When working for Dollywood, every day is different and exciting, according to Public Relations Manager Wes Ramey.
“There is no typical day, which is the part I love most about my job,” said Ramey. “No two days are the same, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Ramey received his undergraduate degree from Carson-Newman University and his master’s degree at ETSU’s Johnson City campus in speech communication with a cognate in motorsports operation.
“I’d always wanted to work in motorsports, and I graduated with my undergraduate degree in December, so most of the jobs in the motorsports field were already taken because it was close to the start of the season,” he said. “I happened to land on the fact that ETSU had a motorsports operation program, and I thought that would be a good fit.”
Ramey said about halfway through his graduate program he was able to get hired at Bristol Motor Speedway. While working for the speedway, Ramey was able to finish his graduate program and graduated from ETSU in 2008.
Ramey worked for the speedway for six years before deciding to make a change.
“I randomly one day sent my resume to Dollywood, and they happened to be looking for a publicist at that time,” said Ramey. “They called me in for an interview, and lo and behold it worked out, and I have the position.”
Ramey said visiting the park both through his childhood and as an adult helped encourage him to apply.
“I had been to the park earlier that year with my wife, and I grew up coming to Dollywood and knew that the employees here always looked like they were having a great time and having fun,” said Ramey. “They were so friendly and nice, and I said this is a place that I would enjoy working.”
Ramey says he loves that there is no standard day at Dollywood, mentioning that some days he spends in his office working with his team on news releases and social media posts, some days he spends traveling to do television and radio interviews about events happening in the park and some days he spends in the park putting together events.
“There are so many things going on, and no two days are the same,” said Ramey. “There’s a little bit of event planning. There are reasons we need to write well. There are so many different things about our job that keep it very exciting.”
When not working on public relations for Dollywood, Ramey spends all his free time with his wife and two kids.
“Mainly my free time is spent doing what they want to do, so that can be whatever toys they want to play with,” he said. “But whatever they want to do is usually what I’m doing. We come to Dollywood ourselves as guests. My wife brings the kids up and we’ll go to the park sometimes after I get off work.”
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