LOCAL FIREFIGHTERS PROMOTE HASSLE-FREE ADVENTURE WITH THEIR COMPANY: SCORPION ADVENTURES
 When Justin Reed and Eric Johnson coordinated their third annual white-water rafting weekend with twenty friends back in 2001, an interesting conversation developed out of a simple suggestion made by one of their guests. Why don’t you buy your own rafting company or start a weekend getaway business? Reed and Johnson couldn’t help but throw around the idea. Both men are full time Hanover firefighters and are both avid outdoorsman. They enjoyed planning and coordinating parties and trips and realized that with their flexible schedules, it sounded like a diversion worth investigating.
“We loved rafting and getting away with friends;” Johnson recalls, “ It started out as a recreational thing, and when we saw that there were really few options out there-we knew this was the best way we could spend our time off. People always had a good time knowing that they didn’t have to stress about the details- they’d just show up and we’d provide transportation, all the details, down to the camping gear and breakfast.”
Although buying or starting a rafting business was not part of their new business venture, they were both confident that creating an affiliation with one of Maine’s many rafting and adventure companies was going to help them jumpstart their company. The inception of Scorpion Adventures came about in 2003, after both men had secured an agreement with Outdoor Wilderness, a rafting company located out of West Forks, Maine. The rafting services would be provided by the popular Maine company and Scorpion Adventures would provide everything else; transportation, lodging, food and equipment.
In their first year, they were able to coordinate a handful of trips, but the business partners realized that they needed to add a list of additional services to compensate for the off-season. They began asking their friends and family to recommend their livery service for trips into the city and special occasions like bachelor/bachelorette parties. By the start of their first year, they had added a livery component. Before long, the adventure company was busy with trips from Maine to New York City and all over New England.
Today, Scorpion Adventures is seeing an increase in business. Thanks partly to a repeat client source who have helped them expand through referrals. The adventure company has done several rafting weekends, concert and tailgate parties, bachelor/bachelorette parties, Red Sox and other sporting events, winery and brewery tours and with the addition of their Kid’s Packs, customized children’s parties that range from an afternoon of Paintball or a trip to Six Flags.
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