Win a Job in Key West

buffettbride · Post by **buffettbride** » May 1, 2006 2:40 pm

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14463192.htm

Help wanted -- rent's on us
A Keys kayak and outdoor company had no luck filling a position, so they are sponsoring a contest to relocate one person to paradise.
BY JENNIFER BABSON
jbabson@MiamiHerald.com

KEY WEST - Imagine a gig that allows you to bike to your job in shorts and sandals, work around the water alongside a bunch of friendly dogs and their two-legged masters and never, ever, have to battle a South Florida commute.

The salary: $75,000. Housing provided.

Sound like paradise? For one lucky person, this escapist fantasy will become reality.

In a novel campaign to draw attention to their company -- and to an affordable housing crunch in the Keys that has spawned a labor shortage -- the owners of Lazy Dog Island Outfitters & Outdoor Adventure Co. want someone to ``Win a Job in Key West.''

LABOR SQUEEZE

The employee-owned company runs kayak and outdoor trips and also designs and sells a growing line of outdoor clothing and accessories.

After trying -- and failing -- to hire a new employee for more than two months earlier this year, company co-owner Sue Cooper devised the idea for a yearlong contest.

''We had an ad in the paper 10 weeks in a row, and we couldn't find anyone to work,'' Cooper said. ``You can only complain so long, then you have to do something about it.''

Aspirants can check out the contest at www.winajobinkeywest.com, and apply by submitting a 300-word essay, a $10 fee and a job history.

''Somebody is going to end up with a great job,'' said Cooper, 39, who is trailed most days by a black-and-white border collie named Molly.

The winner would begin working alongside Lazy Dog's 12-person staff in June 2007. The job will involve participation in every aspect of the company, from marketing and sales to leading trips and promoting the Lazy Dog brand.

''We want people who will fit in and work hard,'' Cooper said.

The contest's website and word-of-mouth buzz have generated most of the interest so far.

In less than a month, more than 100 folks from 32 states have applied for the chance to toil for the company, whose trademark slogan, ''Slow Down, Dog!'' is emblazoned on T-shirts and baseball caps. Lazy Dog is run out of a houseboat office overlooking the Hurricane Hole Marina on Stock Island, just outside Key West.

ECLECTIC APPLICANTS

''I am six years clear of breast cancer, and I went on a retreat and learned to kayak and so now every chance I get and every place I go I try to kayak,'' said Jodi Grzeczka, 55, of Genoa City, Wis. Grzeczka works for a company that peddles stainless steel pumps and valves to the food-processing industry.

''That job sounds a lot more interesting than what I'm doing,'' Grzeczka said. ``I'd really rather get out of the sitting-behind-a-desk scene.''

Another contestant, California college student Jeffrey Smead, 22, insists he has a map of the Florida Keys tattooed on his right ankle.

''I am borderline crazy about the Keys. It's all I think about. It's the first thing I think about when I wake up and what I think about when I go to bed,'' Smead said in an interview. The hospitality management major spent two summers recently working at a Boy Scout camp just north of Key West.

Cooper says she views the contest as a chance to help someone realize a dream she gambled on nearly 10 years ago, when she left a career in marketing to relocate to Key West from Connecticut. Like many, she made the move after visiting the area on vacation and falling in love with island life.

''I was doing everything I honestly thought I wanted to do but there was something missing,'' Cooper said of life on the mainland.

For would-be Keys residents, though, she does have some parting advice.

``If you slow down, you can't help but enjoy every day.''

Tiki Bar · Post by **Tiki Bar** » April 11, 2007 10:23 pm

Same topic, different title, same reminder! Couple weeks left!

Gulfbreeze · Post by **Gulfbreeze** » April 11, 2007 10:26 pm

Tiki Bar wrote:Same topic, different title, same reminder! Couple weeks left!

Not enough liquor in the world for me to want to live/work in KW..

Tiki Bar · Post by **Tiki Bar** » April 11, 2007 10:26 pm

Deadline April 30, 2007

http://www.winajobinkeywest.com/

Tiki Bar · Post by **Tiki Bar** » April 11, 2007 10:27 pm

Gulfbreeze wrote:
Tiki Bar wrote:Same topic, different title, same reminder! Couple weeks left!
Not enough liquor in the world for me to want to live/work in KW..

All it would take for me is the warm backwash of 1 beer!

Gulfbreeze · Post by **Gulfbreeze** » April 11, 2007 10:33 pm

Tiki Bar wrote:
Gulfbreeze wrote:
Tiki Bar wrote:Same topic, different title, same reminder! Couple weeks left!
Not enough liquor in the world for me to want to live/work in KW..
All it would take for me is the warm backwash of 1 beer!

Would a backwash of Nattie Ice work???

My personal opinion...KW is overrated...

jonesbeach10 · Post by **jonesbeach10** » April 11, 2007 10:55 pm

When I went to KW last year, I took a kayak trip with Lazy Dog. The guys are pros, and my family and I had a blast.

pojo · Post by **pojo** » April 12, 2007 9:45 pm

Key West would be nice, but i've got my dream job.

<-------------------

caly · Post by **caly** » April 12, 2007 10:11 pm

Sweet....open to Canadians?

pojo · Post by **pojo** » April 13, 2007 3:42 pm

caly wrote:Sweet....open to Canadians?

It doesn't hurt to apply

~Hippolyte~ · Post by **~Hippolyte~** » April 13, 2007 4:24 pm

pojo wrote:
caly wrote:Sweet....open to Canadians?
It doesn't hurt to apply

do you think that applies to people who've never kayaked before? I've river-rafted, but have no experience in a kayak.

maybe it sounds so good because I'm sitting behind my desk in my cell...I mean cube, right now.

pojo · Post by **pojo** » April 13, 2007 9:25 pm

Seriously, I have no idea...... I'm thinking that that the prime candidate must have a background in kayaking.