As the end of 2022 approached, the founding team at Queen Creek Recreation and Aquatic Center was preparing for its big opening the following March. This would be the town’s first public aquatics center.
They knew they had to make a big splash, so to speak: Not only to hype the town for the new destination spot, but also to generate interest in the 120 lifeguard and five pool manager positions it would need to fill. It’s not like the town had a pre-existing lifeguarding labor pool from which to draw.
They needed an idea that would go a little left of center. Happily the timing coincided with the holiday season, which presented a once-in-an-annum opportunity: The town Christmas parade. Run by the parks and recreation department, the event draws thousands of spectators each year.
What better way to catch the community in one stop? With the application period for the lifeguard positions beginning in January, the parade couldn’t have been timed more perfectly.
The team at Queen Creek knew a good opportunity when they saw it. “We really wanted to use the parade as an excitement-building opportunity for the facility, and then as a recruitment tool,” says Joey LaNeve, aquatics supervisor for the Queen Creek Recreation and Aquatic Center.
Festive recruitment
The float would need a theme. They landed on “How the Grinch Found Fitness,” a playful spin on the parade’s Storybook Christmas theme that would also help convey the mission for the aquatics center.
LaNeve, along with an aquatics coordinator and some of the recreation staff, started with a landscaping trailer, then transformed it into a holiday tableau with the use of construction paper, tinsel, old signage, and other materials.
“We didn’t want to put a ton of money into the float,” he says, considering that the team only planned this as a one-shot deal to introduce the new aquatics center to the community.
To minimize costs, the team drew from what it already had. They turned existing pool noodles into giant candy canes. To get the fitness message across, they added a spin bike and free weights that they already had.
With a couple of planning meetings and three or four days of building, the concept had come to fruition, LaNeve says.
Once on the street, the float also featured some live action. LaNeve dressed as the Grinch, performing different fitness activities and interacting with the crowd. Lifeguards donning Santa hats and tinsel lifeguard tubes walked alongside the float, passing out candy canes. Each candy cane had the lifeguard hiring flyer attached.
Excitement to applications
The strategy worked. Parade goers loved the Grinch character, and the DJ highlighted the float’s purpose and touted the opening of the new rec and aquatics center. The community was particularly excited to have the first public aquatics center within the municipality, also knowing it would bring local job opportunities to Queen Creek’s sizeable teenage population.
Within two weeks of opening the lifeguard and pool manager positions in January 2025, his team received more than 200 applications — well exceeding the number of positions to fill.
While the Queen Creek team does not plan another float in the future, it learned a lesson about the importance of connecting with people outside of social media and flyers.
“If you have an audience, like we do with our events, it’s important to capitalize on those types of opportunities and really get out there in front of the community in unique ways,” LaNeve explains.
