February 22, 2008 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

So I’m sitting here today, on a snow day with nobody in their offices, looking for something to do. So I decided to go to snooping around, and found something I’ve been looking for!

It seems that the initial information for ABA 2009 in Charlotte is already online, including registration dates! Now I know everything is subject to change, but hey, it’s a key date to know. If you’re an ABA Maniac like me, and you don’t already know, when you register effects your appointment requests. The earlier you register, the better your chances of getting those appointments you want! I was teaching this in Orientation this year, and even some “old-timers” didn’t know that.

So I’ve already added July 14 at 12:00 noon to my calendar…no meetings that day! I’ll be sitting at the keyboard, hitting “refresh” on my web browser, and getting registered as fast as I can!

Oh…the Charlotte website? http://aba.teameventmanagement.com/2009/ There’s even a tentative schedule on there…my lodging friends aren’t going to be happy (all appointments the same day again this year, guys!). But it looks like we’ve got an evening event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (YES!), and I’m sure plenty more for us NASCAR nuts while we’re in town.

I completed my evaluation of 2008 this morning, and did submit my one request for Charlotte, and I’ll post it here, too. I already asked the Charlotte folks about this, and they say it’s not happening. But I know that “MAC Gives Back” has become a marching call, and we’ve been very generous to our host city for the last few years, helping out raising funds for local charities. One of the best charities I know of is right in Charlotte’s backyard, and I hope ABA will consider doing something to support it…it’s the Victory Junction Gang Camp, founded by Kyle and Patty Petty. They are doing outstanding things for children in need, and I’d love to see ABA do something for this very worthwhile cause while we’re in town.

See you there? I sure hope so!

Free Blog Counter

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

February 14, 2008 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

If you’re reading this, you’ve landed at the last post about the recently completed ABA Marketplace in Virginia Beach. The Wordpress blog software lists these messages in the order they are posted, so you’ll need to jump down the page if you want to read these in the intended order!

Scroll down to the posting named “So Much To Say, So Little Time”, then read back to this one. Or just read ‘em through backwards, if you don’t want to be bothered with all that jumping around. Some things might not make sense at first, but either way, you’ll experience the highs (and lows) of ABA.

And yes, I’ve still got ABA Fever… does anyone know what day registration for Charlotte, NC opens? I want to be online about 15 minutes before it opens, hitting refresh, so I can try to be first in line again!

Free Blog Counter

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

February 14, 2008 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

Now the one everyone has been waiting for. Just how did they talk me into that extremely ill-fitting Indian costume? Ah, therein lies a story…

When I heard about Charlotte’s closing night 70’s theme party, I went and talked to John White, our national costume coordinator. I told him I need something 70’s to wear. He gave it some thought, and had two comments. #1, we had never done anything set in the 70’s, so it would not be easy to do. And #2 (after looking me up and down), he said, and I quote: “Oh, honey…the seventies were so not your decade!” And he was right…having survived them once, I was in no hurry to go through ‘em again.

So I figured I’d just go without a costume. After all, plenty of people don’t do the costume thing. Even though I work for a theatre, I thought I could get away without one. So I packed an extra shirt and tie, and figured I’d just lay low. Emi was flying home that morning, so I’d be going in without my usual wingperson anyway, and probably wouldn’t stay (given memories of last year, I didn’t really want to stay. It just would not have been the same…don’t ask!).

The evening before, at the CTIS graduation, Michelle Jennings asked if I had a costume for the party. When I said no, she asked if I’d like to join her group, as they had a costume for me. I asked what they were doing, and she said it was going to be the Village People, and I would be the indian. Now, understand something…in the pantheon of 70’s groups, the Village People would come in dead last on my list. I never liked them, and I thought YMCA was one of the most irritating songs ever recorded. Sure, we can all do the hand motions, but we can all also do the line dance for the Electric Slide, so it’s not a major skill item here!

But I know Michelle, and Pam, and Jennifer, and the rest of the troop, so I said “what the hey!”. I would meet Pam the next afternoon, after appointments, and pick up the costume. She was on the same floor of the Doubletree, so it would be easy. And there I was, the next afternoon. And there it was…and it was too small (what a shock, eh?).

We talked about it, and decided to give it a shot. After all, just the headdress wouldn’t be enough. After all, I’m such a team player. After all, the word “no” doesn’t cross my lips very often when it’s friends. After all, enough with the after all’s! So we fixed the sleeves to make them longer, put it on, and headed down in the elevator with Pam (the sailor).

In the lobby, we met up with Jennifer (the cop) and Michelle (the construction worker), and waited to hear from the cowboy and the motorcycle guy. And the laughter began…especially when Kim and Danielle walked through. And the pictures started…seemed like everyone wanted their pictures taken with the Village Idiots…er…People. We rode the shuttle over to the Convention Center, and waited some more. Thankfully, they played YMCA while we were at the other end of the lobby, so we missed that humiliation!

And, to top it all off, we weren’t even finalists for the costume contest. Some people with us said we should storm the stage and force a vote, but that wouldn’t be proper. I’m sure Donna had a reason for not picking us, even though the people who won were more 60’s than 70’s. But it’s not “sour grapes”…we had fun, attracted a LOT of attention, and ended the week on a high note. And I learned that, no matter what, I’m “a good sport”! Whatever that means….

Free Blog Counter

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

February 10, 2008 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

I haven’t made much noise about it, but I’ve been working all year towards something very important to me. And now I have it, which you may have noticed when you see who posted this. I have now graduated with my CTIS!

“Whoa up, there, Tex”, you may say…”What in tarnation is that there CTIS?”. It’s a special designation offered by the American Bus Association called “Certified Travel Industry Specialist”. I’ve taken classes in Customer Service, Business Writing, Advertising and Marketing, Time Management and Financial Documents, and passed ‘em all. Some were great (I still look at the book from the Customer Service class!), and some were not so great, but all were very beneficial to my growth and knowledge of this industry.

Other organizations have their certifications…NTA offers the CTP, SYTA offers their new certification in Student Travel Planning, and there are others. But just as ABA is the top organization, CTIS is the top designation in this field. I would encourage anyone who is truly serious about group sales to consider taking this course. It took me less than one year, and I did learn quite a bit that I’m already using.

The graduation was held on Wednesday afternoon, and was great fun (if a bit crowded…all the past CTIS graduates come to cheer for their new members). We had one of the biggest classes ever (29 of us this year), and it was great to put faces with names, and establish new friendships with classmates we’d never met before (outside of class emails). Can’t wait to be a mentor for one of the new class members.

Ask me about becoming one of the few, the loud, the CTIS Cadre! Once you go CTIS, you never go back….

Free Blog Counter

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

February 10, 2008 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

Wednesday afternoon of ABA featured a second set of sightseeing tours of the Hampton Roads area. I had signed up for a tour on Sunday, but ended up not taking it, so I could make sure everything was ready for the Super Bowl Party.

So I was ready for the tour Wednesday! Emi and I had signed up for the Whale Watching tour out onto the ocean, with a visit to the Aquarium afterward. To our delight, our new friends from the Saturday evening party were going on the same trip (and, of course, plenty of snake jokes were flying around the coach on the way to the boat).

We pulled up to the harbor (three coaches full of eager people), and we were set on getting up front somehow. Everyone on the first boat seemed to go upstairs, rather than out front, but that boat was full by the time we got close. So we got to be among the first to get on the second boat. Great timing…we ended up right up front, and this boat had an extension from the prow out over the water (never learned what that is called). The other boat was flat in front, so we really lucked out! It’s my favorite place to be — way out over the water, with nothing under you but the surf.

Of course, given that it was February, we never saw any whales (or dolphins, for that matter). Plenty of laughter, though…lots of “Finding Nemo” references, and the usual sick humor. And with that, we hit on the second running joke for the four of us. Emi has a gold whale fluke hanging around her neck…Matt got it for her in Hawaii, and she’s worn it ever since. She absolutely adores whales, and has been on many a whale watching excursion in the past.

We made one too many snake jokes, and Danielle had finally had enough. She fired off a comment about getting some “whale tail”, and we were on the floor again. From that moment on, she and Emi were sisters…one with snakes, and the other with whale tail. Kim and I just howled with laughter.

And, as always seems to happen, it worked out great, as Emi DID find some whale tail! At the gift shop at the Aquarium, she found a beautiful glass whale fluke, submerging with a splash! It’s going on her desk, and will fit in perfectly for her. A great fun afternoon, and a very welcome break from a busy week on the show floor.

Free Blog Counter

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

February 10, 2008 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

As many of you know, I’ve been working for months on the first ever semi-official Pennsylvania Dine-Around Party. While the state officially sponsors an Operator breakfast every year, we thought it would be fun to put together a special event for Dine-Around evening. The Super Bowl falling on Sunday evening gave the perfect opportunity.

We were able to pull together quite a gang of sponsors, and had invited a lot of Operators. It took months of planning and organization to put together. At one point, during the process, my daughter Bethany came up to me, watched me work on spreadsheets, booklets, and such, and asked “Why?”.

She saw all the phone calls, emails, design and redesign work on the collateral materials, and the moments of frustration when something doesn’t go the way I want it to. She asked what I was paid to do this, and was shocked when I told her I wasn’t getting paid for the effort.Even with the moments of frustration, it’s not all that much work when you love what you’re doing! Putting something like this together was a blast for me…I get to meet people from all across Pennsylvania, I get to plan something fun to do at my favorite convention, and I know that the reward of putting on a great event is so very worth the work that it takes. I guess it goes back to that Anne Beiler quote I used before (read further through the Blog postings to find it, if you don’t know it already). It does help that I’m doing this with (and for) my second family, and that helps spur on some extra creativity. After all, there were plenty of Super Bowl parties during ABA this year. Ours was simply the best one!

Bethany was even more amazed that I’ve already started working on events and ideas for the 2009 convention in Charlotte, and 2010 in Alexandria. Again, I’m doing it because it’s something I love doing (although some of my second family attribute it to utter madness)! We talked about it further, and she understood a little better. But really, it’s not something you understand until you’re involved in it. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything else!

Thanks to everyone who joined us in a very casual atmosphere (which is what everyone said they liked best), and please consider joining us next year, in Charlotte, NC. We won’t have the Super Bowl, but we’re going to have a new event that many people WILL want to join in on. More details to follow…

Free Blog Counter

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

February 9, 2008 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

Last year, when Virginia Motorcoach was in Pigeon Forge, we saw a ton of shows, and nearly every show in town featured the same three elements at the end of the show…country music, gospel music, and patriotic music. Many of us ended up holding up 1 finger when they started the country segment, 2 fingers when the gospel began, and three fingers for the final element that ended every show (except one). It was something that continues to this day, like any good running joke (happened again during a show we enjoyed during North Carolina Motorcoach a week ago, in fact).

But these three fingers were well deserved, as ABA “officially” opened the convention Sunday morning with a salute to the military. If you’ve never been to Virginia Beach, or Hampton Roads as a whole, the presence of our military is very powerful there. You’ve got Naval repair facilities in Norfolk and surrounding, and the jets taking off and landing from NAS Oceana (2 miles from the Convention Center) were a constant background to everything we did.

No politics here…you can agree or disagree with our presence in (name your favorite foreign country). I don’t care if you think we should or should not be there. I DO care about those men and women that are out there..it wasn’t their choice where to go, only to serve, protect and defend the country they love so much. For that, no matter the reasons, we owe them so much more than we could ever repay.

A representative of each branch of the military spoke to us about their service, their experience, and why they serve. It was at times very funny, and frequently heart wrenching, with very few dry eyes in the house. When one told about losing a friend to an IED, all I could think of was my brother-in-law Carl, who is in Iraq right now, and who lost his roommate to a similar device. And Roni couldn’t take it at all, and left the room very quickly…two of her sons ship out to Afghanistan very soon, so she didn’t need to hear any of this right now.

Thanks, ABA/Virginia Beach, for reminding us that it’s not a political issue after all. It’s men and women doing what they are told, who need our support more and more each day. To Marine Captain John Sand, Air Force Technical Sergeant Paralyn McClain, Navy Petty Officer Emily Klinefelter, and Army Staff Sergeant Gary Heffernan, thank you very VERY much for bringing it all home for us all. May God richly bless you for your service and dedication.

Free Blog Counter

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

February 9, 2008 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

Saturday evening of ABA, we went to the opening event at the Cavalier Beach Club. It was a blast…two bands cranking up in two different parts of the area, and fire pits blazing outside (in a fairly stiff wind…about the only really cold evening we had to endure the entire time we were in Virginia Beach!).

But the highlight for us? It had to be the gentleman making balloon animals. It led to a great new ongoing joke, and an even better new ongoing friendship. The guy (never did get his name) was amazing…I used to tie poodles out of balloons when I was a teenager, but the creations this man crafted were lightyears beyond anything I used to attempt. Turtles in a bubblebath, butterfly hats, and wings for people to wear on their backs– it’s balloon art taken to the highest level!

We stood in line, marvelling at his work, and waiting our turn. When he turned towards us, I let him know how crazy Emi is about whales. He got a mischievious look in his eye, winked at her, and set to work with a black and a white balloon. A neat looking Orca quickly emerged, but he wasn’t finished. What good is the whale without the sea? Soon, he measured Emi’s head, and started on the sea…a 2-3 foot high column of intertwined light and dark blue balloons that rose from her head to support her nameless Orca. When it was all done, a round of applause from us all, and Emi had to duck to get through doorways the rest of the evening!

Then it happened…we were standing there during all this time with a couple of Operators (names withheld to protect the innocent), and making comments about the animals he was making. One of the Operators very innocently spoke up at one point and said, “I can do snakes”, and everyone standing around lost it! She, of course, meant nothing by it, attempting a joke about making simple balloon animals, but everyone took it to the extreme, and a running joke was born! More on that later…

The evening was capped by fireworks shot from the edge of the water over the beach. We went and sat on the wall above the sand, and had a great view (especially when some of the embers came down fairly close). A little more dancing, and then back on the buses, with everyone receiving a small Dolphin as a gift from our hosts. A perfect ending to a great evening, opening a great show!

Free Blog Counter

- Black & Decker

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

February 9, 2008 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

So, let’s get started with the ABA In Review. I arrived in Virginia Beach around 9:00 Friday evening, after a very long drive (made long by plenty of stops along the way to get last minute supplies and items needed for the next week). Went to the Convention Center the next morning to register, and get to work.

I wanted to start giving back right away, so I signed up to work in Orientation. I guess it only makes sense, given all the teaching I do. But I never expected to have so much fun there! I sat as an ambassador for a while, answering questions, but the real fun was giving the floor tours. If you’ve never taken one (or if it’s been a while), the tour guides wear a microphone (the “Madonna setup” as Chris Shepler calls it), while the people taking the tour wear headphones. It’s a great way to do this, as it lets the guide talk without having to raise their voice, or disrupt anything around them.

Of course, I ended up going off script frequently, but never got a complaint. I tried hard to answer (and encourage) questions throughout the tours, and had one 30 minute tour take 55 minutes! Chris even came out looking for us, and Lois told me later that they were all in the Orientation Center saying “Where’d he go with that tour?”. Hey, when they’re asking good questions, I’m not going to cut them off, or make them stop!

It was also funny how many friends would come up during the tours for a hug, a quick “Hiya!”, or just to be disruptive. Guess I learned what kind of friends I really do have…the best kind! And people really enjoyed having the tour stop near them…we always got plenty of cheers from the Hard Rock booth, greetings to the group from the CTIS booth, and I loved it on the one tour I gave Monday when Chef Clayton Sherrod from Birmingham gave us a quickie cooking show in his booth!

I can’t encourage everyone enough to get involved! Working in Orientation is great, as is working in Resource Central, Registration, Education, CTIS, and other areas. The ONLY way ABA works every year is the amazing number of volunteers from all parts of the industry who band together to make the convention work. It doesn’t take away from your networking time…if anything, I did MORE networking either while on tour, or as a result of doing a tour, than I did last year when I just attended the show. So when the opportunity arises next year, sign up and help out in an area of need. You will be so very glad you did!

Free Blog Counter

- Black & Decker

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

February 9, 2008 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

Got home this afternoon from an astounding, amazing, colossal ABA convention. I was shocked how many people said they can’t wait to see what I write about it here! Thanks for your support, and for letting me know people actually read my inane rantings!

I do have plenty to talk about, and will do so over the next week or so. There are stories to tell, observations to make, experiences to relate, answers to questions asked at the convention, and much more. But it’s after midnight, and I’m several miles past exhausted, so it’ll have to wait for tomorrow.

But before heading off to bed, I have to express some undying thanks…first, to our hosts in Virginia Beach, and all of Virginia. No offense to Grapevine’s efforts, but this was head and shoulders above last year. From the opening celebration at the Cavalier Beach Club (loved the fireworks), to the hand-off to next year in Charlotte, NC, the VBCVB had it in the bag. Sure, there were some small things, but overall, an A+++ effort.

Next, to the ABA Staff, for all their hard work. Watching them at work (everyone with a clipboard and radio…everyone except Pete, that is!), dancing the coordination dance was fascinating. Lynn and Vicki, you are always impressive!

And to all my new old friends…there are so many stories to tell, from snakes and whale tails, to the Super Bowl, to that weird indian at the party the last night, thank you for sharing your hearts, your lives, your senses of humor, and your week with me, and for allowing me to share right back atcha! Kim, Danielle, Chris, Susan, Kelly, Judy, Bob, Marc, and far too many more to list right here right now (along with the usual suspects — Lois, Roni, Jim, Terri, and of course Emi)…what a week it was!!

Stand by for the stories…I hope to start working on them tomorrow. I think I’ll do it all in chronological order, so you’ll just have to wait until last for an explanation about those Village People! <grin>

Free Blog Counter

- Black & Decker

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »