Not every job is a 9-to-5, punch-the-clock sort of gig. Some take workers out from behind a desk and put them in interesting positions. ‘It’s a Living’ is a series of stories about just those types of jobs, ones that span from “Who would want to do that?” to “You actually get paid to do that?”
Alex Howard’s journey to the driver’s seat of a Zamboni at the Huntington Center started at a baseball game, of all places.
WATCH: Alex Howard trains to drive the Zamboni
She was a fan chosen for a promotion during a Toledo Mud Hens game, and she enjoyed her time so much, she asked to be a part of the crew. She was hired in as a member of the Pond Patrol for Toledo Walleye games. Then last December, an opening came up on the ice crew, and now here she is, working during Walleye games, change over for concerts and other events, and training to drive the Zamboni.
“It worked out really well,” Miss Howard said. “It’s been kind of wild. ... It lined up perfectly.”
As simple and unlikely as that path sounds, there’s obviously more to the story. While she’s not the first female member of the ice crew, she’s the first female to be trained to drive the Zamboni at the Huntington Center, according to Jesus Rivera, operations manager for SMG, which owns the arena.
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First Published April 23, 2018, 3:00 p.m.
