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Volume 2, No. 8. April 26, 2002

Survivors near and far
It may seem like a harsh, but fitting, theme for a host and hostess orientation course—“Survivor”—but Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari turned the topic into a celebration and celebrity-enhanced event.

The theme touched on the whole breadth of survival, from getting through a day at the park or dealing with boyfriend/girlfriend problems to real life-or-death struggles. Among the trio of speakers offering testimonials about real-life survival was Rodger Bingham, the “Kentucky Joe” who lasted until the final five on television’s Survivor: Australian Outback series. He was a surprise guest in the annual orientation program for some 300 third-year staff members at the Santa Claus, Indiana, theme park; only the park directors knew who was standing behind the curtain.

“People who had followed Survivor were shocked and thrilled” to see the 54-year-old teacher and farmer from Crittenden, Kentucky, said Paula Werne, Holiday World’s director of public relations. “Everybody else was intrigued. You could tell people were listening and not squirming in their seats waiting for it all to end.”

Bingham had done his homework. He noted the park’s free unlimited soft drink program for guests as a survival technique in opposition to the big corporate parks in the region, and then he praised the assembly for earning Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket awards last season for cleanest and friendliest parks. “We don’t give those things a second thought, but he talked about how remarkable they were,” Werne said. “He said, ‘Friendliest park in the world?’ and let that hang in the air, as if to say, ‘Think about that!’ The directors can go on and on about that, but it’s nice to have that praise come from somebody outside, and somebody you recognize from TV.”

The TV star had a tough act to follow, however, after two homegrown survivors had spoken. First, park owner and matriarch Pat Koch talked of her battle with cancer last summer. Then, John Kenworthy, a seasonal employee, spokes of his own fight with cancer. “He said how every step of the way he didn’t think things would get worse, and then they do,” Werne said. “He stopped and went to his seat and there were some tears. Then he went back to the microphone and said, ‘By the way, last time I went to the doctor he said I was cancer free,’ and everybody cheered.”

The stories were more than merely motivational; they hit home to the park’s mission of delivering customer service. One of the seminar’s most poignant recountings came from Koch, who thought she was on her deathbed in the hospital and had to frequently answer status-of health questions from nurses. One entered the room with a clipboard, but before launching into the litany of questions the nurse soaked a washcloth in cold water and cooled Koch’s forehead. That one bit of kindness, treating the patient as a human being, helped Koch turn the corner toward recovery, she told her employees, and she charged the staff to think that way when dealing with guests.