'UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY'
'Hotdoggers' bring Wienermobile to Walworth County
An Oscar Mayer Wienermobile recently made several stops in Walworth County, including Stinebrink's Piggly Wiggly in Lake Geneva and Stinebrink's Delavan Piggly Wiggly on Oct. 2.
Oscar Mayer Wienermobile representatives Luke Kirchner and Kampbell Hemeyer show off their Wienermobile at Stinebrink's Piggly Wiggly, 100 E. Geneva Square. on Oct. 2.
Oscar Mayer Wienermobile representative Kampbell Hemeyer shows off the interior of the Wienermobile during a stop at stinebrink's Piggly Wiggly in Lake Geneva.
SPREADING THE WORD
A well-known, hot dog-shaped vehicle recently visited Walworth County.
Oscar Mayer Wienermobile representatives and "Hotdoggers" Kampbell Hemeyer of Hermann, Missouri, and Luke Kirchner of Houston, Texas, made stops with their Wienermobile vehicle at Stinebrink's Piggly Wiggly, 100 E. Geneva Square in Lake Geneva, and Stinebrink's Delavan Piggly Wiggly, 1414 E. Geneva St. in Delavan, on Oct. 2— then made an appearance during the Delavan's Oktoberfest on Oct. 3.
During their visits, the duo shared information about the Wienermobile and Oscar Mayer products, took pictures with visitors, offered views of the vehicle's interior and distributed Wienermobile whistles.
"We're spreading the word of the Wienermobile to fans, people who have never seen it before and people who are going to the grocery store," Hemeyer said.
Hemeyer's and Kirchner's yearlong Wienermobile journey began in June, making stops in Minnesota, Kansas and Ohio. During the upcoming weeks, they are set to visit northern Illinois and the Chicagoland area.
Six Oscar Mayer Wienermobile vehicles travel throughout the country.
Hemeyer said she has enjoyed the Midwest and meeting Wienermobile enthusiasts.
"From big cities to small towns, you get to meet so many cool folks and fans," Hemeyer said. "People even give us little gifts once in awhile. We've been able to gather so many cool stories on the road."
The Wienermobiles also make appearances at fairs and festivals.
Request for an appearance, which should be made three12 months in advance, can be submitted at www.wienermobile, oscarmayer.com/request.
Kirchner said each stop lasts between one and six hours.
"It really depends on what the schedule is, what is requested of us and what we can make work with our schedule," Kirchner said.
Hemeyer admits the vehicle receives a lot of attention.
"It's a parade wherever we go," she said. "We are always getting honks and waves and all sorts of looks. People have to take pictures and videos of the Wienermobile, so we always got to make sure it's in top dog shape."
Before hitting the road, Hemeyer and Kirchner received two weeks of training at Hot Dog High in Madison, where they learned about the history of Oscar Mayer and its products, special events planning and how to operate a Wienermobile.
"That's what us 'hotdoggers' do to get ready to cut the mustard on the road," Hemeyer said.
Kirchner learned about the Wienermobile operator position through an online application sent by his mother.
"It's such a unique opportunity to travel the country for an entire year and just spread joy," Kirchner said. "There's not many jobs where your whole responsibility is to make people smile."
Hemeyer applied for the position when Oscar Mayer representatives visited the University of Missouri, where she is attending college.
"I decided this would be such a perfect job to meet people on the road, travel for a year and also make people smile along the way," Hemeyer said. "There's no other job that can quite share the magic like the Wienermobile does."
Hemeyer's and Kirchner's Wienermobile tour and 'hotdogger' careers are set to end in June 2027.
"Once your year is up, you are expired meat," Hemeyer said. "You cannot do it again. You can only do it once. They get a new class of 'hotdoggers' every single year, so they like to keep it fresh."
Carl Mayer developed the idea for the Wienermobile vehicle in 1936 to help promote the company's products.
