STORYBOARD

Part One

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“It was in the spring of my freshman year. I did not yet have my license and being driven around by my mom in her white Volvo cross over was getting pretty old. The lack of a license did not prevent me from job hunting. I picked up my first application at Elcona Country Club. By the time summer rolled around I was working as a lifeguard at Elcona…being driven to work everyday by my mother.”

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Part Two

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“The country club lifestyle…Imagine a reality show like “The Real Housewives.” I was an extra in the reality TV show “The Real Housewives of Elkhart County.” Blonde, fit, and well dressed, the wives would bring their kids to the pool while

husbands golfed with their business partners. I mean I cannot deny that I was somewhat jealous of the lifestyle. Jealous yes, but also inspired per se. Motivated to put a lot of effort into work, school, and beyond in order to be successful.”

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Part Three

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“As guards, we have to cater to the needs of the members who show up to use the pool area: getting them towels, making sure they have shade if they desire, placing orders for food and drinks, and basically babysitting members kids. It’s not painstakingly hard work, but it can get annoying.”

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Part Four

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“There is a list of responsibilities that should be completed before members show up to use the pool. My day typically starts at nine am. I am out of the house and on my way to Elcona by 9:30. Its obligation that we show up an hour before the pool opens, at ten am three other guards and I are at the country club to clock in, unlock the gates, and start our day. After the gates have been unlocked we usually set our bags down in the break room aka “the hut.” The kitty pool typically needs cleaning each morning so someone is struggling to hook the hose up to the vac and sweep the bottom of the

kitty pool. Chemicals are an important part of our job. If we didn’t test the chemicals we wouldn’t know if there was enough chlorine or a balanced PH level, if either was off the pools become dangerous for patrons to swim in. At this point in time someone is cleaning the kitty pool while another is testing chemicals, the two remaining guards are either sweeping the deck to get rid of leaves, or taking out the mechanical cleaning mechanism in the main pool.”

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Part Five

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“When these tasks were finished we waited for people to show up by cleaning and folding towels or treating ourselves to a free drink, courtesy of Elcona Country Club. Once members started to pile in the four guards rotated every fifteen minutes between two chairs. In-between being up in the chair and being on break, we would usually make our way up to the dining room for free food. Again curtsey of Elcona.”

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Part Six

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“The routine of fifteen minute rotations ended around six o’ clock. By this point in the day, on duty guards were closing the pool. Cleaning the disgusting bathrooms, putting the dolphin back into the main pool, testing the chemicals again, clearing the trash bins, and locking the gates. After we clocked out we were free to go. Hot days were miserable and cold rainy days were monotonous. I never felt like there was a balance. Whatever…I was getting paid to eat the clubs food and take occasional dips in the pool, fine by me. “

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Part Seven

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“Meet days were different. Elcona has a swim team made up of the members’ children ages five to seventeen. Set up consisted of putting up the flags, putting in lane lines and pitching the tents for shade. Help included timers, bull pin, recorders, a runner, and an official. I usually got stuck with the running job.”

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Part Eight

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“The kids were given cards to report to the bull pin where they would wait to be lined up behind their lanes. The bull pin was just a way to effectively organize the small children. Older kids didn’t tend to report to the bull pin. That being said, the runners’ job was to collect the cards from the little kids and run them to the timers. The timers would then report the final times on the cards and I would run them to the recorders. The recorders would average the times determining first, second, third, etc, eventually determining the outcome of the meet.”

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Part Nine

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“These days are very hectic. There is one specific moment on a meet day that I remember quite well. Lindsey Benko an Olympic swimmer showed up to one of our meets. As a child she swam for Elcona, now here niece swims.”

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Part Ten

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“It was cool to see Benko at the pool. I was a swimmer in high school so her name was spoken of quite often. I didn’t want to be one of those crazed fans so I did not approach her tall being. Instead I stood back in awe. I guess that’s one of the perks of working at a country club where members pay twenty five thousand dollars a year…Famous people occasionally show up to ones place of work. “

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