Following lunch, on Monday, we attended the Atlantic Region breakout session. Each different region met together to recognize award winners of several different categories. But my favorite part of that session was that they also recognized "gamechangers" in our region - those operators who stepped out of the box to change the "game", those that made a difference in others' lives, those that shook things up just a bit. It was really neat to see a snapshot into those other operators' lives just for a little while. In our region, we knew only a fraction of the people. So this was a way to feel connected, just for a few minutes, to someone on our "team." There are two stories that stick out the most in my mind from this breakout session. First, they showed a video of an operator and his wife who just adopted two children from China. He told the story of being in China, going through the adoption process, taking his daughter away from the world she's known and her being upset about it (just scared about the unknown of her future). He carried her through the streets of a city in China, while she kicked and screamed the whole way. He told his wife that they were just going to run ahead of her and the son they were also adopting so he could quickly get her back to the hotel, leaving everything, including the adoption papers, with his wife. As he ran, carrying this screaming Chinese girl in his arms, they were receiving all kinds of stares and bad looks. Eventually a Chinese policemen stopped him in the streets - they couldn't understand one another, the dad didn't have the adoption papers, a crowd of people surrounded the screaming girl trying to "protect" her from this foreign man... I could only imagine the fear and frustration he faced at that moment! Eventually the little girl told the crowd surrounding her that she was nervous about her future (obviously I'm not sure of the exact conversation because it was all in Chinese) and that the man who was holding her was adopting her. Once the truth came out, the man was allowed to take his little girl back to the hotel. He was overwhelmed with all the emotion he had just been through and had to take a few minutes by himself in the hotel room to just cry and let it all out! I felt so sorry for this operator as we watched him tell his story! But in the end, both adopted children have fit in nicely with their other 4 biological children, and they videotaped all six children sending messages to their mom and dad - thanking them and telling them they loved them, etc. etc. It was one of those big sappy story that THIS mama loves! :) (So obviously, being a gamechanger may or may not have anything to do with how well you run your business...which I loved! It was like they purposefully recognized people who are having a positive influence in our world and making a difference in the lives of those around them. I think that was my favorite aspect.)
The second story that stands out in my mind was about an operator who used to be in the air force. During Desert Storm (I think?) he actually was a well-known pilot, hailed as a hero, because he and his co-pilot volunteered to fly way into enemy territory to locate a downed pilot. We didn't hear all the details of his heroic tale, but it was a very scary, difficult ordeal. They located the pilot for the rescue helicopter and then attacked the enemy on the ground so the pilot could be safely rescued. Apparently the pilot had never met the man he'd rescued that day, so Chick-fil-A surprised him, flew the rescued pilot from California to Orlando so that they could officially meet, and so that the pilot (who is now a successful operator) could be thanked publically by the one he rescued. It was really special, and I was completely overwhelmed that Chick-fil-A would do something so special for this man. The entire week was all about "remarkable" experiences. That's going to be our big push this year in our restaurants - giving our customers an experience to remark about. So what better way to exemplify that for us than to give us our own remarkable experiences! (It worked! I'm remarking about some of them!!)
Tuesday we were given the choice to go to Sea World, Universal Studios, shopping at the outlets, or play a round of golf. Ian and I chose to play a round of golf on the resorts NICE course. We had a great time and were paired with some great guys. Neither one of us played very well though so that was a bummer! But Ian told me last year after he went to Seminar, "The first year we go together as a couple to Seminar, we're playing golf. After that, you can choose what we do, but the first year we will play golf! It's not everyday that you get to play a world class golf course for free!" So, that's exactly what we did! I can't wait to see what I get to choose for next year's entertainment! :)
Tuesday night (Tuesday was Valentine's Day as well) they pulled off one of the most amazing dinner parties I've seen in...well, ever! They filled every bit of the resort's outdoor patio area with enough tables and food for all 4000+ of us! There were two men playing pianos and singing on a stage in the middle of the pool. There were three separate buffet stations full of all kinds of delicious foods - Carribbean and Sushi on one, Italian on another, and Steak and Seafood on the third. (So, so good!!) We dined with our friends Brandon and Debbie (she is an operator in Indiana) and had so much fun catching up with them. Then the staff cleared the tables off of the largest patio, the DJ cranked up the music, and everyone hit the dance floor! I know that I can't dance worth a flip, but I felt mighty comfortable out there on the dance floor with all the others who were just like me! :) We had a great night with our friends partying!!
Ian and I spent the rest of the night cramming everything into our suitcases, trying so hard to get everything to fit! (I will DEFINITELY pack lighter next year!) So we were definitely not ready to get up when our alarms went off the next morning signaling the start of our last day at Seminar! It went by way too fast. We ate breakfast with our good friend, Ed (he's a close friend of Ian's and an operator in Port Charlotte). Then of course, Chick-fil-A had to end Seminar on a high note! They invited a little boy (maybe 9) to come give us a concert. He was an excellent pianist and quite the entertainer as well. He was really good. To top it all off, the Orlando Symphonic Orchestra filled the stage in the center of the room to give us all a few lessons. But not on playing instruments (although they did do that, and they did it well!) The conductor used his orchestra to give us analogies to help us in our stores - working as a team, following leadership, allowing the team to perform on its own...etc. etc. I have never been a fan of classical music (and I still can't say that I am) but I was highly impressed with how well that conductor taught a bunch of Chick-fil-A operators that day all kinds of lessons!
I was sad to leave the beautiful resort, but I was very excited to get home to see my babies!! In the little bit of "free" time I had while I was at seminar, I did miss them! ;)
[Pictures to come as soon as the connection cord is located! :/ ]
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