
I absolutely love playing sports and participating in other outdoor activities. Physical activities are great because they provide nearly immediate feedback. You have a great idea of how you’re performing and how hard you can push yourself. That’s why the National Ability Center in Park City, UT uses activities like “alpine and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, swimming, cycling, waterskiing, horseback riding, rafting,” and more to aid the “the development of lifetime skills for people of all ages and abilities.” By using specially designed equipment and well-trained instructors (many of whom are individuals with disabilities), The National Ability Center is able to bring these wonderful activities to people who may otherwise never have a chance to participate.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
education,
events,
non-profit,
outdoors,
program development,
public relations,
sports,
Utah
Reasoning Mind is an education focused non-profit that uses the web to teach kids math, and they’re hiring 30 new grads as Program Coordinators. Learn more about these amazing entry level opportunities.

It looks like yesterday’s post on The Human Fund got a lot of you. April Fools! (If you didn’t get the jokes, you’ll find the explanations here and here.) Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about sports. We have the Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship tonight, the Women’s NCAA Basketball Championship tomorrow, the Frozen Four next weekend, and Opening Day for Major League Baseball happening in between. I love this time of year, and I’m sure the folks at row27 Studios do too. row27 Studios is a Minneapolis, MN based company that “provides digital solutions for sports teams.” By combining state of the art technology with sports marketing acumen, they’ve built a business that works with some of the biggest names in sports.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
all employers,
interactive media,
marketing,
Minnesota,
software development,
sports,
video,
web development

I think I saw one of the best hockey games I’ll ever see in my life last night. I made the drive from Chicago up to Green Bay, WI to see the heroic Cornell Big Red take on the evil University of Michigan Wolverines in the first round of the Division I NCAA Tournament. I was devastated when Michigan scored two goals in the first minute and thirty three seconds and relieved when the second goal was called off after the officials viewed the replay. In addition to the overturned goal, there was a shorthanded goal, a missed penalty shot, a 5 minute major, a prolonged 5×3 that didn’t lead to a goal, a game tying goal late in the 3rd period (for the bad guys), and an overtime game winning goal for the good guys. I woke up with no voice and an inability to think about anything but hockey, which is why we’re going to take a look at Colorado Springs, CO based USA Hockey today. It was founded in 1936 and has been “the National Governing Body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States” since. In addition to that, USA Hockey does everything that it can to “promote the growth of hockey in America and provide the best possible experience for all participants by encouraging, developing, advancing and administering the sport.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
coaching,
Colorado,
hockey,
member services,
non-profit,
program development,
sports

Behavioral change is hard. Really hard. Whether you’re trying to be more diligent about networking or trying to lose a few pounds, you have to understand your own psychological shortfalls. If you try to make 20 changes all at once, you are going to fail. That’s why I really like how Greatist approaches health and fitness. They are aiming to inspire “the world to make one healthier choice per week.” It doesn’t sound like much, but it really adds up. And once you’re committed to one healthy choice a week, it gets a heck of a lot easier to make another one… and another one. Greatist is based in New York, NY, and they pursue their mission by providing health and fitness related content on their website. There are a million other sites that do this, but Greatist has a unique approach, a targeted market of the “young, savvy, and social,” and drastically growing traffic. Those are all really good signs.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
blogging,
brand management,
communications,
community management,
design,
editorial,
fitness,
information technology,
marketing,
New York,
nutrition,
online marketing,
photography,
public relations,
software development,
sports,
web development,
writing

As a guy who has been a fanatical Yankee fan as long as I can remember, I’ve probably heard this jingle at least 10,000 times. If it doesn’t sound familiar, then you either don’t live in the Northeast or have completely sequestered yourself from anything related to sports. The jingle belongs to Modell’s, a New York, NY based company that is “is the nation’s oldest, family-owned and operated, retailer of sporting goods, sporting apparel, menswear and brand name athletic footwear.” Desite the fact that Modell’s “operate over 140 stores throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Virginia, Rhode Island and the District Of Columbia,” I don’t think that I’ve ever stepped foot in one. That’s probably an anomaly because I love sporting goods, and their branding is about as good as it gets.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
community management,
customer service,
marketing,
New Jersey,
New York,
retail,
sports
Are you an enthusiastic, reliable college grad who loves working with kids? SmartSitting is looking for full and part-time nannies and babysitters to join their network. They connect experienced childcare providers with the best jobs in NYC. Learn more by visiting SmartSitting.com. You can also view current opportunities and apply to join their network.

This weekend I spent an equal amount of time watching sports on tv and playing sports outside. That didn’t leave a lot of time to read about sports online, but I’ll guarantee you that a lot of sports sites saw a ton of traffic this weekend (and will continue to see it over the next few weeks). One of those sites is SB Nation, which is a site that is focused on “reinventing the media model with profitable, high-quality, innovative coverage from passionate, talented creators.” SB Nation used to be a company on its own, but it’s been so successful that a larger company called Vox Media has been built around it. They’re based in Washington, DC, and they also run The Verge, a technology news site, and will be launching a gaming focused site soon. Word is that they just closed a big round of funding, and the expectation is that they’ll use the cash to build out into more verticals.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
advertising,
all employers,
analyst,
blogging,
design,
editorial,
graphic design,
interactive media,
journalism,
New York,
production,
software development,
sports,
video games,
Washington DC,
web development,
writing

I played beach volleyball yesterday. On St. Patrick’s Day! And I was hot! No, I didn’t go on vacation. Chicago is having an amazing stretch of unseasonably warm weather. The best thing about it is that it gets people out doing what they love because they know that it still could snow again. For me it’s volleyball (or fishing if I can escape the city), but for others it may be running, playing with their dog, or riding a bike. Since I saw a ton of bikes yesterday, I thought it would be a good day to take a look at Bike New York. They’re a New York, NY based non-profit organization that aims to “promote and encourage bicycling and bicycle safety through education, public events, and collaboration with community and government organizations.” Biking is good for cities and good for people, so Bike New York isn’t just about biking for biking’s sake.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
administrative,
all employers,
education,
green,
New York,
non-profit,
sports,
teaching,
transportation

This weather is insane. Yesterday it hit 80 degrees in Chicago. The 10-day forecast would be awesome for June… and it’s mid-March. As a result, all I want to do is be outside. But to be honest, even when the weather sucks, I still usually want to be outside. With the kind of gear that companies like Outdoor Research put out, there’s no excuse no matter what the weather. Outdoor Research is based in Seattle, WA, and they’re focused “on creating functional solutions for human powered adventure.” The company was founded in 1981 by a physicist named Ron Gregg. He was unhappy with how his gear performed on one of his outdoor adventures, so he decided to make a better version. They started with handwear, headwear, and gaiters, but after finding success in those areas started developing new product lines.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
apparel,
design,
fashion,
outdoors,
product development,
sports,
Washington

I remember when getting a new catalog in the mail made for an exciting day. My favorite catalog had to be Things You Never Knew Existed, but most of the ones I got were focused on baseball or fishing. I don’t know why I remember this, but I was always jealous of a friend who got the Eastbay catalog. It was filled with all kind of sporting goods and apparel, and for some reason I never thought to sign up to get it. While Eastbay, which is based in Wausau, WI, still has a catalog business, they’ve unsurprisingly moved a lot of what they do online. To me the coolest thing about Eastbay is their story. According to Wikipedia, they were founded in 1980 to “to meet the performance needs of local high school and college athletes within Central Wisconsin.” By 1995 they had grown big enough to go public. A few years later they were bought out by Woolworth’s, which became Foot Locker, Inc. It just shows how big a company can get even if they start by serving a small niche market.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
analyst,
apparel,
buyer,
customer service,
design,
e-commerce,
footwear,
graphic design,
marketing,
merchandising,
online marketing,
planner,
shoes,
sports,
Wisconsin

The next car I get will definitely have some sort of iPhone integration. Right now I still rely on one of those tape to AUX thingies, which means that I usually just listen to the radio. I couldn’t find any good stats on the topic, but I have to think that listeners in cars are what’s keeping radio going. But according to Entercom, radio is still going strong. You would expect them to say that though, considering that they’re “one of the five largest radio broadcasting companies in the United States.” Entercom is headquartered in Bala Cynwyd, PA, but they operate more than “100 stations in 23 markets, including San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Denver, Portland, Sacramento and Kansas City.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
all employers,
California,
Colorado,
copywriting,
entertainment,
Florida,
Indiana,
journalism,
Kansas,
Louisiana,
marketing,
Massachusetts,
Missouri,
New York,
North Carolina,
Oregon,
Pennsylvania,
production,
promotions,
radio,
Rhode Island,
sales,
South Carolina,
sports,
Tennessee,
Texas,
Virginia,
Washington,
Wisconsin

As of today pitchers and catchers have reported to Spring Training for every team except for the White Sox, Marlins, and Rangers. Baseball is here, and I couldn’t be happier. Last year I went to games at Wrigley, U.S. Cellular, and Yankee Stadium, and every time I paid under face value for my tickets. How’d I do that? I use StubHub and wait until 3-4 hours before the game starts and buy while people are trying to dump tickets that will soon be worth nothing. Markets work best when you have many buyers and sellers, and that’s why I’m able to get such good deals. The big loser in all this is the original ticketing agent. Because their prices are set many months in advance, they can’t react to market conditions. Usually they end up sitting on a ton of unsold tickets, but even when an event sells out, they lose. If they had priced properly, they could have extracted much more value out of the tickets (instead the scalpers get the surplus value). Yesterday, I read an article about how a company called Qcue is changing all of this. They’re based in Austin, TX, and they’ve developed technology that helps teams price their tickets dynamically.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
analyst,
economics,
entertainment,
events,
research,
software development,
sports,
Texas,
web development

Although I only took one marketing class in college, I’ve really learned to love the field of marketing as I’ve built this business. There are so many different approaches, but the core of every valid one is having a great product. (I’m right in the thick of developing a new version of the site that you’re going to love.) Once you have a great product, there are a lot of different ways to spread the word. For the The Marketing Arm, a Dallas, TX based agency, the focus is on promotions. As they put it, they “help brands connect with those consumers by providing insight-driven ideas across nine emotional platforms: TV, film, music, gaming, celebrities, causes, multicultural, sports, and motorsports.” It’s all about creating an incentive to experience the brand, and then providing an exceptional experience when that happens.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
all employers,
arts,
bilingual,
blogging,
consulting,
consumer products,
entertainment,
film,
Illinois,
interactive media,
marketing,
mobile,
movies,
operations,
project management,
promotions,
social media,
sports,
strategy,
television,
Texas,
video games,
writing

Today’s the big game! By the end of tonight there will probably be a new football hero for many fans. Unfortunately, even being the star of one of the world’s biggest sporting events doesn’t guarantee a carefree future. Football is a brutal sport that takes a terrible toll on the body. This is doubly bad for players. First, it causes all kinds of long-term health problems, and, second, it shortens careers significantly. This becomes a major problem for retired players who no longer have a source of income and are dealing with the physical aftermath of a career in football. Nobody wants to see their heroes down and out, which is why Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund was started. They’re based in Northbrook, IL, and they “provide financial assistance and coordinate social services to dire need retired NFL players who are pioneers of the game and have greatly contributed to the NFL’s status as the most popular sport in America.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
advocacy,
all employers,
football,
health care,
Illinois,
medicine,
non-profit,
sports

They say that you can’t forget how to ride a bike, but I’m giving it my best try. In elementary and early middle school I was constantly riding around town. I picked up inline skating for a year or two after that, and never got back on the bike. Now I tell people that I hate bike riding. I don’t actually hate it, but as I mentioned in my post on Niner Bikes, I love seeing people’s reactions to that statement. My twelve year old self would be disappointed that I don’t even own a bike, let alone a cool brand like a Cannondale or Specialized. Luckily for Specialized, they’ve been able to grow an impressive business without me as a customer. They’re based in Morgan Hill, CA, and from what I can gather their annual revenue is measured in hundreds of millions of dollars (but I can’t find a reliable source on that). That’s impressive considering that it all started in 1974 when founder Mike Sinyard sold his “old VW Microbus for $1,500 and used the money to fund a cycling trip through Europe.” That led to importing Italian bicycle parts into the United States, and a business was born.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
apparel,
California,
credit,
customer service,
design,
engineering,
finance,
industrial design,
international,
manufacturing,
marketing,
merchandising,
Pennsylvania,
post production,
product development,
production,
sales,
social media,
sports,
Switzerland,
transportation,
Utah,
video

I’ve always wanted to see a mountain lion in the wild–as long as it’s not stalking and about to eat me. They’re amazingly strong, athletic animals, and they have a serious mythology surrounding them. That’s why they’re called by so many names including panther, catamount, ghost cat, painter, and PUMA. It’s an appropriate name for a “sportlifestyle” company that “designs and develops footwear, apparel and accessories.” By bringing together sports and fashion, they’ve built an iconic brand that is known all over the world. What I find odd about PUMA is that they were founded in Germany in 1948 and are based in Herzogenaurach, Germany (with their USA headquarters is in Westford, MA). I find that strange because pumas are very much American cats, but I guess plenty of American companies use foreign animals in their branding.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
apparel,
brand management,
California,
design,
fashion,
footwear,
Georgia,
Germany,
golf,
international,
marketing,
Massachusetts,
product development,
sports

Yesterday we looked at Niner Bikes and how they’ve carved out a really nice niche in the outdoor action sports market by building mountain bikes with bigger wheel bases. Today we’re going to look at a company that has built a much bigger business in the same market by offering products that you may not initially associate with the market. Skullcandy is a Park City, UT based company that “markets high-end headphones, earphones, hands free devices, audio backpacks, MP3 players and other audio enabled lifestyle products.” They target consumers who associate with sports like skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, and mountain biking, so they’ve been able to build a really strong brand identity that has fueled some serious growth. Skullcandy was founded in 2003, and they made the Inc. 5000 this year with 354% three-year growth to $160.6 million in annual revenue. In fact, the growth has been so great that Skullcandy had an IPO earlier this year.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
business development,
consumer products,
design,
fashion,
industrial design,
marketing,
music,
online marketing,
operations,
sports,
Utah

I get the dirtiest looks when I tell people that I don’t enjoy riding bikes. It’s as if I hate puppies and babies and unicorns. But if I did like biking, I’d probably enjoy mountain biking the most. And if I was to go mountain biking, I’d probably want a bike with control and stability. That’s exactly what Niner Bikes offers. They build bikes with 29-inch diameter wheels, which are bigger than the wheels on most other mountain bikes. Why? Rotational inertia. A bigger wheel is more likely to keep rolling when it hits an obstacle. Niner Bikes must give a pretty nice ride. Why else would the Torrance, CA and Fort Collins, CO based company have made the Inc. 5000 with 364% three-year growth to $5.8 million in revenue?
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
California,
Colorado,
manufacturing,
marketing,
outdoors,
product development,
sales,
sports

I was lucky to go to a school that committed significant resources to both sports and arts. Though I certainly wasn’t a standout in either area, I’m convinced that I was a better student because of both. It’s that connection that drives what the Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation does. They’re a New York, NY based non-profit that aims to “bridge the academic performance gap among under-achieving students by extending the school day and year with wholesome, skill-building activities designed to improve New York City children’s academic performance, health and wellness, attitude towards school, self-confidence, character and values, and opportunity for lifelong employment.” The organization was founded in 1992, and it now serves more than 50,000 students across more than 300 public schools.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
arts,
coaching,
education,
New York,
non-profit,
program development,
sports,
teaching,
tutoring

I spend a ton of time outdoors between fly fishing and playing beach volleyball. You’d think I’d have a cooler to take along with me, but I don’t. If I did, it’d have to be one of the models made by Yeti Coolers. They’re an Austin, TX based company that builds coolers that are more durable and keep things colder than any other coolers on the market. Yeti Coolers are built for tough conditions, which is why some of the biggest names in outdoors sports endorse them and the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee has deemed them Grizzly Proof. You may think it’s cooler overkill, but the market for high quality coolers seems to be extremely strong. That’s why Yeti Coolers made the Inc. 5000 with 613% three-year growth to $13 million in revenue.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
accounting,
administrative,
all employers,
customer service,
finance,
human resources,
information technology,
marketing,
operations,
outdoors,
product development,
research,
sales,
sports,
Texas

A few weeks ago I told you about a company called Sixthman that gets together groups of music fans and puts them on a cruise ship with their favorite artists. It’s a pretty cool idea that is making a bunch of money (even if it doesn’t sound like my kind of fun). Ludus Tours is another company that organizes group vacations, but they are focus on taking people to specific destinations for specific events. Their main focus is on sporting events like The Olympics, The World Cup, The Master’s, The Super Bowl, and other big events that are preceded with a “The.” However, they have branched out to do other types of trips like Oktoberfest in Munich, Carnaval in Rio, and The Running of the Bulls. They cover all the bases including travel, accommodations, tickets, and all of the other logistics involved with trips like these. San Diego, CA based Ludus Tours serves both individuals and groups, so you can book a tour for yourself or organize a group excursion. They must do a good job considering they’ve seen 1,253% three-year growth to $2.5 million in revenue.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
all employers,
California,
events,
information technology,
marketing,
online marketing,
operations,
public relations,
sales,
sem,
seo,
sports,
travel

I suffer from Labor Day cognitive dissonance. I love the idea of a long weekend dedicated to celebrating our productivity (even if it does mean the end of summer), but I feel that in a lot of ways that we’ve missed the mark. After spending four years studying Labor Relations in college and another four years devoted to helping college students make the most of their productive capacity, I’ve come to realize that we are going to have to radically change the way we look at work if we’re going to continue to succeed individually and as a nation. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t appreciate Labor Day for what it has become, an awesome day off. In past years we’ve looked at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Department of Labor, and Stetson (read the post if you want to know what they have to do with Labor Day). Today we’re going to look at the National Hot Rod Association, which is “the world’s largest motorsports sanctioning body with 80,000 members, 140 member tracks, more than 35,000 licensed competitors, and more than 5,000 member-track events.” The Glendora, CA based NHRA has been around for 60 years now, and their races seem to keep getting faster.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
automotive,
California,
cars,
events,
holiday,
sports

If you’ve been reading for a while, you may have noticed that I go on a lot of fishing trips. The problem is that any time my Dad and I go somewhere, he tries to turn it into an annual trip (it’s not actually a problem at all). As long as there’s Wi-Fi so that I can get some work in while I’m not fishing, then I’m pretty much set. This week I’m writing from the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, where I’m salmon fishing. I spend most of the day on the river, and one of my most essential pieces of equipment is probably something that you wouldn’t suspect. Polarized sunglasses are invaluable for fishing. Not only do they help you see through the glare and under the water, but they also protect your eyes from both the sun and stray hooks. Smith Optics makes some of the absolute best sunglasses for fishing on the market. They’re based in Ketchum, ID, and they have about 300 employees.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
apparel,
Idaho,
logistics,
marketing,
outdoors,
product development,
sports

A lot of people hate all of the advertising in sports. They get irritated by NASCAR cars, billboards in center field, and logos on jerseys. I kind of think it’s cool that sports teams are maximizing their revenue potential. But if I ever saw ads on the Yankees’ uniforms… well that will never happen… right? Advertising on sports apparel has actually been happening for a long time. Local business have been sponsoring teams and plastering their names on jerseys forever. Apparel Media is a Chicago, IL based company that is working to forever change the custom apparel and sports marketing industries at the same time. By working out deals with national advertisers and local custom apparel print shops, Apparel Media is able to give teams access to significantly discounted (20-80% off) merchandise.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
all employers,
analyst,
apparel,
business development,
data,
design,
fashion,
Illinois,
printing,
sales,
sports,
user experience,
web development

I’m not big on shoes during the summer. I try to wear flip flops as much as I can, and most of the exercise that I get is from beach volleyball where wearing shoes looks about as dorky as you can get. When I do go to the gym, I typically wear my Vibram Five Fingers (which you may also consider dorky looking). So I have no idea why New Balance popped into my head–I don’t even own a pair of New Balance shoes. In case you don’t know, New Balance is a Boston, MA based company that “began as an arch support company in the early 1900′s, developed into a specialized shoe manufacturer in the 1970′s, and has grown to become a leading global athletic products company.” They also own some other brands that you may be familiar with including Aravon, Brine, Dunham, PF Flyers, and Warrior.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
analyst,
apparel,
data,
design,
fashion,
footwear,
Massachusetts,
New York,
product development,
retail,
shoes,
sports

Lately I’ve been making it a habit to look for interesting companies in cities I visit–it’s just another way to generate new ideas. Since I’m in San Diego, CA for the weekend, I did a little searching and came across Active Network. They’re a company that is all about enabling active lifestyles, so their location is quite fitting. They are “a technology and media company powering the largest network of organizations, activities, and people.” I know that sounds like marketing speak, but Active Network actually serves more than 47,000 customers and handles over 70 million event registrations annually. If you’ve ever run in a race, played in a sports league, or stayed at a campground, there’s a good chance that you in someway interacted with Active Network software.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
California,
Canada,
China,
Colorado,
editorial,
events,
Indiana,
international,
marketing,
Maryland,
media,
New York,
sales,
software development,
sports,
Tennessee,
United Kingdom,
web development

I like to consider myself an “influential 20-something male consumer,” but maybe I’m wrong. I don’t read Complex.com or visit any of the sites in the Complex Media Network, and they say that they are “the premier online destination for the most influential 20-something male consumers.” They’re getting nearly a million unique visitors a day across their network, so they’re certainly influential, and I have to think their audience is too. Complex, which is based in New York, NY caters to an audience that is “driven by style, sports, music, games, gear and girls,” and they’re experts at creating content for and delivering advertising to this audience. Complex.com is their main property, but the network extends to dozens of sites that zero in on niches within the niches.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
all employers,
blogging,
editorial,
fashion,
interactive media,
magazines,
media,
music,
New York,
publishing,
sales,
sports,
style,
video games,
writing
Interested in international relief and development? Take a look at Samaritan’s Purse’s jobs. They’re our sponsor this week, and they have some amazing opportunities for new and recent grads including Japanese Interpreter, Marketing/Metrics Analyst, and Social Media/Marketing Specialist.

There’s a VHS tape that I’ve been trying to get my hands on for a while. It’s my girlfriend’s recruiting video that she sent to colleges when she was in high school (she ended up playing volleyball for Cornell and winning three Ivy League Championships!). It’s the ultimate blackmail material. College athletic recruiting has come a long way since then. Much of the communication between coaches and prospective athletes happens over the Internet, but managing those communications can be a tall task for parents and students that haven’t been through the process before. beRecruited is a site that has been connecting high school athletes with college coaches since 2000. The site has over 1 million registered members, and apparently 68% of college coaches have signed up for the site. beRecruited appears to be located in both Atlanta, GA and San Francisco, CA.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
blogging,
California,
customer service,
Georgia,
marketing,
online marketing,
public relations,
recruiting,
social media,
software development,
sports,
systems administration,
web development,
writing

Which do you think is preppier, rowing or squash? I’ve never seriously participated in either sport, but I grew up in Connecticut, so I had plenty of friends who did. Both sports have reputations for being easier ways for privileged kids to get into college. It makes sense. Access to rowing shells and squash courts is expensive, so most people never get exposed to either sport. That means the few who do participate in squash and rowing have a lot less competition when getting recruited for spots on college teams. We’ve seen non-profit organizations like StreetSquash, Surf City Squash, and SquashBusters open up squash to a new crowd and use it to promote academic achievement. Today I learned about an organization that is doing something similar for rowing. They’re called Row New York, and they’re based in New York, NY. They aim “to empower young people from New York City’s under-resourced communities to pursue excellence in all facets of their lives, through a unique combination of competitive rowing and individualized academic support.” It’s an awesome idea, and it’s already making a serious impact.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
coaching,
education,
New York,
non-profit,
outdoors,
sports,
teaching,
tutoring

I’m up in Grayling, MI for the next week or so for my annual fly fishing trip with my Dad. Since I live in downtown Chicago where nature is a rare occurrence, I’ve been anxiously awaiting this trip by visiting all of my favorite fishing websites (sounds pathetic, doesn’t it). On one of the sites I came across a post about a photo contest being put on by Simms Fishing Products. There weren’t many entries, and the prize is “an incredible 6-day, 7-night guided fishing expedition” in Alaska, which is my dream trip, so I obviously entered. Now, I know it does nothing for your job search, but if you vote for my entry (and vote every day until June 20th), I’ll not only keep sending you awesome job opportunities while I’m on this trip, but I’ll even do it from Alaska. After entering the contest, I remembered that Simms is a company that I’ve wanted to feature for a long time. They’re located in Bozeman, MT, and they make truly excellent products for fishermen. They’re best know for their waders (breathable, waterproof pants that keep you dry when you walk in the river) and their boots, but they’ve been extending into more and more categories.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
apparel,
Montana,
outdoors,
product development,
sports

Last night my girlfriend and I went out to some trendy new bar to meet up with a bunch of her friends from high school who are back in town for Memorial Day Weekend. I’m pretty sure that I came within a foot (and often much closer) of a thousand people while I was there. Today I’m headed up to Northern Michigan to spend the weekend fishing on one of my favorite rivers, where, hopefully, there won’t be anyone (besides my girlfriend and the fishing guide) within a thousand feet of me. I think that there’s no better way to spend a holiday (or any) weekend than being outdoors, and I’m pretty sure that the people at the Outdoors for All Foundation completely agree. In fact, the folks at the Seattle, WA based non-profit love the outdoors so much that they want to share it with those who might not usually get a chance to enjoy it, which is why they provide “year round instruction in outdoor recreation for people with physical, developmental, and sensory disabilities.” Through the work of over 700 volunteers, the Outdoors for All Foundation is able to help more than 2,000 children and adults with disabilities enjoy the outdoors every year.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
all employers,
camp,
education,
non-profit,
outdoors,
sports,
Washington