Archive for April, 2007

On December 16th 2006, John and Tina threw their annual Sundance Vacations Christmas Party. This year it was at Gennetti’s in Hazleton and it seemed to be no different than any other year. It was still a formal affair with great food, dancing and awards galore. Each of the marketing offices was invited along with all of the administrative staff. New to the Christmas party this year was the Permission Marketing Department. As usual, everyone was having such a great time. Marvin missed the event this year, so John took his place handing out the awards for the Administrative Department. Last year, Ron Vaccaro won Employee of the Year in the Administration Department and we were all sure he was going to receive it again this year for all the hard work he does. We call him "Mini Marv." As John was standing in the front of the room giving a speech about the person receiving the award this year, we were all kind of glancing Ron’s way waiting for him to stand up so we could start clapping. When, low and behold it was not Ron’s name that was announced. It was mine! That’s right, I was the Employee of the Year. I was in such disbelief as my jaw literally hit the ground. I looked around at everyone to see if they heard what I heard and sure enough everyone was staring at me and clapping. My husband leaned over to give me a kiss and tell me how proud he was of me. That’s when I fully realized that my name was called and I better not leave John standing up there waiting for me any longer. As I went to receive my award Joe Molitoris was there to congratulate me and John shook my hand as he handed my award to me. He also made a joke that he hoped my husband wouldn’t get mad because they accidentally put my maiden name on my plaque. I knew he wouldn’t mind because he was just so proud of me for winning such an honorable award. I just want to say a big Thank You to Marvin, John and Tina for taking the time to think of me as the winner for this award. It makes you feel so good when you know someone really does recognize how hard you work and you get rewarded for it.
Angela Kinney~Wilkes Barre Admin

I just want to say congratulations to Sarah Jarvie and her family on the birth of their new baby girl, Bailey.  Sarah’s first born arrived at 3:17 p.m., on Sunday afternoon, April 22, 2007.  The little bundle of joy weighed in at 5 lbs. 10 ounces and measured 19 ¼ inches long. 

Sarah works at the Sundance Vacations office in Princeton, NJ.  Though her title is “receptionist” she helps with many other duties as well.  I already miss her very much and so does the entire Princeton office staff.  The manager of the Princeton office, Ed Coppinger, feels so lost without her that he calls her a few times a day, just to say hello (and sometimes ask her where something is!).   Once again Congratulations, Sarah!  I am so happy for you and I can’t wait to see some pictures.

Angela Kinney ~ Wilkes Barre Admin

We’ve been with TAN, through Sundance Vacations, for six years now, and we’ve enjoyed many trips.  So, we’re happy that we answered that phone call that got us to Sundance!  The BEST part is that it “gets us going,” instead of thinking about it!  It’s so easy to take a trip the TAN way!

Our Favorite DesTANations:

Cape Cod, MA: 

Stayed at Colonial Cottage #F . . . a real doll house . . . pretty as a picture . . . convenient to the whole Cape . . . loved Chatham, Brewster and its museum and country store, JFK complex, North Truro and its “haunted” Highland Light area,  Provincetown and a whale-watching trip where we saw at least 5 different kinds of whales.  Next time, we’ll visit the two islands.

Myrtle Beach, SC: 

Myrtle Beach Resort . . . used the indoor/outdoor heated pool at the Clubhouse every day even though it was November . . . right on the Atlantic Ocean  . . . SO much to do in this place, and we enjoyed it all . . . Broadway, Dolly Parton, Legends show, dinner at sunset on the water!  A friend used another week here!

Phoenix, AZ:

Pointe Resort Condos was our favorite trip.  It was a terrific condo with great pools, hot tub, tennis, perfect weather (79-80 degrees while it was 5 degrees in Jersey), wonderful location so that we could visit Scottsdale, Apache Trail (lunch at Tortilla Flats—really cool), Cave Creek, Montezuma’s Castle, Sedona (pink jeep and all), Sunset Crater National Forest, Navajo Pueblo, Flagstaff, and of course the Grand Canyon.  But, another highlight was taking our very first hot-air balloon ride with Unicorn!  Loved every minute of that trip, and it was just one week!  Only problem:  it was just cold coming home!

Florida:

Kissimmee, FL: 

The Magic Tree resort was very nice . . . had two families with us with little kids . . . great pool, hot tub, shuffleboard, and they loved the children . . . very convenient to Disney . . . went every day to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, SeaWorld, etc.

Indian Shores, FL:

Bay Shores Yacht and Tennis Club was a great condo right on the InterCoastal Waterway . . . lovely pool . . . took the trolley along the coast . . . swam at Clearwater Beach . . . explored Madeira Beach restaurants and shops . . . drove to Tarpon Springs and Spring Hill . . . then on to Tampa for daughter’s art show opening.

Daytona Beach, FL:

We’ve been to Daytona Beach twice—once at Perennial Vacation Club and, this year at Sea Shells Resort . . . both right on the ocean . . . so much to do . . . St. Augustine, Ponce Inlet Lighthouse, great restaurants . . . convenient to so many friends.

Virginia Beach, VA: 

Reflections Resort is perfect!  Tennis right out in back of the condo . . . right near the shopping mall, within biking distance . . . a short ride to the beach . . . enjoyed biking on the boardwalk, the Coast Guard Museum, First Landing State Park, Cape Henry and the lighthouses, Edgar Cayce’s complex, and, of course, the BEACH!

Bethany Beach, DE: 

Foxfire, at Bethany Meadows . . . just a short bike ride to the boardwalk, breakfast, library, and a longer ride to Fenwick Island and Ocean City, MD, which we did (18 miles one day!) . . . enjoyed a day at Assateague/Chincoteague in VA with a 9-mile bike ride and a good time at the beach.

Gatlinburg, TN: 

Summit – does that tell you how high up the mountain we were?  A lovely place, great pools, hot tub . . . this town is the greatest with restaurants, quaint and unique shops, artisan’s loop, hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains, biking on Loop Road in Cade’s Cove, but the highlight was our first white-water rafting trip on Big Pigeon!  Up front, no less!  Never laughed so hard!  Great fun!

New Orleans, LA: 

Plaza Suites Resort, right in the heart of New Orleans . . . were there earlier in the year when Katrina hit, so we saw the “old” New Orleans . . . loved the restaurants, dancing at night . . . Audubon Zoo and Aquarium . . . Natchez on the Mississippi . . . and ALL that New Orleans had to offer!  Bignette, anyone?

Poconos, PA:

We love the Poconos, and we’ve been to the Villas at Tree Tops, part of Fernwood Resort . . . snowtubing is the BEST! . . . fun entertainment . . . great pools, sledding, skiing, and exploring the area!  Also stayed at the Shawnee on the Delaware condo . . . again, skiing, using their pool, fire every night, playground right out the back door.  Our son enjoyed Snow Ridge Village, too!

We’re planning our next “jaunt” for the fall.  This is fun!!!  We’ve had a wonderful time each trip and know that there will be many, many more in our future! 

Ralph and Alice (Petkus) Mason

Wyckoff, NJ

On Thursday May 31, 2007 Derrick and Dylan Reese, sons of Connie Reese (MTC Days) and grandsons of Ginger Reese (MTC Dayshift Manager) will participate in the Race For Education. The event will be held by their school, Trinity Academy in Shenandoah. The children will walk 1/4 mile laps around the track to raise funds to continue providing children with a quality Catholic education. During the next few weeks each office should receive a pledge form via the mail. Please, if you are able, please donate. Your donation will be based on either laps completed (e.x. $1.00 per lap) or a flat donation. Any questions on this you can contact Connie Reese of Sundance Vacations at 1-800-913-9000. Thank you in advance for your donations from Derrick and Dylan Reese.

Jennifer R. MTC Days

It looks and sounds like the Sundance Vacations corporate staff all had fun during the Anti-Establishment Day.  Everyone says laughter is a great stress release and I’m sure you all were laughing most of the day.  John is always thinking fun things to do.  The Marketing Managers are going to have to get together with him and figure out something we all could do to spoof Joe someday.  I wonder how much trouble we could get in.  Sounds like fun to me.  Anyone up for it?

Ginger Reese ~ Mt. Carmel 

During the last week of March, our CFO, Marvin Metzger, and our VP of Marketing, Joe Molitoris, were in Orlando, Florida for the ARDA convention.  As they say, when the cat’s away, the mice will play… boy, oh boy, did we play!  The qualities that make Marvin a great manager and team leader; his hands on approach, his attention to detail, his devotion to procedure and adherence to policy are the same qualities that allowed us to have a bit of fun at his expense. Sloppy attire, eating at our desks, and other behaviors that violate company policy tend to “irk” Marvin.  So, at John Dowd’s suggestion, we played an early April Fool’s joke on Marvin and celebrated “Anti-Establishment Day.”  (Don’t get too comfortable, Joe, we haven’t forgotten about you!).

Many companies and offices allow their employees a Casual or Dress Down Day.  For the Sundance Vacations administrative staff, every Friday is Casual Friday. We are allowed to wear jeans and sneakers.  Some clothing, considered “too relaxed” is off limits…well, at least until Wednesday, March 28, when, in honor of “Anti-Establishment Day,” we took “dress down” to a new low (or high, depending on your perspective).

It started as a quiet murmur on the staff grapevine…Was it true?  Was John masterminding a day that involved, among other things, dressing down (way, way down) and eating at our desks?  All for the benefit of busting on Marvin while he was out of town?  Before long, the quiet murmur became a jubilant roar!!  It was true!! That’s right, the ULTIMATE dress down, and on a Wednesday, no less!

We were allowed to wear jeans, flip-flops, slippers, even sweatpants to work.  Many of us looked as though we just rolled out of bed and came to work.  Ahhhh, what bliss ~ total and absolute comfort!  We were rewarded for our attendance with an ice cream social in the conference room.  Ron enjoys his sundaes with plenty of whipped cream!

  (Double Click any picture to enlarge the image)

Some of us, like Anthony, chose to eat our sundaes at our desks.

Rich kicked back to enjoy his chicken nuggets and soda while chatting with Angela, Kristin and Cindy at…gulp,

Marvin’s Desk!!

In preparation for golf season, Jeff spent some time practicing his putting.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

…Margee and Angela’s pose looks as though they’re sneaking a quick smoke ~ OUT THE WINDOW!!                                      

Meanwhile, I tried to help Tina Frisbee, photocopy her face!

(Double click any picture to enlarge the image)

Tina Dowd e-mailed the incriminating pictures to Marvin with a note that said, “John and I hadn’t planned on being in the office today, but when we decided to stop by, look at what we found!

Within minutes, (that’s right folks, minutes) Marvin was on the phone to our office… After a few tense moments, Ron put him on speaker phone and we had great fun yelling, “Gotcha!!”

Marvin claims he knew it was a joke right away-he mentioned that people getting caught doing what we were doing wouldn’t smile and pose for pictures (good point).  However, when asked, Joe Molitoris said, “No matter how much he insists he knew it was false, he did buy into it at first.  I had to buy him a strawberry sundae to drown his tears and frustration!”

I told Marvin I was going to write about “Anti-Establishment Day” for the blog and asked if he had any comments.  He rolled his eyes, thought for a bit, then deadpanned, “All of our projects are behind schedule.”   Then, with a laugh, he added, “Some staff members are more photogenic than I thought!" 

As Marvin demonstrates, it pays to have a sense of humor when working with this bunch of bananas!

~ Kathy O’Mara, Wilkes Barre Office