Geauga Lake

The summer of 2004 will go down as one of the best times of my life. Ok, well I used that same line in referring to the previous summer, but the truth of the matter is every season at Geauga Lake is amazing. And to completely tell this story, we have to go back to Nonmember 2003.

It was the last day of the season, November 2nd, and all the employees were saying our goodbyes. I stayed for almost an hour just to talk to people one last time. I hadn't told anyone, but in the back of my head, I had my doubts that I would be returning. Ok, in reality, my mind was made up. I had a chance meeting with Bill Spehn at Cedar Point in may. He was the Director of Operations, and he sold me on the idea of coming up north. And I also think Alex had alot to do with it. Me and Alex broke up over the phone when I was on break at MBT. It was horrible. I hated going to work after that. I wanted a change. So I decided to interview, and I accepted a position at Cedar Point's Raptor for the summer of 2004.

My decision to not return shocked alot of people, as I was by no stretch of the imagination, in love with Geauga Lake. I loved running the Starfish. I loved MBT. And I loved my fellow co-workers. It was hard to do, but to this day, it was one of the smartest business moves I've ever made... better yet, it was one of the luckiest.

And then, Dick Kinzel and Bill Spehn dropped a bomb on the world:

"March 10th, 2004 CEDAR FAIR, L.P. TO ACQUIRE SIX FLAGS WORLDS OF ADVENTURE"

As I sat in class one morning, this came across the news wire on my computer screen, and I was almost in shock. To make an example out of something not coaster related, this would be the equivilent of the Notorious B.I.G. and Tu-Pac announcing that they were going to make an album together. It was totally unexpected, and by far the most far fetched aquisition in the history of theme parks. Bill Spehn was going to transfer down to Geauga Lake as the new General Manager.

Fast forward to May 5th, 2004. I was processing in at Cedar Point, and I began working at Raptor. It was a really fun time. On May 23rd, my full time manager Chris Knauf came to talk to me at the entrance of Raptor.

"Hey Jes, I was wondering if you might be interested in transferring to one of our other properties."

I immediately knew what was happening. They wanted Team Leads, and wanted to know if I would come back to Geauga Lake as a team lead. In a split second, I knew that I could not go back. I had made the decision to move on, and work at Cedar Point, so I could have a better chance of getting a full time job some day. I said thanks for the offer, but I really wanted to stay at Cedar Point.

"Ok, well apparently they want you to come down and be a supervisor for the back of the park... I think zone 4."

Just like when they announced the purchase of Six Flags, I was in utter shock... I fell speechless, and thought for sure someone was going to jump out of the bushes with a camera and say "HA! We got you!" But he wasn't kidding. Andre Ransom, the director of Ride Operations wanted to call me the next day to talk about the job... Assistant Supervisor of Ride Operations.

Needless to say, I had a very big decision to make, and a very short time to render a choice.

I talked with my family and friends, and talked with my business contacts in Cedar Fair, and the concensus was that any promotion within the same company is a good thing. I talked on the phone with Bill and he once again convinced me to come work for him. I specifically remember one line he used: "Now Jes, I realize you may feel like you are in over your head with this new job, but just remember that I too felt that way just a few weeks ago when I came down to Geauga Lake...This is my first time being the general manager at a park. But I think that we can both do this together and do a good job."

That really sealed the deal for me. It was a much harder decision than you might think. But I also knew that an oppourtunity like this only came around once in a life time. I was going to piss off alot of people, but if I were to turn this job down, I would forever be remembered as the kid who didn't want to be a supervisor... and that, I feared, would prevent me from ever being promoted again.

May 25th, I processed out of Cedar Point and came home... just twenty days after arriving. The next day I went to Geauga Lake to start the long road to supervisor-hood... or so I thought. I was handed a manual, and started shadowing. And after that, it was all a blur. Coincidentally, Kristen was my partner this summer... she was the Head Supervisor of Zone 4, and I was the Assistant supervisor of zone 4. What is zone 4? The rides in zone 4 were as follows:

One of the main reasons why I was asked to come back to work at Geauga Lake was because I already knew how to operate most of these rides, save for the boats and Ripcord. I was really happy to be back home. Of course, this was not a perfect summer. Some people were mad that I was allowed to come back. And I'm not going to lie, to this day I think I did not deserve the promotion. There was an underlying animosity towards me in 2004. Can you really blame the people who were mad? I know I would be jealous of someone who was a supervisor by their third year. It's just never happened in the rides department that someone would be allowed to skip ahead of a team lead position to a supervisor. In the end, however, I knew that I could do it because I have a fiery passion for Geauga Lake... and that I could do the job and do it well. And I also knew my actions would speak much louder than any words. So I shut up about the matter and went to work.

One of the first people I met was Steve Voorhees, my Department Supervisor for rides. We are alike in a lot of ways... I mean we even look alike to a certain extent! Then there was Matt Firlik, the Zone 3 supervisor, who I found out recommended me to Andre for the job. To him, I will always be eternally thankful, because if it weren't for him, I would still be at Cedar Point to this day. Stephanie Liembesis was the Zone 2 supervisor. She was the Team Lead of Mission Bermuda Triangle the year before me, so we always got along well. She was so funny because she had a box fruit loops in her desk that she would pull out and eat every now and then! In Zone 1 was John Digiacobbe, a lifer of Geauga Lake by no stretch of the imagination. He helped me so many times when I was short staffed, and I really appreciate him trying to help whenever he could. And of course, Kristen was the Head of Zone 4. She's litterally taught me everything I've known about working at the park, and I know she's going to be a great teacher when she finally does get a teaching job. We also had Mike Martorella, Tree Stine, Dan Owens, and Vinnie Delagrange, as Assistant supervisors like myself.

The supervision staff got along very well, and I have to say there were no problems... we all tried to help each other, and with varying degrees of success, ran the rides department in our own styles. Andre Ransom kicked our butts when we needed it, and he continues to manage the rides department in the right direction.

Alot of stuff happened during the summer, the likes of which I'm certainly not going to discuss here, mostly because Cedar Fair is much more controlling of the image it's employees convey than Six Flags was. But in the end, I think I did a respectable job during my first summer as a supervisor. Me and Kristen were walking along the midway one day during "The Haunt" halloween celebration. She said she was proud of me. That certainly brought a smile to my face. And now as I prepare to head up Zone 4, Kristen will be leaving her old spot to me, and become the Department Supervisor. Hopefully I can make her proud again.