The Workamper Show Podcast

Today I am going to speak with an employer in Florida about working in one of the most ecologically-diverse places on earth: The Everglades.

J.J. Condella is the general manger of Flamingo Adventures, which is part of the Guest Services network of companies which are contracted by the National Park Service and other agencies to provide food, gifts, lodging and recreation to people visiting the parks.

The Everglades encompasses 1.5 ...

Today I will speak with a couple from New Orleans who have found new purpose and enjoy lots of fun by working at several amusement parks.

Dawn and Jorge Hernandez have been married for 42 years and spent most of their lives living in Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and New Orleans before deciding to hit the road as full-time RVers.

They were attracted to the lifestyle by friends who had purchased an RV to do some tailgating before Loui...

Today I am going to interview a couple from Louisiana who have been RVing since 2004 and have lots of experience Workamping at various jobs throughout North America – even Alaska.

Dale and Margie Parker completed their first RV trip in a pop-up camper when they traveled 6,000 miles along the west coast. That convinced them to upgrade to something a bit sturdier, so they opted for a 40-foot Jayco fifth wheel. They selected a fifth w...

Today I am speaking with a woman who has developed multiple income streams to fund her family’s RV travel experience and she’ll describe some of them.

Danielle Sulzer is originally from Flagstaff, Ariz. She has been traveling at a breakneck speed through the Midwest this summer with her husband, Scott, and two daughters, 13-year-old Samantha and 5-year-old Lilly. She was in Dennison, Texas, when the interview was recorded six weeks...

Today I will be speaking with a Workamper who just wrapped up his second assignment, this one working at a state park in Wisconsin and he’s heading to a new job at the other end of the state. He was celebrating his 67th birthday the day we recorded the interview.

Richard Ruppel is a former truck driver and HVAC installer from Milwaukee, WI, who just started Workamping this summer. He had three back-to-back assignments and is really...

Today I will be speaking with an employer from Iowa who is looking for volunteer Workampers for the 2022 season to work in a remote part of the state, but not too far from Des Moines.

Jessica Heath is a park ranger with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project at Lake Red Rock, Iowa. Nestled in central Iowa, about 35 minutes southeast of Des Moines, Lake Red Rock is the largest lake in the state.

It was made in 1969 when the U.S. A...

Today, I’ll be interviewing a couple from Pennsylvania who currently live in Phoenix. They started RVing a little over one year ago after they retired and they will be sharing their story.

Doug Lehman and Donna Hughes had been RVing for five years by taking shorter trips when they opted to go full time once they retired. They started Workamping right away, then took three months off last winter to see what real retirement was like....

Today we are going to talk about a big what-if in Workamping. What if you’re injured, sick, need surgery or require some other type of long-term care, but you don’t have a sticks-and-bricks home to return so you can recover? What are your options? Fortunately, there is one in the great state of Texas.

Russ Johnson is the executive director of Escapee’s CARE, which stands for Continuing Assistance for Retired Escapees. It’s a progra...

Today I am going to speak with a couple who I interviewed two years ago. They were the first Workampers I ever interviewed for this podcast and we’re going to elaborate on that brief conversation recorded at the Workamper Rendezvous in October 2019.

Since our last conversation, Mike and Betty Gill have sold their sticks-and-bricks home and hit the road as full-time RVers along with Mike’s youngest son. They have been sidelined this...

Jill and Randy Shepard are from Raleigh, N.C., which is their home base. They have been RVing for a little over a year after having started out of necessity during the COVID lockdowns. Randy is semi-retired, but Jill works in a sales position for Senior Living, a company with 120 locations around the country which provides care and housing for seasoned citizens. She is assigned to work at 14 of those locations where she remains ons...

Ann Marie and Jim Fulton have worked many different positions and currently have two Workamping jobs. Jim does nighttime security work at a Dollywood campground three nights a week, and they also drive a tram taking people from the parking lot to the Dollywood front entrance 12 to 14 hours a week. One job provides a free campsite and the other gives them spending money. They describe some of the duties they perform and explain why ...

Workamper News editor Jody Anderson Duquette about how employers can find the best Workampers for jobs they are looking to fill. This episode just isn’t for employers, Workampers themselves will learn more about what type of people employers are hoping to find. Communication is super critical for a successful experience for employers and Workampers alike. Once a hiring decision has been made, it’s really important for employers to ...

Dr. Lynne Swanson is a retired veterinarian who founded Safe Harbor Farms, a canine rescue and rehabilitation center in coastal North Carolina. She grew up living with around 20 dogs at a time and has invested three decades – more than half her life – working with large groups of dogs. She calls them the best teachers because, once you learn their language, they can tell you everything you need to know about what they are thinking ...

This summer, Nina is working at the Georgia Veterans State Park where she works as a host aboard the SAM Shortline Excursion Train. Nina gets to hand out brochures, sell tickets and answer questions passengers may have. She also works in the commissary car, which means she gets to fix and serve lunch as well as prepare snacks. A former kindergarten teacher and principal, Nina started Workamping in 2019 at the urging of several frie...

Pastor and author John Stange makes a great point that regardless of how much time we may spend speaking with other people, we spend much more time every day talking to ourselves. John says we all tend to preach messages to our hearts that are unhealthy and discouraging. Many times we allow thoughts of one discouragement after another to replay on an endless loop through our minds. We also subject ourselves to a litany of unhealthy...

Today we have a great show planned. I will be talking with Jody Anderson-Duquette about finding the ideal Workamping job. She is the executive director of Workamper News and one of the owners of the business. She literally grew up in the Workamping industry and has a lot of experience connecting people to short-term jobs. She has identified 12 steps people can take to find the right job for them. It all starts with doing your hom...

Christian Resort Ministries matches volunteer chaplains to more than 40 RV resorts in Arizona, Texas and Florida every winter. Not only are the chaplains leading weekly worship services, they are also leading Bible studies or hosting family activities, like movie nights, at the park. Sometimes they organize potluck gatherings while other times they may be visiting people in hospitals or running errands for those who need some help....

Aramark contracts with a number state and national parks to provide hospitality services at Olympic National Park in Washington, Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, South Lake Tahoe in California, and Lake Powell National Recreation Area at the Arizona/Utah border. Some resorts hire people to work at the front desk, provide concierge services or do housekeeping jobs. Other sites hire workers to engage guests in various activities ...

Austin Faught is the founder and president of RV Park Management, a company located near San Antonio. His firm owns two RV parks in Texas and one in Florida. However, his company also manages RV parks for people who buy campgrounds, but don’t want to manage the day-do-day operations of the business. Austin likes to hire Workampers because they understand what customers expect and they’re really tuned in to what it takes to deliver ...