August 27, 2007 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

We’ve all got lists of things we’ve always wanted to do. You know…climb Mt. Everest, block a corner kick by David Beckham, actually convince that Tour Operator to come to your property.

Well, I actually achieved one of my “life long goals” over the weekend…and thrill of thrills, it happened during the annual Maryland Motorcoach Association Marketplace in Baltimore, in front of a whole gang of friends, acquaintances, and customers! On Sunday, after a very nice, if abbreviated, Operator Marketplace, we all loaded on motorcoaches to head to Oriole Park at Camden Yards for a ballgame. We had a very nice lunch in the Warehouse, I got to meet Boog Powell as he left his Right Field Bar-B-Que restaurant, and went to sit along the 3rd Base Foul Line (right near the pole in left field).

I was excited…see, I’ve been going to baseball games since before I can remember. We were there for the Detroit Tigers World Series in 1968, I’ve been to Phillies, Pirates, Orioles, and Yankees games in various stadiums. And I’ve always wanted to catch a ball…fair or foul. I even spent one entire Reading Phillies game standing on their Boardwalk in Left Field, just waiting for that homerun I knew was coming. And they all went over our heads, or too far to one side or the other. So the quest continued…

On Sunday, it was about 100 degrees, direct sunlight, and we were burning up before the National Anthem was done. I told everyone in our section that foul balls hit in our direction were going to be handled with care, so they should all just remain seated and let a true professional handle things (which drew quite a laugh, and several challengers). But after 2 innings, we were done. We went out to the concourse, bought some ice cream, and just tried to cool down.

While debating the possibility of getting a cab back to the hotel, as it was really THAT hot, we decided to go sit in the shade and watch more of the game. We went back in, and found some seats in the shade at the very back of the next section. We sat, and watched, and talked, and started enjoying things again, even if it was still “stinkin’ hot!”. Then it happened…

I don’t know who was up to bat, but suddenly I heard the crack of the bat, and looked up to see a foul ball coming straight towards me…but it was going to be about a section short of where we were. I jumped out of the seat, and started moving towards the aisle to go down there (nobody was sitting in about a 20 row section, so it was going to be a footrace to the ball). It hit the back of a seat, bounced high in the air, and I knew it was all mine. A couple of steps to my right, and I could hear the pounding footsteps behind me of the others running for the ball.

I knew I had one chance, so I grabbed my new Orioles hat off my head, and swooped the ball out of the air! I dropped my program, and celebrated like (as I was told later) “an eight year old boy”. I did not care…I had done it! After too many years of trying, I had caught my baseball in a stadium! People came up to me like I was a celebrity…four guys even wanted their picture taken with me, as I had made “the play of the day”.

I love group sales, and I really love the fact that this was accomplished in a group sales setting. I love that my second family was there to see it all (ok, some members of that family weren’t at this show, but it’s the thought that counts). I love that I could share this moment with people who could understand what something like this means to me. And I want to be there when my friends and family celebrate their great moments!

The ball is in a clear plexiglass box (well, the Greg Luzinski autograph on the old ball that lived in that box had faded beyond sight, so it was time), along with the ticket to the game. They will both go to my desk once I return to the office later this week, and I will love telling this story to everyone who wants to hear it.

So…what’s on YOUR list of things you want to do before you leave Earth?  Can I help you reach any of them?

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August 6, 2007 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

Just can’t wait to get on the road again…

The life I love is makin’ music with my friends…

Just can’t wait to get on the road again.

After a fairly quiet summer, it’s back to work time. Many of us are on the way to French Lick State Park in Indiana for the International Motorcoach Group SAM (Strategic Alliance Meeting). And it just heats up from there, with 2 GLAMER shows, Maryland Motorcoach, Trans-Bridge Tours, Fun Tours, Virginia Motorcoach, NTA, Ontario Motorcoach, and NJ Motorcoach between now and the end of November.

My wife (always the wise one of the family) asked a question last night that got me thinking (as her questions always do): “Why do you do these shows, anyway?”. I gave her a flippant answer, she smacked me, and all was right with the world. But I started thinking…why DO we do these shows, anyway?

If you asked 100 Group Sales Professionals, I’m sure you’d get 100 different answers, so I’ll give mine here, then let my friends in the Biz add their comments below, if they’re bold enough.

I do these shows because the people I meet with (on both sides of the table) are part of my extended family.

I do these shows because I get to see new places, meet new family members-to-be, and experience new things all across the country.

I do these shows because I can’t imagine myself doing anything else! Honestly, some of my friends make fun of my Dutch Apple shirts, which I never go anywhere without. My daughter, watching me start packing over the weekend, asked if I own any shirts that don’t have a Dutch Apple logo (yes, I do, and I showed some of them to her!).

But this is my life…it’s more than just a job. We use a quote in the Seminar that resonated with me from the first time I heard it — it’s from Anne Beiler, the founder of Auntie Anne’s Soft Pretzels. She said, “When you find your calling, you no longer go to work.” I haven’t “gone to work” in over 10 years now!

Sometimes it’s hard to explain what a hold Group Sales has on many of us — it’s like no other “job” I’ve ever had (and I’ve had a wide variety of employment, from radio DJ to Office Manager to website designer to computer programmer). This is fun, it’s working with (and for) people I truly enjoy, and promoting a product I absolutely adore!  And I can’t recommend this industry enough!

Now, let me go finish packing…I’ve got a morning flight to catch!

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