William R. Martin Middle and Valley Grande Elementary Schools held a joint Career Day on Monday, inviting people from a wide variety of professions to speak to students about what they do.

Ovetta Jones, Martin Middle counselor, said Career Day is an annual event at the school, but this was the first time elementary-aged children were involved.

Between 45 professionals &045; ranging from law enforcement officers to medical physicians to postal workers &045; spent time with the students talking about what they did and answering questions.

The speakers rotated between classrooms throughout the day, spending about 20 to 30 minutes with each group.

Some of the visitors, like the police officers, fire fighters, and funeral home representative, brought the vehicles they use on a daily basis for the students to examine.

The students also seemed to be very excited to hear about the different jobs in Dallas County. Many of them were not hesitant to ask lots of different questions.

Working on a project like Career Day takes months of planning, Jones said, who had to make contact with area citizens and create a guest list of occupations.

Both the counselors agreed that their Career Day was a success.

The students at Martin Middle got to end their day with an hour of musical guests.

Christopher Austin of Uniontown, along with

Bobby More and the Rhythm Aces of Montgomery, performed in the school gym as a special treat for both students and teachers after an afternoon of learning about the different aspects of various careers and the wide range of jobs available.