The 4th Annual Workamper Rendezvous, produced by Workamper News Inc. (WKN), is Oct, 21-23 in Heber Springs, Ark. The event is geared toward Workampers and those considering becoming Workampers, and features 18 different seminars provided by 15 experts from the RV and Workamping world.
It’s an annual event for the growing workforce that, as Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA) Chairman and CEO Jim Rogers said, “There’s a whole workforce in this industry that we benefit from in a big way that’s growing tremendously, and that’s the Workamper. We have 2,500 couples that are qualified for what we call an ‘All-Star status,’ which means they worked one season for us, but we have some that have been working 13 seasons for us” at KOA’s nearly 500 locations across North America.
KOA CEO Jim Rogers
“This group is growing by leaps and bounds. This will be hundreds of thousands of people. NASCAR uses them, Disney uses them,” Rogers said. “They’re people who have basically retired, want to stay active and are ready to move. Many of them have been RV owners. In our case they bring their home with them, they work for us for three months, they make minimum wage but they’re not eroding their 401(k)s, their retirement funds,” he explained.
The benefits for campground operators are significant, according to Rogers. “They’re gregarious, they’re mature, they’re great mentors for us that might have younger kids working in the park. This audience is just going to continue to grow with people who want to continue to stay active without eroding their retirement fund.
“We have access to these folks, tens of thousands of them out there, a whole group,” Rogers said.
For more information, visit workamperevent.com.
What those Workampers will learn at the Workamper Rendezvous seminars include:
- “Begin with the Basics: Eight Steps to Finding a Workamper Job” by Jaimie Hall Bruzenak, The RV Lifestyle Expert. This seminar will walk you through steps for finding a job that is a match for you.
- “Ensuring a Bountiful Harvest of Jobs: Set Yourself Up for Success” by Jaimie Hall Bruzenak, The RV Lifestyle Expert. In “Set yourself up for success” you’ll learn what you need to do before you accept a job to make sure you have a successful summer. And, if things turn off course, you’ll know what to do to get them back on track.
- “Grow Your Workamper Website Skills” by Jody & Luke Duquette, Workamper Website Wizards. You’ll walk away knowing where the tools are on the Workamper News website and how to use them. You will be taken, step-by-step through main tools like Awesome Applicants Resume Builder, online issues of the magazine, using PYE and the Workamper Experiences forum, and more. Leave your specialty tools in the barn, we’ll keep it simple enough for any level of computer user to understand.
- “Happy RV Trails to You” by by Terry Cooper, The Texas RV Professor. Learn how you can drive peacefully into the sunset knowing that you have the skills and abilities to enjoy the Workamping lifestyle.
- “The New Workamper Paradigm! The Good…The Bad…and the Ugly…” by Steve Anderson, WKN President & Workamping Coach. Spend 90 minutes to go down the road of Workamper history and how the lifestyle has evolved and will continue to do so. This knowledge will provide you with advanced understanding and skills to improve your future Workamping journey.
- In addition, a seminar by George Montgomery, The RV Tax Master, will help you better understand the tax aspects of the Workamping and RVing lifestyle. Also, a seminar by Mark Kohler, an attorney and tax accountant, will be going into the details on the benefits of having a small business such as providing tax write-offs and asset protection. Finally, participating employers will give a presentation about their Workamper opportunities, and then attendees will have a chance to participate in some Q&A.
