We are back from our amazing vacation to Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah. I want to express my thanks once again to all my team and to all my customers who have supported me over the last 6 1/2 years, which gives me the opportunity to achieve such life-changing and rewarding experiences such as these.
Thank you sooo much!!
I was putting day by day photos and videos on my Facebook Business page, so please check that out if you haven't already!
The first few days of the trip were actually used going to the North American Stampin' Up! Convention, much like our South Pacific Convention we have every year, but about 10 times bigger!
I had the honor of being asked to help teach a class on Recruiting with Julie Brancart from Michigan. We taught it three times and had great feedback. Was stressful beforehand a bit, but also fun. It was my Robert who stayed through all three classes and smiled at me the whole time.
It was a great experience!!
And I was lucky and my dad drove down to SLC during those few days and spent the evenings with us, too.
Sunday through Thursday was the actual award trip, the Grand Vacation to Deer Valley, Utah. We stayed at a super luxerious hotel and truly were spoiled rotten. We were 8000 ft above sea level, so that was a bit of a struggle coming from New Zealand, but all in good fun.
Here is the tram ride from the "lobby" up to the hotel:
Yeah, that little roof down there is the lobby!!
The theme for this trip seemed to be burlap and mason jars, and they did such a great job with it!! All the decor was so simple and "pioneer – like" , but beautiful. At our opening dinner, the centerpieces were roses in mason jars with lime slices in the water. Those roses smelled so unique! It was just delightful and fresh.
Monday we spent shopping with my girlfriend, Melinda. Tuesday we were taken to Riverton to tour the home office. We were given an amazing and warm welcome upon arrival. I took a video which you can see on my Facebook Page.
The home office was so incredible as was the distribution centre attached to the back. I am putting up an album of photos from the Legacy Room (will make you drool!!) on my Facebook Page shortly.
I felt naughty eating lunch on DSP . . . .
The Distrubution Center was so impressive. Spotlessly clean and well run. And we remarked that everyone looked happy, too. The boys were all so impressed with all the systems in place.
I am putting up an album of the factory on my Facebook Page, but here is a teaser above. This is how the stamps start out!! Huge rolls of delicious rubber!! I took pictures of how they make the molds, impress the rubber and complete the process. I also have a little video of me packing up a single stamp set, which took me about two minutes. Not very quick!
It's also really impressive to see that the employees there are LONG time employees; they are happy and content and 100% loyal to this company. They are treated well.
Note that the factory is in Kenab, which was an hour flight plus a two hour drive from the home office. Shelli keeps it there to provide the needed jobs in a small town. Much of what is done there could be automated, but it's left as is to provide the employment for the people.
I hope you all feel really good knowing your stamp sets are made by hand, by hard working people, and are part of keeping a community employed.
It was heartwarming to learn that the rubber offcuts are cut up fine and used for playground matting at the local parks. This particular park Shelli donated to the community, and when the factory is ahead of schedule, the employees spend their work hours cleaning up the town and this park so they still receive their paychecks.
Everyone left so humbled and impressed by this great lady who has the courage and generosity to lead a company by her own moral compass. It was and is so inspiring.
Our final night was a party at the Redcliff Ranch in Heber, Utah. We had a tremendous dinner of trout and local vegetables in the horse stables, which was decorated beautifully, again with the burlap and mason jars.
After dinner, we had smores, carmelized doughnuts with homemade ice cream, and gourmet popcorns. Nobody can say we went hungry at any time during the entire trip!!
We had line dancing and country dancing to a live band the rest of the evening, too.
Overall was a fantastic trip! We were busy and laughing and "talking our lips off" (by Rob) the entire time. We came home exhuasted, but would do it all over again in a moment.
Thank you, everyone, and thank you, Stampin' Up!, for providing such memorable and important events to my life!!
xxxx
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