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Super busy in Fort Resolution
From management to massage to painting zombie-themed paintball targets, Jodie Miersch does it all

Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Monday, April 20, 2015

DENINU KU'E/FORT RESOLUTION
When she's not managing a bed and breakfast, she's painting zombie targets for the paintball business she's planning. When she's not painting zombies, she's teaching at Deninu School.

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Jodie Miersch is the manager of The Four Seasons Bed 'n' Breakfast in Fort Resolution. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Jodie Miersch is the new manager of the Four Seasons Bed 'n' Breakfast, a position she took in November. While this is her fulltime job she also has a number of part-time jobs and is even planning to start her own small business.

"Since I've lived here, I work a lot," said the 26-year-old, who was born and raised in Fort Resolution before moving away for a while.

Deninu Ku'e First Nation owns the Four Seasons Bed 'n' Breakfast. The First Nation bought the business, previously called J's Bed & Breakfast, through its development corporation.

She and her partner moved into the live-in business as the previous owners were moving out, and it never stopped operating during the transition.

"When we moved in, there were guests," she said. "So we did not shut it down."

Miersch, with the help of her partner, keeps track of bookings, maintains the property and keeps the books.

Since the couple moved in they have also made some changes to the structure, which used to have five rooms and two bathrooms for six people.

"We did some renos and now there are six rooms that accommodate nine people with three bathrooms," said Miersch, adding she and her boyfriend also took down a downstairs wall and made a second sitting area.

"We're doing a lot more changes," she said, including possibly putting mini-fridges in every room and perhaps making a downstairs kitchen area.

To get the qualifications for the job, Miersch completed the one-year business administration program and the two-year office administration program at Aurora College in Fort Smith. She went right to college after graduating from Deninu School.

"I graduated when I just turned 17, and I moved to Fort Smith when I was 17," she recalled, adding she'd already earned the two college certificates by the time she was 20.

"Actually, it was kind of funny," she recalled. "When I got my first certificate for office, that's when they realized my age and they were like, 'We usually don't take kids that young,' but it was too late."

Miersch had a definite goal in mind when she went to Aurora College.

"I always wanted to run my own business. I run this, but it's not really mine," she said of the bed and breakfast. "So hopefully we're looking to open a little summer business."

She's already making moves to open a paintball business at Det'an Cho Tourist Camp, which is owned by her parents. Miersch and her boyfriend already help out at the tourist camp in the summer.

"So I figured let's start something over there, because we're there anyway. Why not make more money?" she said. The entrepreneur has already prepared a business proposal for paintball/laser tag. She has been working on the idea for a year by making zombie-themed targets and painting them.

If she didn't already have enough on her plate, Miersch is also a casual worker at the health centre where she files, answers phones and books appointments. When she's not doing that she instructs an aesthetics class at Deninu School for an hour a day.

When everything is added up, she acknowledges she is super busy. But that isn't stopping her from making even more plans.

After college, Miersch lived in Grande Prairie for a few years, studied Swedish massage therapy and helped run a spa in the Alberta city. Now, she is also hoping to open a massage salon at the Four Seasons Bed 'n' Breakfast once she gets her licence renewed.

Miersch took a moment to consider what she likes best about managing the Four Seasons Bed 'n' Breakfast.

"I really like meeting all the people," she said.

"That's what I like."

Plus, she enjoys being able to work at home.

Miersch said the bed and breakfast is very important for the community, and it is clearly filling a need.

In fact, she said that since November it has been completely booked, except for a few days at Christmas and New Year's.

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