Archive for June, 2007

I would like to commend the New Client Services Department of Sundance Vacations.  In the month of May we did a program “Five Star Teamwork.”  Every Monday Judy and I conducted a meeting with the staff on different issues.  Examples were:  Be Committed to…                                                                                                                                                                                              

          EACH OTHER…                                                                                                             

THE MISSION…                                                                                                             

THE CUSTOMER…                                                                                                       

RESOLVING CONFLICTS…                                                                                        

THE DETAILS…                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

The theme for June was LEAP-                                                                                                                                                         

Listen-focus on understanding their concerns.

Empathize-imagine yourself in their shoes.

Acknowledge-tell them you understand. 

Pamper-go the extra mile to make it right.                                                                                                                                    

Every week we would discuss issues that we had with clients and what we did to help resolve their issues and make sure they were happy.  It was a great way to give the department some cross training by sharing how each one of us handles a situation and what we can do to make us better.                                                                                                                         

As a thank you for all of their hard work Sandy, Judy and I had a Tropical themed party.  Sandy made chicken shishkebobs, fruit punch and a cake, Judy made a fruit salad and I made spaghetti salad and baked potatoes.  We had a really nice day.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it.  Sandy and Sarah are working on a LEMON theme for July.                                                                                                                  

“When life gives you lemons, make Lemonade!”                                                                                 

Kelly Valovich ~ Wilkes Barre Admin

At the Olde York Street Fair in the beginning of May, our permission marketing staff was on site when a man in his motorcycle tipped over.  The man drives around York daily with his two Bassett Hounds on either side of him.  David Ausem, a staff member based in East Stroudsburg, PA, jumped to action immediately to help out.  The man, who turned out to be a public figurehead around York, was not seriously injured, but still received as much help as our staff could give him.  David and Rich Tokar stayed with the man, making sure that he was all right, while manager Scott Brunnenmeyer took the dogs home for him. 

It’s awesome to know that these three were there to help, and rose to the occasion!                                                                                                                   

Kristin Bellino ~ Wilkes Barre Admin

This past Sunday, I went to the Pocono race with my husband and we had such a good time even though it rained. We went to one of the tents that were giving away samples of all kinds of stuff and while we were in line, a young girl came up to me and asked me if I wanted to sign up for free gas. I looked at the form and it was a Sundance Vacations form. I told her that I worked for Sundance and we talked for a bit and then she went on to someone else. My husband and I went to look around by the souvenir trucks. As soon as we walked in there we saw the Sundance Vacations booth. I went over to the booth and with a young man. When I told him that I worked for Sundance, he told me that he was new and really enjoying his job. Our event staff did a great job!                                                         

There was so much to see and do. We walked through this truck that was a Jack Daniels tour. At the end of the tour, they took our picture and told me that I could go on line and download our picture. When I did, Clint Bowyer was in the picture with us. I thought that was pretty cool. We also took a tour of Crown Royal. They had a beanbag toss, if you got the beanbag in the hole; you won a prize. Of course we didn’t win. My husband had his picture taken sitting on a throne.                                                                                                                                 
After a 2 1/2 hour rain delay, the race finally got started. It was a very good race while it lasted. They got 106 laps in and it had to be stopped because it was raining in turn 1. Unfortunately, Jeff Gordon won (not a fan). My husband is a Ryan Neuman fan and let me tell you, he was not a happy camper. Ryan Neuman came in second. I wish our Sundance car was in the race because that would have made it even more exciting for me. Even though I won’t be going to the race in August, I hope that our Sundance Vacations car is in it.

(Click on Image to enlarge picture)                                                                                                                                             

Margee Kuhl ~ Wilkes Barre Admin

I am thrilled to announce that Sundance Vacations received the 2007 Stevie Award for Best Overall Company during The American Business Awards gala held at New York City’s Marriott Marquis Hotel on June 11, 2007.  Larry Wilmore of The Daily Show with John Stewart served as Master of Ceremonies.  The Stevie Awards were created to honor and publicly recognize the efforts, accomplishments and positive contributions of companies and business people worldwide.                                                      

The Stevie is known as “the business world’s version of the Oscars” (New York Post, April 27, 2005), the Stevie statuette is even made by R.S. Owens, the same company that designs the Oscar, the Clio and other major awards. The American Business Awards are the only national awards program that honors virtually all types of business organizations.                                                                                                                            

Our General Manager & VP of Marketing, Joe Molitoris, and Marvin Metzger, CFO, attended the award ceremony along with many of the nation’s leading business professionals.   Joe accepted the Stevie statuette, “we were stunned!” he exclaimed, “to be considered with all the other candidates was an honor in itself, but to actually be chosen was phenomenal!”                                                                                                                          

“If Sundance Vacations were a public company, an announcement like this could send the stock price soaring.  As a private company we take pleasure in the morale of our staff soaring and the enormous sense of pride and accomplishment that goes with being named Best Overall Company,” explained Sundance President, John Dowd.               

More than 2000 nominations were submitted in more than 40 categories and only 128 Finalists actually received a Stevie award.  I sent in several nominations and Sundance was selected as finalists in three categories!  We were all really pulling for Joe to win Best Marketing Executive and the Marketing Team to win Best Marketing Team, but winning Best Overall Company is absolutely fantastic and a reflection on each and every one of us!

There is an almost tangible hum of excitement in the office this week, and it seems like every other phone call is from someone calling to say congratulations! We are all so proud and excited.  Led by John and Tina, we all do our best to make this a great company and to be recognized for our hard work and dedication is an awesome feeling.  Sundance is not just a place where people work, it’s a place where people are committed to their clients, their neighbors and each other… we are a family.                                                                    

Kathy O’Mara ~ Wilkes Barre Admin

Recently, we here at Sundance Vacations in the Administration office went to a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Yankees game. We all had such a great time. I am not a big baseball fan but I still enjoyed myself. I really went because my husband LOVES sports no matter what it is. I am really happy I took part in this event that Marvin worked hard on to get us the tickets.                                                                                                                                                      

I really enjoy getting out of the office and hanging out with the people you see more than your husbands and kids but in a more relaxed environment. Here in the corporate office we try to get out as much as possible just to relax and not have to worry about getting your work done.                                                                                                                                              

I would suggest this to everyone in all the other offices. We nominate a person in the office to be the "Fun Coordinator". Each year we switch off and nominate someone else so everyone gets a chance. The "Fun Coordinator" plans a couple nights out of the year to get together outside of the office and have fun. I know one year we ended up doing a dating game and another year we held a Bar Olympics. This year there have been some ideas getting thrown around about maybe having a triathalon or even something simple like going bowling. We always try doing fun things with each other. I know if someone leaves the company we like to throw a goodbye party and we all bring in some sort of food and we all eat lunch together.                                                                                                                  

Another fun thing we do is how we celebrate birthdays. Everyone that wants to participate donates a dollar for each month to the "Birthday Coordinator". I happen to be the Birthday Coordinator and every few months I take the money and I go and buy things for lunch. So far this year I had Ziti catered with some salad. Next one I will buy stuff for us to go outside and have a little BBQ. Everyone loves hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill.                                                                                                                                        

I figured I would make this little suggestion to all the other offices because everyone here in the corporate office has so much fun doing all these things. It’s not anything big like the company picnic or anything but it makes the workday a little more fun and exciting. Give it a try and see if it works for your office. And one more thing, HAVE FUN!!!                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Angela Kinney- Wilkes-Barre Admin

It’s that time of year again. RACE TIME!!! NASCAR is coming to town for the Pocono races this weekend and we here at Sundance Vacations are getting ready. It’s nice that we have something big like this happen right in our own backyard. So, our Sundance team is ironing their shirts, packing up the vehicles and getting the Sundance model car ready.  Unfortunately, our Sundance sponsored car will not be in this race, but don’t get down and disappointed yet. We still have one more race this summer for our car to win. That means we have another shot at taking home the trophy. I just want to wish “Good Luck” to the Sundance team and I hope they have a really great time.                                                                             

Angela Kinney-Wilkes-Barre Admin

Hey everyone,                                                                                                                                                                       

I just wanted you all to be aware that there are a few babies around here who are drooling hard in hopes of becoming the next Baby Idol.                                                                                   

Please go to:
http://www.97bht.com/babyIdolVote01.php to view the babies who are entered in the competition.                                                                                                                                                            

Some employees from Sundance Vacations entered their babies in the contest.  If you need a beautiful baby to choose from, we recommend taking an extra look at these bundles of joy:                                                                                           

Baby Michael
Baby Idol #768
Son of Kelly V in NCS                                                                                                                                                          

Baby Bianca
Baby Idol #533
Daughter of Lizette B in NCS                                                                                                                                                

Baby Keira
Baby Idol #825
Sister of Courtney in Data Entry                                                                                                                                          

Help these babies drool their way to stardom!  (I also think the moms’ get a few fabulous prizes!)  If your baby is on there,  let us know and we’ll be happy to submit a vote for yours.                                                                                                                                                                                  

Jenny ~ Wilkes Barre Admin

It is now June and it’s beginning to look like summer out there. We were cooped up all winter and had a few rough storms thrown at us. Some of us couldn’t make it to work and some of us did but couldn’t make it home due to the highways being backed up. Now, we are tired of thinking about snow and the cold weather and we are all starting to plan our vacations. The smart ones are using Sundance Vacations to book their vacations and the others are just staying close.

It is really starting to bother me that the gas prices just keep rising due to the fact that the fuel companies just want to benefit from the summer travel. I do not have a family so it is pretty easy for me to fly for my vacation but there are some people with big families that can’t afford to fly because we all know when fuel price goes up then, any guesses? That’s right, then the airfare price goes up! So, these families try to stay as local as possible but still that isn’t benefiting them either. I feel like no matter what we can’t win. It’s not like we can stop driving. Around here we live in the country and there is not much public transportation. Now, if we lived in a big city it would be easier to avoid using the cars but, for us this is not the case. Exxon/Mobile has made $36.13 billion dollars so far this year. It makes you wonder……This is the fuel that lights my fire!!!

Angela Kinney ~ Wilkes Barre Admin

Sundance Vacations, along with companies as diverse as Accenture, and Careerbuilder.com, is among those with multiple Finalists vying for Stevie Awards in the 5^th Annual American Business Awards.                                                                                                              

Known as “the business world’s version of the Oscars” (New York Post, April 27, 2005), The American Business Awards are the only all-encompassing national awards program that honor virtually all types of business organizations.                                                                                                                                                                                                              

More than 2000 nominations were submitted in more than 40 categories ranging from Best Corporate Responsibility Program to Best Mixed Media Campaign.  Sundance Vacations is named as a finalist for Best Overall Company and for the Best Marketing Team.  Joe Molitoris, VP of Marketing and General Manager is named as a finalist for the Best Marketing Executive.                                                            

During more than five weeks of preliminary judging, each nomination was reviewed and rated by business professionals nationwide.  In mid-May 2007, top executives on the Board of Distinguished Judges and Advisors* and their staffs performed the final judging to select the Stevie winners from among the Finalists.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Joining many of the nation’s leading business professionals, Joe Molitoris, Marvin Metzger and their guests will represent Sundance Vacations for the presentation of the 2007 Stevie Awards during a gala at New York City’s Marriott Marquis Hotel on Monday, June 11, 2007.  Larry Wilmore currently of THE DAILY SHOW with JON STEWART for Comedy Central and in the past, Consulting Producer on THE OFFICE for NBC will be Master of Ceremonies.                                                                                                               

R.S. Owens, the same company that designs the Oscar, Clio and other major awards also designs the elegant Stevie trophy.                                                                                                                           

Best Marketing Executive Finalist, Joe Molitoris, says, “I believe that this is quite an honor, to be recognized within our industry.  However, this type of thing does not happen in a vacuum and as much of an honor it is for me, it is more a recognition of the great team that works with me.  I am just as proud to be recognized as part of the Sundance Vacations marketing team that was also selected as a Stevie Award finalist. Whether or not we bring home the hardware, it is still a great thing to be marketing fun and excitement.  I’m certain that there are only a small percentage of others who are able to make that claim.”                                                                                                                                               

Richard Fiegelman, Permission Marketing Event Planner Director, adds, “I believe if Sundance Vacations wins the Stevie award for Best Marketing Team, it will be well deserved due to hard work and the creative process which transpires each day at our company.”                                                                      

* A complete list of members of the Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors and Details about The American Business Awards are available at www.stevieawards.com/aba