Use of Summer Hires

Lake: Libby Dam and Lake Koocanusa

Corps POC: Alana Mesenbrink

Estimated Cost Savings: $30,000    Annual

Story:
One of the best management practices/operational efficiencies that I have used at Libby Dam is to hire summer seasonal employees that are not natural resource majors, or recreation majors, but a variety of other types of majors that might be useful for projects planned for that summer. For example, we hired a seasonal who was great at giving tours, but her major was graphic design. We purchased some graphic design programs for approx $1500 and she designed brochures and exhibits for us all summer. She probably saved the government between $15,000 to $30,000 by doing the graphic design work. It also gave her something in her portfolio when she graduated from college. Another seasonal was a dual major in both english ed and art ed. She produced a poster for a life jacket loaner board which has since been made into a loaner program and used at Libby Dam. She also put her art major to work creating a fabulous mural in a "kids corner" for us last summer. Another ranger was working on her masters degree in history/archives etc... we gave her the task of starting the organization of our archives. Yet, another is a computer science major who digitized an old 16 projector slide show that mgmt wanted included in our archives. That project was quoted at costing over $35,000 and it was his summer project. These are just a few examples over the last couple years that we have used at Libby Dam.

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