Archive for March, 2008

Sundance is full of activity these days. We are gearing up for a busy spring, and an even busier summer. The company has recently signed numerous contracts to sponsor huge spring/summer events including: three major league baseball teams, a major theme park, and a well-known Midwest zoo.

We hit a home run, by signing THREE of major league baseballs finest teams. The company has recently signed with the Chicago Cubs for their 2008 season, the Milwaukee Brewers for 2008/09 seasons, AND the Philadelphia Phillies for their 2008 season. Ironically, the Brewers play the Cubs on March 31^st. This will be a great rival game, so place your bet on who will win!!

The company will sponsor Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in Jackson, New Jersey, from May-September 2008. You will be able to find Sundance near the water park or animal safari. Our logo and a web-banner will be seen on the Hurricane Harbor homepage, so make sure you check it out when you order your tickets!!

Sundance Vacations will also sponsor the Milwaukee County Zoo for their Stingray and Shark Reef Exhibit from May-September 2008. The shark and stingray exhibit is one of the main interactive highlights at the zoo. This exhibit is a touching and petting exhibit, and it will be the last year running, so make sure you get a chance to see what the craze is all about!!

What do you think of the sponsorships, any suggestions? Do you have any ideas for other sponsorships? Don’t forget to place your bets on who will win the Cubs/Brewers game. It’s a fun way of starting off the season!!

-Amanda

Tina Dowd has developed yet another innovation at Sundance. While Chuck Reaves presented the idea, Tina decided to implement an e-newsletter. The e-newsletter was sent to employees to gather their ideas regarding different aspects of the company. The first e-newsletter was sent out on March 5^th. Troy Long a PM events manager was the first one to open the e-mail at 11:11pm, ironically it happened immediately after Tina Dowd had sent it. Tina decided to award him with 1250 V-points for being so work oriented during after work hours. Tina held a random drawing using the ideas that were submitted and Candy Bednar, Tri-State Manager was the lucky winner. It didn’t hurt that Candy had submitted more than one idea either!! Candy was awarded with a four-night stay in Daytona Beach, Florida at Sierra Suites, a new home property. My advice would be to keep sending in ideas; you never know when Tina may surprise you with something!!

How does everyone like the newsletter? Make a guess on how much more revenue the company will generate or save because of this new and improved way of sharing ideas?

-Amanda-

Every once in a while Tina Dowd likes to stir things up a bit. While on a drive to Harrisburg, Tina had this wicked epiphany. She decided that many employees’ needed a better appreciation for one another. Then came the “aha” moment. Her idea was to execute a day in the life of someone else, i.e. a shadowing day. Tina paired people together whom she thought needed a taste of a part of the company they weren’t familiar with. The shadowing day had some whiners, but overall was deemed to be successful, and was!! For the most part employees took the day very seriously. Jeff Warchal was overheard saying, “I’m going to have to walk you through this procedure very carefully.” We all thought he was performing surgery but he wasn’t. He was just teaching Nicole Risboskin about P&L’s. One great thing about Sundance Vacations is that we all have team spirit, so much that V.P of Sales Mike Milillo even participated in the program. The program was a success, and many employees have said they can’t wait to do it again.

Did you enjoy the shadowing program? What do you think should be done differently next time? Do you have a higher appreciation for your co-workers?