Making the leap to a new career

EVAN WILLIAMS/ FLORIDA WEEKLY Nick Devoucoux went from land surveyor to orchid master and bartender. "'You're the kind of guy that knows how to take a hit and keep on rolling,' the chef who worked at The Morgan House in 2004 said after I lost my job at a restaurant in South Fort Myers. I'd come back to the Morgan House downtown, the next morning, asking for my old job back. They were nice about it."

"My aunt's career managing a highend fashion store ended near when the recession began. Having recently gone through divorce and with two teenage daughters, she took a job answering telephone calls for an elementary school."

These are but of few of the stories told by Southwest Floridians that illustrate how people have evolved personally and professionally — arguably for the better — when they were forced out of work or made a leap to a new career.

On to tending bar, then flowers

Nick Devoucoux lost his job as a land surveyor when Toll Brothers, a luxury homebuilder, closed the Estero office where he worked in 2007. His bosses offered to transfer him to Chapel Hill, N.C., but since he couldn't sell the home he owns in Fort Myers, he turned it down.

"I was scared," Mr. Devoucoux said. But, he added, "Just because somebody knocked me down doesn't mean I'm gonna stay down. I'm gonna evolve and find a job and support myself and my children."

Like for many people in the building industry, hindsight has been 20-20.

"There were subtleties and signs," Mr. Devoucoux said, that his job wasn't secure. "Homebuyers were backing out of homes left and right. But I guess I was naive or wasn't paying attention."

He had about one week's notice that he was losing the job that was helping support two young daughters, as well as mortgage and car payments. He had worked as a surveyor since graduating from Edison State College with an associate's degree in construction management nearly nine years ago.

Mr. Devoucoux decided to forgo applying for unemployment benefits during the two months he was out of work.

"I don't believe in it — and I'm a Democrat, too," he said. "I've got two good hands… So I went into the next best thing, the service industry, and started tending bar."

He ended up as a bar manager at The Sandy Butler, a restaurant and specialty market near Fort Myers Beach. But initially, the job search was tense and uncomfortable. "And I was probably scared for two months after (getting the job) because it's a new phase, a new venue, a new career," he said.

Mr. Devoucoux finds the work as a bar manager suits him. "I actually like serving drinks to people," he said.

And the income is comparable — "if not superior," he added — to his past career, when he made $22 per hour. That income drops off sharply in the summer, however, so he's learned to save money during winter months when the restaurant is busier.

Best of all, he says, the new job has allowed him enough time to get started with his true passion, Nick's Exotic Orchid Creations. He buys orchids from private vendors locally, or orders them off the Internet from places like Thailand and Hawaii. Then he collects driftwood from local beaches and grows the flowering plants on the wood. He hasn't made much money doing this yet, but hopes one day to run a nursery.

"It's a form of art," he said. "Every piece is different. Every piece is completely eclectic and to its own." (Check out www.nicksexoticorchidcreations. com).

It was a rough time, but he's back on his feet.

"I'm not doing what I was taught to do or went to school to do, but I'm learning something new," Mr. Devoucoux said.

From retail to cutting hair

Kerry D'Ambrosia has had plenty of experience with change.

She grew up in Arcadia, went to cosmetology school in Port Charlotte, moved to Venice and worked at a salon, then became a bank teller. For about the last 10 years she's lived in Fort Myers and for the last seven worked at Rug Décor in Miromar Outlets and Coconut Point Mall in Estero.

She is only a few credit hours away from a degree in marketing and advertising from Florida Gulf Coast University.

Still, deciding to return to being a stylist last October at Studio RK Salon in South Fort Myers wasn't easy. It has meant completing the salon's mandatory 12- to 14-month associates program while continuing to work at Rug Décor, where she helped people find the right rugs for their homes.

She's almost finished with her training.

"I did both (jobs) up until a couple of weeks ago and yes, it was extremely scary," she said. "Probably the scariest thing about it is the financial issue, the fear of the unknown."

Ms. D'Ambrosia, 35, and her husband live in Fort Myers.

"I was ready for a change, ready to come back into the salon," she said. "It was one of those things where I knew I wanted to come back into the field but didn't know how to make that leap from one to the other."

There are things about it that remind her of job at Rug Décor.

"Really, if you get into the depth of it, there's not a ton of difference between the two, but they're completely different at the same time." Both jobs, she said, are about "making people feel good about themselves."

The path to social networking

Steve Pozgay, 35, wasn't sure what he was going to do when his news radio program with WINK ended in 2003. He'd worked his way up from a tumultuous career in radio broadcasting that started in Chicago near the Indiana town he grew up in.

With things coming to an end yet again, he decided to fall back on his theater experience. Back at Lewis University outside Chicago, he'd majored in theater and radio/television broadcasting.

When he lost the job with WINK, he found lucrative work in commercials, like one for Sonny's BBQ. But it was only when he joined The Naples Players at Sugden Community Theatre that he found a career path he wants to pursue long term: being an actor and a social media consultant.

"There wasn't any money involved in being at a community theater but it immediately jump started my desire to get back on stage and pursue a performance based career," he said. "I'm just grateful to the Players for all that they've done for me as an actor, as a volunteer. This whole new skill set has been made possible because they've given me the support and opportunity to make this possible.

While practicing with the Naples Players for his role in a production of "The Secret Garden," Mr. Pozgay started blogging about it daily on his MySpace page. The blog became so popular, he asked the Players' management if he could start a Web site and blog for the theater group. They said yes.

"It's actually affected our ticket sales," he said. "It hasn't been an overwhelming boost yet but I actually have data that there's been a significant increase."

He can help other companies market themselves through social media and hopes to ultimately be hired full time to do that work. To make ends meet, Mr. Pozgay has also worked at a carpet outlet, as an accounts payable clerk, at Best Buy, and other odd jobs. He may need to do more of that to keep his home in South Fort Myers. But now he has a long-term plan.

"I seem to have really found my calling in building social networking," said Mr. Pozgay. "I may be on a path now where I can find a career. And it's one I've really become comfortable with and really enjoy. I guess my story has been one of you really have to see what the tide brings you. It's like (the movie) 'Castaway' with Tom Hanks. You have to survive and keep your head up and see what comes in. You've gotta keep going and find reasons to survive. In my case, it opened up a whole new world and a career track I never would have envisioned."

Starting a trolley business

Gregg Marrapodi, 57, has run a successful automotive repair shop and gas station in downtown Punta Gorda for 17 years. But his ambitions are larger than that. This year, he purchased two trolleys and a limousine that he was helping maintain for a local company.

He renamed his fleet Green Hibiscus Transportation Company. That's because Punta Gorda is the city of Hibiscus. It also reflects his vision of buying electric cars or hybrid vehicles to expand his services. He ultimately hopes to create a viable public transportation service for people in Punta Gorda. Mr. Marrapodi said he is talking to dealers about buying electric cars.

"I think this town needs a transit system and I'm stepping up to the plate," said the Brooklyn, N.Y., native. He followed his family to Florida in 1995. "I think it has room to grow and develop."

He added, "Punta Gorda is fast becoming a destination town and if you bring people here you have to be able to move them."

Now he can provide services for groups up to 60 people using all three vehicles. They are used for tours of the city, special events, weddings, funerals or airport runs. Local Realtors have used the trolleys to give group tours.

"We have monitors and computers on the trolleys, so as the Realtor is explaining to the party what house they're going to, they can see the house on the monitor," Mr. Marrapodi explained. "I've done Valentine's and Mother's Day specials where we bring whole groups and let them have dinner. Everyone has a good time and they don't have to worry about how much they drink."

It costs $125 per hour to get a trolley and $75 to go from Punta Gorda to Southwest Florida International Airport in the limo. Nonprofit groups get a 20 percent discount, but pricing details are still being worked out.

Darlene Ward, who founded New Hope Natural Healing Center in Punta Gorda 14 years ago, has become Mr. Marrapodi's business manager. She's still director of New Hope, but decided she wanted "the challenge" of this new position.

"I've known Gregg for 20 years and oh, last spring sometime, he said he'd be taking over the trolley company," Ms. Ward said. "He had this vision of doing other things with green technology like electric vehicles. He invited me to dinner and said 'I need some help coordinating all of this.'"

Ms. Ward told him that staying organized is one of her specialties. "That's my forte," she said.

The Web site for Green Hibiscus Transportation Company will be up soon. Meanwhile, inquiries can be sent to greenhibiscustransport@gmail.com or call 585-9993.