NATIONAL GAMBLING IMPACT STUDY COMMISSION

CHAIRMAN JAMES: Carla Taylor.

MS. TAYLOR: Good afternoon, Madam Chairman and Commissioners and everyone in the audience. My name is Carla Taylor and I work for Valet Parking Services for the Buffington Harbor casinos. I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity to present my statement to you.

Prior to my hiring with Valet Parking Services on November 24th, 1997 I worked for one of the KFC franchises, the one located on 5th Avenue in my home town of Gary, Indiana where I was born and raised. At KFC, my previous job, maybe the only good thing I can say about that job was it was close to home and very convenient, but as far as benefits, there weren't any and as far as being the hard worker that I am, the recognition was little for my job performance. The pay was minimal and you had to almost stay in that place seven days a week, 24 hours a day just to bring home enough to take care of my home and my two beautiful children, and me being a single parent that was very hard.

So my hiring with the casinos my life has done a complete turnaround and I don't have to worry too much about how I'm going to get the adequate medical attention for my children and also for myself because with Valet Parking Services for the casinos we have excellent medical benefits. We are guaranteed 80 hours or more bi-weekly which is really great. These casinos have great opportunities to Gary and the surrounding areas, East Chicago, Hammond, Whiting, etcetera.

I believe these jobs have made a lot of people's lives more comfortable for them and that's really important because like I said, for us being single parents it can be a struggle. I didn't become a single parent by choice; it was sort of chosen for me. My daughter is nine. Her father was killed three years ago. And my son who is four, his father I guess wasn't mature enough to handle being a parent. So I am the sole provider for my kids and myself.

With these jobs at the casinos it has made me a more independent person. They show me the appreciation for my hard work. This month I was nominated employee of the month, which really makes me feel good. And to my surprise, not even known until just the other day, I was promoted from being a hiker which is my job title, to being a captain and training for a permanent position. With that, I'll close.

CHAIRMAN JAMES; Thank you very much.