Pat is back in Evergreen, CO

Pat is back in Evergreen, CO

Wednesday evening January 19, 2011 (third travelogue of this trip).

Thought I would summarize Pat's trip.

The convention was very hectic for her. They normally schedule 3 days, but a booking problem forced them to condense everything into two long days. The convention ended late Friday. Pat stayed over Saturday and flew home in the evening. I picked her up about 7:30 PM. She was one tuckered lady.

There were 1000 attendees (limited by the hotel booking). 600 Managers attended the Manager's dinner at the Wildhorse Saloon (they booked the whole facility).

As is always the case, Pat comes home enthusiastic about building her business. This time was no exception. She has started her Stampin Lady blog (here). In addition, she has subscribed to a great email marketing service that makes sending professional newsletters much easier.

We hope that you will visit her blog and sign up for her newsletter.

That is all for now.

Hello from Nashville, TN – Number 2

Hello from Nashville, TN – Number 2

Thursday morning January 13, 2011 (Second travelogue of this trip).

Hey, this is kind of fun. Pat has been sending me some photos from her phone and I will include a few of them. We have not been able to talk much, but I am gathering from the photos that she is having a wonderful time – as usual.

My wonderful wife of 47 years!

First, she has described the Gaylord hotel as “unbelievable”. It must be spectacular and very luxurious. I asked her if there was any signs of the flood damage from this the terrible floods this spring and she said that she did not see any. 

Pat at the hotel

A view of the hotel

For those of you who do not know much about Pat's association with Stampin' Up!, I need to give you some background. First of all, the Stampin' Up website will tell you a bit about the company (click here). Pat has been a demonstrator for them for over 11 years. She maintains the executive level and has almost 80 other demonstrators in her organization. She has earned eight wonderful cruises/trips. The last one was in 2009 to Hawaii (documented in our blog starting here). She has a website that ultimately links with her page on the SU website (here).

Stampin' Up! is a wonderful company with fantastic products. But, more importantly, they truly appreciate their demonstrators and treat them very well. I often say that it would be difficult to earn a large income with the company, but the experience is unmatched. It is wonderful to attend one of the conventions, or go on one of their cruises, and see how much positive impact that the company has on these demonstrators.

I mentioned the fact in the last blog that Pat was invited (as were some of her downline who have achieved the manager level) to the Manager's dinner  last night. Stampin' Up! always makes this a “big deal”. They do not tell the managers where the dinner will be held until they board the buses. Last night's dinner was at the Wildhorse Saloon (link). I have not talked to her since that dinner, but one of the photos suggests that they had a lot of fun {grin}.

I probably need to clarify “fun”. When we attend the functions, it is interesting to note that there is almost no drinking (indeed, Pat can not drink alcohol because or her Rheumatoid Arthritis medications). We often laugh at the fact that when SU charters a large ship for the cruises, the ship companies must cringe – the bar charges must be almost nonexistent.

The ladies at the Wildhorse Saloon

I mentioned in the last post that the ladies love to swap cards. The photo below shows that activity, but not the frenzied level that I have witnessed {grin}

Swapping cards

I had intended this post to be a simple introduction to some photos that Pat sent me, but I have rambled on – as usual.

That is all for now.

Hello from Nashville, TN

Hello from Nashville, TN

Wednesday morning   January 12, 2011   (First travelogue of this trip).

Well, this will be a strange travelogue.  You see, I am writing this from Evergreen, CO, but Pat is in Nashville for a Stampin' Up! Leadership Convention. 

Yesterday, I drove her to the airport so that she could attempt to get to Nashville.  I use the word “attempt” advisedly, as that part of the country is having terrible weather and Nashville was basically shut down Monday and the airport was closed.  It turns out that her flight was only delayed about an hour.

The snow and ice have played havoc with the area.  Several of the demonstrators came in early with the intent of doing some sightseeing on Monday.  With the weather conditions, that did not happen.

Pat is staying at the Gaylord Hotel (link) in the Opryland complex (map).  Actually she spent last night at a different hotel, as the Gaylord was booked up for another convention.  She is getting ready to move today.

Apparently, the hotel adjoins the conference center so the demonstrators will not have to brave the elements.  That said, she will be attending the Manager's Dinner tonight and that is off premises.  I think she said that they will have buses.

I have only experienced these kinds of gatherings a few times.  Obviously, there was a lot of similar activities on the cruises.  I did go with Pat to a Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake city a couple of years ago.  I can not begin to describe to you the energy that is involved with these events.  There are hundreds of demonstrators, all having a huge amount of fun and learning all kinds of neat stuff.

One activity that really defies description is what they call swapping.  The demonstrators make up items with the Stampin' Up! products  and then swap with each other to get new ideas.  Pat typically does 100-200 cards and or decorative items (this year, a neat candy holder).  I witnessed one swapping session that was nothing short of a fish feeding frenzy.  That is not a great picture, but I think you get the idea {grin}.

She is usually very busy and only has a few minutes to talk on the phone.  I will try to pass on some details as I get them.

That is all for now.