Hello “Happy” !
That was the theme of the 2014 Western Regional Red Carpet Travel Expo and Event in Las Vegas, NV April 2-6. And quite the event it was. The theme song of the event was “Happy” and two folks in particular hummed that tune throughout… Why not when they were each presented a $10,000 bonus check (which actually accounts to $12,000 in their pocket for real.) It was all quite exciting to say the least! Johnette Gore and Jonathan Sawyer were the fortunate recipients.
The event started with many folks doing Site Inspections in several of the large Las Vegas hotels so as to better serve travel clients. With a surgical boot still inconveniently located on my right foot, I decided not to try and tour hotels, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t “Getting Paid to Cruise” down the hallways at Bally’s!
Laughs? Yes, laughter and joy always accompany days together with others in the same occupation. Ours just happens to be the biggest industry on the planet…. TRAVEL~at $8.2 TRILLION per year. That is so big I don’t even know how to attach the zeroes on the end! But I can tell you the bar chart dwarfs Hollywood, Computer Sales, Make-Up, Health Products … all COMBINED! And that’s a lot of happy Dough spent per minute, per hour, per day, per month and per year!
Familiarization events (FAM for short) included my going back in time to black and white t.v. when Red Skelton was popular. We attended a special performance of “Mr. Las Vegas Red himself” Brian Hoffman at the Westin Hotel. Even performing “Clem Kadiddlehopper” mentally took one back to hysterical laughter as we drank our free drinks and enjoyed sinking into the plush lounge chairs. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. Others attended the Legends and/or Jackson concerts.
Friday started a day of travel training second to none. Some became Spain Specialists by attending 3 one-hour sessions, and another lucky winner took home a free Spain trip for two. Love our biz!
I enjoyed having folks eat up my latest CLIA (Cruise Lines International Assn) updates and the latest about accompanying groups on cruise ships. (www.GettingPaidToCruise.com) Seems as though my Master Cruise Specialist certificate and pin arrived just in time.
On Friday four one-hour sessions on various parts of the travel industry kept folks hopping from one room to the other to attend. There were so many informational subjects it was hard to choose one over the other. Shelly Coppersmith, VP of Travel Operations from our ytb home office, also shared the updates continuing to take place in order for the company to reach it’s goal of being the #1 Seller of Travel in the country.
Saturday, many awards were given among green-jacket wearing Coach’s Corner members and Directors. It is always fun to put faces to names. Building a business and recognizing what all we actually have is FUN, FUN, FUN. Ending with a “white party” was quite the event (especially dancing with a black boot on the foot!)
I’m eternally thankful for the exposure I am getting to more and more education in the travel field. That is what makes for helping clients BIG TIME! To think Dr. Marc Mancini, travel figure extraordinaire, wrote the company training program makes me very proud. And to stand among giants like Mr. Lloyd “Coach” Tomer, one of the founders of our company and Mr. Sam Hathi who just joined forces makes me DOUBLY proud!
Wherever you are in life, my wish for you is that you are enjoying your J-O-B and your life as much as I am. Mine is more like recess actually, and yours could be also. I can show you how in a quick 10 minutes. Check out this website as well: www.CLMPeaceTravel.com Yes, that’s what YOUR website could look like, but of course you can name it whatever you wish.
Take care and happy cruising!