Erin Charlesworth, manager of Las Vegas Boat Harbor, was as nervous as the proverbial cat in a roomful of rocking chairs on the cold January day at the harbor. It was her uncle Gary Gripentog's birthday, and the family has a tradition that at some point on their birthday, they're going into the water, usually at the hands of several other family members. Charlesworth made the mistake of expressing incredulity when her uncle told her what size shirt he needed for work. He had playfully vowed to take her in with him when he went off the dock.

It's the sort of horseplay you don't expect from a longstanding, award-winning business, but the lighthearted nature of the people who work there may be part of the reason it's lasted so long and been so successful.