Volume 3, No. 10. May 23, 2003
Nick
and Tut
I never would have thought the official signing over of a ride could be so much
fun. Sign some documents, exchange pleasantries, shake hands, call if you need
us. Turning the event into a ceremony? OK, give it all the formality of a treaty
signing, with as much of the humor, say a few token words of appreciation, shake
hands and call if you need us.
For last night’s signing over of The Challenge of Tutankhamon from
supplier Sally Corporation to Six Flags Belgium (see New Arrival above), something
special happened. Teamwork happened.
On hand for the official gala opening were leaders of the subcontractors Sally
used for its ride: Ruud J.J. Koppens of ETF Ride Systems, Grenville Redmond
of Best Constructors, Kees Bakker of DNV, the certification company. They and
a few Six Flags Belgium officials gathered around as Sally’s Donna Gentry
and Ray Dominey signed over the ride to the park’s General Manager Viviane
Paturel (pictured above).
There was all the formality of a treaty signing and a few words of appreciation,
then hugs, laughter, jokes, more laughter, ribbing and all manner of carryings
on. “I have a new baby!” shouted Paturel, and then she called Adriaan
Klok, maintenance and construction manager for Six Flags’ European Division,
to stand at her side while holding the ownership certificate for photographers.
After all, she pointed out to Klok, “It’s your baby, too.”
“I’ve rarely seen such a close cooperation,” Paturel said. “This
project really carried its name very well. It’s a challenge. It has been
a challenge throughout construction. But with efforts and the positive thinking
of everybody we’ve overcome every challenge that we had to go through.
And tonight I’ve really seen the result of a great cooperation of a lot
of quality people working together. It’s a really warm feeling.”
DNV’s Bakker, in fact, told Paturel he rarely had such easy delivering
of a certificate. “It’s been a lot of nice people working together,”
she said.
THE LOOP is written and produced by Eric Minton, Minton Enterprises, LLC. To see more examples of Eric Minton's work and Minton Enterprises services, visit www.ericminton.com.
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