Six years ago, Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) started the Congressional Job Fair to help reduce unemployment in her 7th Congressional District.

Sewell’s seventh annual Congressional Job Fair will be held on Aug. 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Alabama State University’s Dunn-Oliver Acadome in Montgomery.

“I’m really excited about the employees and people registering to sign up,” Sewell said Thursday from Washington, D.C. “There’s nothing more important than the job fair. I ran my campaign on job priority and job development.”

When the Selma native first took office in 2011 as District 7 representative, the region’s unemployment rate was almost 14 percent. By the end of February, it was 6.2 percent.

“The economy is doing well, which is awesome, I want folks in my district to get better economic opportunities,” Sewell said. “We’re not where we want to be, but we’re headed in the right direction. It’s my job to provide better job opportunities.”

The first black woman from Alabama elected to Congress, Sewell’s district covers several counties.

Sewell is always passionate about representing and improving Alabama’s 7th Congressional District. Her parents are the late Andrew Sewell and Nancy Sewell. The Sewell Patriarch coached high school basketball for 19 years at Selma High. Her mother spent 43 years as a librarian and is the local Reading Is Fundamental coordinator.

“I’m a proud product of my District,” Sewell said. “I come from great stock. My district changed the course of American politics.”

An estimated 100 employers will attend the Job Fair, including Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Honda, Regions Bank, Alabama Power, U.S. Military, Wells Fargo, University of Alabama and Auburn University.

Dallas County and Selma will be represented by three companies: Bush Hog, Vaughan Regional Medical Center and City of Selma.

The University of West Alabama hosted Sewell’s job fair last year in Livingston. Sewell estimates between 700 and 800 attendees from 60 employers appeared. She enjoys taking the job fair around throughout her district.

“We move the job fair every year,” Sewell said. “We hadn’t been in Montgomery in three years.”

Registration is free and available online at www.eventbrite.com/e/7th-annual-congressional-job-fair-registration-47922266790?aff=pr

A full list of employers scheduled to be at the job fair can be found on Sewell’s website at https://sewell.house.gov/7th-annual-congressional-job-fair-employers