Neither rain, nor snow nor sleet nor dark of a Lynnwood winter night has kept 12-year-old brothers Ray Zavala and Nathan Gough from their chosen rounds as carriers of The Enterprise newspaper.
And their dedication – that dad Richard Gough says rivals the U.S. Postal Service – has earned them the honor of being named 2005 Lynnwood/Mountlake Terrace Enterprise Carriers of the Year. The annual award comes to them courtesy of multiple nominations from customers on the two routes serviced by the boys.
“It’s fun, interesting,” Ray said of the job. “It’s cool.”
Nathan said that while the brothers have had plenty of experience with chores around the house, a “job” is different.
“This is a new experience,” Nathan said. “(With) this, you get to do a nice thing for other people.”
Sylvia Jin, the brothers’ mom, said the pair were self-motivated.
“They were the ones who wanted to find a way to earn extra money,” Jin said. “They found (the job) themselves looking in The Enterprise.”
As junior carriers, Ray and Nathan are independent contractors, running their own business that permits them to request a $2-per-month donation from each customer for their delivery services. The newspaper itself is free.
As Lynnwood Carriers of the Year, Nathan and Ray will join fellow honorees from the Mill Creek, Lynnwood and Shoreline areas for a Silvertips hockey game, enjoyed from The Herald’s private suite at the Everett Events Center.
Richard Gough said the boys had considered other options, such as mowing lawns, although that wasn’t much of an option when they started the two routes in November.
Nathan, a soccer player, said he also considered turning play into work and joining a friend refereeing games for 8-year-olds. “She says it’s fun,” he said.
In the end, it was the paper routes and dad said they couldn’t have picked a tougher time to be introduced to the world of work.
“This is their first job,” Richard Gough said. “They started in November and it was cold, dark, pouring rain. They get out and do it, rain or shine.”
He said the experience is teaching his sons the value of money. “They talk about spending it, but now they think about how hard it was to earn it.”
Jin added: “It’s the accountability of it.”
Ray and Nathan walk their routes delivering 107 papers.
“We started using backpacks and could hardly walk,” Ray said. “Now we’ve got the (Enterprise carrier) bags.”
The good part of the job, they said, is getting out doing the routes. “I like the walking, and people sometimes smile,” Nathan said.
The money part isn’t too bad, either, they said.
“(Collecting) is pretty good,” Ray said. “The first house we do gives us $5.”
The boys differ a bit on their approaches on what to do with their money.
“It lasts me for the whole month,” Ray said of his spending habits.
Nathan has a harder time parting with his pay. “Usually, I save it,” he said. “I don’t like to spend … I have a little safe.”
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