Volume 2, No. 21. November 8, 2002
Eric's Turn
And
in the end
As
this issue of THE LOOP developed, I was focusing my attention almost wholly
on Florida. Sure, I had some other stories developing from as far afield as
Sydney, Australia, and Alton, England, but it was the upcoming IAAPA Convention
and Trade Show that was shaping this LOOP into an Orlando-centric edition.
Even so, another theme emerged more prominently with this issue, one that is,
pardon an obviously referencing pun, universal. That theme is community service.
In one story “Rewarding marketing plan,”
I profile the charitable efforts of an FEC here in my new home town of Tucson,
Arizona, efforts that have made Funtasticks a business leader in the community.
In another, “A class act,” my Florida focus honed
in on Universal Orlando’s “adoption” of a local elementary school
in an attempt to improve the school’s academic standing while shoring up
its facilities and rejuvenating its spirit.
Like many items in THE LOOP, these two stories have best practice relevance
for other operators. Funtasticks uses community service as a marketing tool,
Universal Orlando sees community service as essential to employee satisfaction
and, by extension, customer service. C. Jill Hofer at Funtasticks and Jan Stratton
at Universal readily admit, and even boast, of these self-serving reverberations
from being charitable. However, to talk with each is to hear two people who
are passionate about their jobs and passionate about serving their communities,
and you realize the two passions are intertwined.
As they are for so many people in our industry. For what is our industry if
not one of community service? To paraphrase Michael Getlan, Give Kids The World
clown and FEC impresario, we are in the business of smiles. If you are devoted
to this industry, you likely are the kind of giving soul who simply loves to
make other people happy. If you can make money doing it, great; if you can give
a little money, that’s fine, too. Notably, more than money, both Funtasticks
and Universal Orlando give of their talents, time and, more importantly, the
resources of their very existence. What is the most valuable commodity we have
to give our community? What we are.
This theme of community giving also factors into our IAAPA Show preview. Actor
Roger Moore will be on hand at the trade show to promote the association’s
partnership with UNICEF, a program we’ve touted twice before in THE LOOP
(May 10, 2002 and July
26, 2002). The man who pushed for that initiative, outgoing IAAPA Chairman
Alain Baldacci, is as passionate talking about social responsibility as Stratton
and Hofer are. He recognized that the community IAAPA serves is international,
and he too pursued up a program that could tap into the ready resources of the
association membership and its community-relations spirit.
All of you have a long week’s worth of walking, talking, selling, buying,
meeting and schmoozing (and hardly any snoozing) ahead of you at the IAAPA show.
I urge each of you, still, to take just a little time out of your schedule to
visit the UNICEF booth (#1236) on the trade show floor and check out how, with
just a little effort you, too, can feel the passion.
Cheeting
on you
So what’s with the picture of the cheetah cub at the top of this column?
I posted it for three reasons.
— The cub is a male cheetah born at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens
in Ohio, a rare birth for the species. The full story is in Extra! Extra! on
www.amusementtoday.com, where I posted it as soon as I learned of it. If you
have not been checking in to Extra! Extra! regularly, you’re missing out
on a lot of breaking news from across the attractions industry.
— The successful breeding of the cheetah came about thanks to a gift from
one country to another, and thanks to the unqualified cooperation among zoos.
This notion of international and industry cooperation that’s second-nature
among zoos is also the very essence of the IAAPA Convention and Trade Show.
May it breed success for you, too.
— Third, well, the picture is cute, and I’m entitled to indulge myself
at least one just-because-it’s-adorable picture per year in my newsletter.
Have a happy IAAPA! See you at the show (Booth #3123; mobile phone 1-937-321-8290).
©2002, Minton Enterprises
LLC
All rights reserved