After 20 years in the food and beverage service industry, Scott Yerkey was ready for a career change.

A job change led to about a year of working at Argo Tea in the UNCA library, and Yerkey was offered a management position. “I felt like I was staring down the barrel of another management job in the service industry,” Yerkey said. “I said no to the job and quit without any future plans. I happened to get a call that same day from a friend of mine at LaZoom Tours — he needed a host for their Fender Bender tour. For the first time in my life, I was ready to just take the job and figure it out.”

Working as a Secondary Guide for the last three years, Yerkey’s position requires that he checks in guests, gets to know them, and loads them on the bus. He also grabs a variety of costumes for the day and throws them in his car.

“I quickly drive from stop to stop in front of the bus, of course obeying the speed limit, and sometimes cutting through parking lots,” Yerkey said. “I get into the right costume and hop back on the bus at each stop and interject with comedy skits that relate the history and stories of Asheville to the guests.”

One character he said that he does is Sister Mary Annette. “She’s a nun that’s also a puppet,” Yerkey said. “She gets on the bus and straightens everyone out. Another is Beer Man whose goal is to keep everyone drinking local. Some characters are really great and really funny.”

“It’s hard to pick a favorite — they all give me energy in a great way,” Yerkey said. “The Ghosted tour is adults only, so it's a little raunchy and fun. The kids' tours are great too. They are an easy crowd and so delighted from the second they stop on the bus.

“It’s honestly the only job I’ve ever had that gives me energy when I leave at the end of my shift,” Yerkey said. “I’ve never experienced that before and didn’t even know it was possible. I come home charged everyday because I get paid to clown around with my friends, and that’s pretty awesome.”

While Yerkey said that the job is a lot of fun, he said that LaZoom is still a serious business and they have expectations of how the tours are run. He said that some of his coworkers have studied theater in Chicago and New York. Without a background in theater, he said that it can feel both intimidating and challenging to work with world class comedians and performers.

“It’s one thing to be funny, and another thing to be funny while working with another professional and having certain lines to deliver,” he said. “It’s a welcome challenge to be ridiculous and wild in a certain predetermined way.” 

Part of LaZoom’s mission statement is to ‘roll joy through town’, and Yerkey said that it’s great to see the effect as that happens. He said that people get so happy; people in town stop and wave and the people on the bus get to be the stars. “It’s really magic,” he said.

“Making people laugh and spreading joy around is the best part of the job. It means everything to me,” Yerkey said. “My friends tell me that they are surprised that I found this job because it is so perfect. I really am excited to go to work everyday. It can be tiring sometimes, and I am still excited and happy to be there.”

While Yerkey said that he wants to stay in this position as long as he can, he does think about the expiration date of a comedian on a bus. “It’s a small company so there is a bit of a glass ceiling,” he said. “People do get promoted, and there are opportunities for the company to grow and expand. I may be ready to transition when an opportunity arises, but I really love the chaos and joy of the position that I have now.”

Scott Yerkey is the Secondary Guide at LaZoom Comedy Bus Tours. Learn more about LaZoom at LazoomTours.com.