As a prelude to the “Sole Survivor” SPIFF (Special Performance Incentive For Fun) launched May 1 at all of Sundance Vacations’ locations, a cast of select Sundance personnel presented an impromptu revue of what was in store for the “Sole Survivor” winners when they trek to Hilton Head, South Carolina. This was just one part Sundance’s way to celebrate this year’s National Travel & Tourism Week, which ran from May 5 to 13.
The skit, which took place Wednesday, May 7, at Sundance’s corporate headquarters in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, featured a runway replete with employees in a varying array of costumes (and appropriate gear) to depict just what the SPIFF winners had to look forward to at Hilton Head’s Island & Tennis Resort.
The Sundance show provided a visual picture of just what the winners of the “Sole Survivor” contest will experience. Dressed in appropriate garb, the parade of participants marched out one at a time, the first wearing a bathing suit and beach attire to highlight the resort’s swimming pools and beach activities.
The same format held true for activities as tennis, horseback riding (on the beach, of course), fishing, cycling, shopping and the big draw at Hilton Head, golfing. The Sundance employees played their parts perfectly as they decked out in the athletic garb for each activity.
After the presentation, each person in attendance had the opportunity to undergo a stress test administered by Nurse Candy (Bednar). From the male perspective, we all would be thrilled to have a nurse like Candy. Of course, the stress tests revealed each and every one was stressed out to varying degrees. After that, employees were marched out to the front lawn of the Sundance property to try their hand at hitting a few golf balls. The next step was visiting with Nurse Candy again for a follow-up stress test and, miraculously, every one was stress-free. It was a nice little procedure to show that golfing can help to relieve stress.
Though the Sundance skit took place mid-week, the celebration of National Travel & Tourism Week kicked off Monday (Cinco de Mayo) with the office theme of “Beach Week.” All employees were encouraged to come to work decked out in a variety of beach outfits. Tuesday’s office theme was “Mountain Escape” and, you guessed it, employees donned their favorite mountain gear for the day.
The theme-based week continued Wednesday with a “Golf Getaway,” which had employees dressed and ready for 18 holes of golf. Surprisingly, there were no caddies in the crowd, only golfers. Thursday’s theme was “Family Fun” and this was designed to show that Sundance is indeed one, big happy family.
After such a busy week, Friday’s theme of “Rest & Relaxation” fit the bill perfectly as Sundance employees dressed in the most casual and relaxation outfits they could find.
Before going any further, it must be noted that Ben Uzialko, day-shift manager of Wilkes-Barre’s marketing division, seemed to enjoy the week of dressing in various themed outfits more than most and he certainly did make the most of it. His sense of style tends to go beyond the norm (he always makes the most of any opportunity to exhibit his fashion sense). Judging from his penchant for dressing for the occasion, his favorite holiday must be Halloween. (See more on Ben U. below.)
As part of Sundance’s company-wide employee contest, the five-day event marking National Travel & Tourism Week also encouraged employees to post on Sundance Vacations’ Facebook wall. The first day sought articles about travel’s positive effect on relationships, health, education, business and more. On Tuesday, employees were asked to post their favorite vacation photos and give great travel tips about places they have vacationed.
Wednesday’s challenge was a bit different as teams from each shift, department or office were to upload a two-minute group video about how travel affects your life and the lives of those around you to the Sundance Vacations’ Facebook wall.
On Thursday, participants were asked to submit an essay of no more than 1,000 words on the question: “If you had the chance to have one extra week off from work this year, how would you use the valuable time off? These entries were to be submitted to Candy Bednar. The person garnering the most votes by a panel of corporate office judges wins. The winner will have a choice of an excess inventory week or 10,000 VPoints.
Winners for all posts, photos and videos will be announced as soon as votes are calculated at corporate headquarters. The following week the winner of the essay contest will be announced on Facebook and Joomla.
So, Back to Ben U. and the day shift’s Telephone Service Representatives (TSRs). In the case of rest and relaxation, Ben and the TSRs took it to a new level as a good majority came to work dressed the same way as they did when they awoke that Friday morning. That’s right, in their pajamas, nightshits, etc. As for the day shift manager, Ben took the superhero approach in a sense. He was decked out in Batman pajamas, a Batman robe and he even carried what appeared to be a Batman belt buckle. It’s probably a given that his favorite superhero is Batman as he also was playing the Batman TV theme song (the Adam West Batman series) on his cellphone.
As you can see, Sundance Vacations goes above and beyond in promoting a fun and relaxed atmosphere for its employees throughout the year.
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