 people filled the civic center for the twice-a-year Caldwell is Hiring event, organized by the Caldwell County Economic Development Commission in conjunction with Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute along with NCWorks, in hopes of finding a job or starting a career.
As people bustled around the room to speak with applicants, the veterans of the event could often be picked out among the nervous first-timers.