Thomas Dodson - Sacramento Bee 3.11.10

Model citizen (Bob Shallit's Column)

It pays to be in the right place at the right time.

So says local marketing guy Thomas Dodson, who recently accompanied buddies to a fashion show at the Mix Downtown.

While there, one of the show's organizers approached him with a question: Had he ever done any modeling?

"Noooo," he replied skeptically. But the woman, from Sacramento's Cast Images, told him he was a natural.

"She said I had an 'aspirational' look – attractive yet approachable," he says. He agreed to have some photos taken and "see where it goes."

Four days later he had a contract for his first gig – a 10-hour day of photo work at the Atlantis Casino in Reno.

He's been told the Atlantis photos could wind up in magazines and on billboards. Other jobs may be ahead.

It's a fun cap to an item we wrote Tuesday about how Dodson was facing possible layoff at Anova Architects before his boss crafted a plan for him to split hours between two companies.

"I was on the verge of being unemployed," he tells us. "Now I'm on the verge of being overemployed."

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