Slinging Hard Work for Future Fun

I am exhausted; my back is tired and my feet hurt. This evening, I worked for 5 1/2 hours at one of the food concession stands at Arco Arena, home of the Sacramento Kings basketball team. Here's a photo of the cash registers just before they opened the doors for the public. It takes 40 workers to staff a concession stand - 12 cashiers, and about 3 people per cashier as runners, cooks, etc. I am usually assigned to "condiments", which means I wear latex gloves and wipe the counters after spills, keep the paper napkin, cup lid, and drinking straw dispensers full, and tell people where to go (ATM, BBQ, elevator, etc.)

The Maloofs, owners of the team, allow nonprofit groups to work at the concessions and keep a percentage of the take. On a good game night, each stand can earn $1,000 for the group, and each group can typically work 5-8 games per year. I am doing this to help the sophomore class parents raise the funds for a huge graduation party in 2010. Known as "Grad Nite", this all-night party is usually held at a bowling lanes and features food, games, entertainment, prizes, photos, laser tag -and bowling, too. It typically costs around $20,000, so the parents begin early and start raising funds in freshman year. In Patrick's class there were over 550 graduates; Laurel's class will be about the same size, I think.