When I was little, I thought my dad's job was just selling hot dogs and because of this we always had to go to a bunch of football games. It was not until later that I realized what my dad's job was actually about. He works in the food business. His company, Centerplate, does food and beverage catering and merchandise for sports facilities, convention centers, airports, and arenas.

He always worked in food service growing up, including being a manager at a McDonald's in high school. Although going into college he started to major in Forestry, he later changed it to Business.

My dad oversees managers in operations such as Cardinals, 49'ers, River Cats, Giants, and Chargers stadiums, University of Hawaii, and the Sacramento Convention Center. His business sets up a contract with each venue and gives them a percentage of the profits.

He has worked events like the Superbowl, a U2 concert, a Rolling Stones concert, Endfest, and so on and so forth. He even worked an event at the Washington DC Convention Center for the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority that made the Guiness Book of World Records. It was the largest seated dinner function service ever recorded with 17,000 guests served at the same time. First Lady Michelle Obama attended the event.

When asked why he likes his job, he replied with, "I get to see a lot of unusual and entertaining events. It's also enjoyable to plan and execute an event for up to 80,000 people."

There are some downsides to his job. One of which is dealing with the economy.

"One of the biggest challenges with the economy today is providing affordable family value. We are providing more discounts, value meals, and specialty nights," said my dad.

His job causes him to travel a lot, but he gets to work at home. It is always fun for our family to go to events with my dad, like Endfest and football games. Now, I understand that my dad's job isn't just selling hot dogs and that there is a lot more to it.