Operator's Seminar

This past week, Ian and I went to our first Operator's Seminar together. (Ian was invited to go last year as a special guest; every operator is able to have their spouse along for the ride - so I was excited to join him this year!) This year we went to Orlando and stayed in the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. It was AH-MAZING! The whole time I was there, I thought, "Oh my goodness, I have GOT to go to the room and blog about this..." Of course, they cram everything in to three days basically, so by the time we got back to the hotel room each evening we were EXHAUSTED! Even now, I'm trying to think where I should start! I guess I will just start at the beginning and write until I can't write anymore! :)

We were up bright and early Sunday morning (5am) to head to the airport in Augusta for our flight. We knew ahead of time that we would be flying with two other operators/spouses from the Augusta area. I had no idea how we would actually figure out who was with Chick-fil-A once we got to the waiting area at the airport. (The Augusta airport is TINY - I think they say there's 4 gates, but really you're all in one large waiting area together - 2 gates on one half, 2 on the other.) So we just chose a seat and sat down - I was busy people watching, trying to figure out who our traveling companions were! :) Ian, meanwhile, went to buy a soda and to see if there was Dramamine for me. While in line, a man said, "I've got Dramamine - she can have some of mine!" [Ian and I have never actually discussed the details of this conversation, so I'm not 100% sure how it all truly happened... haha!] Somehow, Ian and the man found out they were both with Chick-fil-A, but this fact was unbeknownst to me as he offered me pills out of his hand. :) Quickly, Ian introduced me to him - he was the operator of a store in Aiken, SC (not far from Augusta.) We moved our bags to join them in the waiting room, and chatted with them until another Chick-fil-A couple showed up!

Once we were in Charlotte, we met up with even more operators/spouses that we knew, so we enjoyed talking during our layover. We finally arrived in Orlando, met many new operators/spouses/home office staff members in the airport and on the bus to the resort. Everything ran like a well-oiled machine! There was always a smiling, friendly face guiding us where we needed to go. Once we got to the resort, check-in was quick and a piece of cake! We then walked a ways to register for the event and get our passes/etc. Finally it was time for lunch - by this time I was starving! (I'm sad now that I cannot remember who we sat with at lunch...if you're reading this, and we sat with you, please tell me so that I can settle that issue in my mind! haha) We hurried to the Expo and Shop, and while we were in there, we ran into a lot of our friends from Florida! Some of our past team members were at the Expo for the team member's seminar that Chick-fil-A hosts for any team members in the area. We also got to see Kim - it was so good to hug her neck! I miss her so much! We found a few deals in the shop (Ian always needs Chick-fil-A shirts because his get ruined so quickly), got new t-shirts for the kids, and some bags for marketing events.

Oh yes. I must not forget this funny event... We went through a tiny hassle with our hotel room. The first room they gave us was HUGE, but WAAAAAAAYYYY far away from all of our events! Once we finally got to the room, Ian had already decided that he was going to inquire about changing rooms. But when we walked in, our luggage (that was already supposed to be in there), was no where to be seen. So he went back downstairs to talk to the front desk. In the mean time, I decided to take off my shoes and socks, admire the view, use the bathroom, etc. (I wanted to change clothes, but it's hard to do that without a suitcase!) So Ian called me to let me know that we were going to change rooms. I thought he was on his way back up to the room to help me gather all the items we'd taken to the room with us (our 2 personal items that we took on the plane with us, all the bags of items we'd purchased, plus all the stuff they gave us at registration). So soon after we got off the phone, I heard the key in the door, and I thought, "Oh that was fast - he must have been calling me while he was walking up!" So imagine my surprise when the door opened, and there stands this random couple! Honestly, I'm 100% positive that I was equally surprised as them! The look on their faces when they found me standing barefoot in "their" room was HYSTERICAL. We quickly realized that AS SOON AS Ian changed our room, they gave that room to another couple! It was so totally awkward, but they closed the door, and I hurried to put on my socks and boots, and gathered all of our belongings to get out of their way!


I found my way to our new room, we finally got all of our luggage a while later, and we changed clothes and headed down for dinner. (Ugh - yet again, I can't remember who we ate with!) Sunday night, they scheduled a praise and worship service for whoever wanted to attend. It was such a special time - I cried at the beginning, just imagining, that we were at this HUGE corporation's yearly conference, and the first event they planned for us was a corporate worship service! They invited a praise band from Northpoint Community Church in Alpharetta, GA. My brother and sister-in-law attend that church, and I actually served as an intern there the summer that Ian and I got engaged. Needless to say it was a really encouraging service, and I loved every minute of it! Later that evening, we celebrated with all of the award winners. I think this was the first time I realized that Chick-fil-A really goes all out to show their employees/operators how thankful they are for all the work that goes into running this corporation. I was just overwhelmed with emotions all night long! It was crazy! We watched videos of those operators who were selected as Rookies of the Year. We saw a friend of ours called up on stage (along with others) who earned her way into Champion's Club. And we celebrated with all of the operators who won Symbol of Success. I was especially emotional watching the videos of the Rookies of the Year...for one thing, the videos were of that operator's business consultant and his/her spouse/brother/sister basically talking about how great that operator was, why they deserved Rookie of the Year, etc. etc. It was just really neat to peak through a little window into his/her life and career. But the main reason I was emotional, and am still emotional even as I write this, is because I know that Rookie of the Year is Ian's biggest career goal right now. He won't be eligible to receive Rookie of the Year until next year, so I think I was just imagining myself introducing Ian, talking about him as a husband, father, and operator...imagining how we WILL be celebrating next year WHEN he attains his goal (positive thinking!!) I had tears running down my cheeks for every video! Thankfully, there were only 5 or else I would have had no makeup on by the end of the awards ceremony!

During the gala (they called it "RED"), we were treated with special entertainment the entire evening! Melinda Doolittle sang some of her songs, the winners of the TV show "Sing-off" sang some of their songs, 2 Cellos (dueling cellos - you can find them on Youtube, I'm sure...) played for us, a dance crew performed as well, but the icing on the cake was when MARTINA MCBRIDE walked out on stage at the end of the gala and performed a mini-concert for us all! Hello! Yet again - I was just kind of shocked that Chick-fil-A would go all out to show their appreciation for us.

Monday, we were up bright and early for a day full of sessions (exciting though, and I loved every minute of it!) I remember two main things from Monday. First, we were treated to a live interview between Truett and one of his grandsons. It was really neat to listen to all of his stories and insight, but it was a little sad as well, because his age was very apparent. :( I'm glad I was able to witness it though! The second part that I remember is that we were told where Seminar 2013 will be. Usually, they wait until the very last day to tell everyone where the next year's seminar will be held. The man sitting next to us actually let us in on a little secret by telling Ian and I that they were letting everyone know the first day as opposed to the last! So all during the General Session (4 hours worth!!!) I kept waiting for their big announcement. Finally, at the VERY end, they called a woman and Dan Cathy out on stage. The woman walked out, but Dan did not. She put on a little act like she didn't know where Dan was. She called him on the cell phone, did a little dialogue, blah blah blah :) Then, Dan (Dan=the COO of Chick-fil-A, Inc.) comes walking out on stage wearing a bathing suit, a life vest, and flippers, and he was carrying a bag full of beach items. But he was dragging something huge (from living in EC and being near the coast guard base, I knew that it was an inflatable life raft). During their little act on stage, Dan ends up inflating the raft, and makes the woman climb in with him. She asks him where in the world they could be going in that life raft, and all of a sudden, the lights dim, they BLARE a ship's horn over the loud speaker, and start showing pictures on all the big screens of a cruise ship, and announce that next year for seminar we're going on a CRUISE!!! Yet again, tears start streaming down my face (they're about to start falling again now! Geez what is wrong with me?!?!) and I was just overwhelmed with how good this company is to all of us! They will be taking nearly 5000 people on a cruise next year. For free. Like, we pay for NOTHING (well except for what we purchase in the shop...and the candy bar that Ian bought on the golf course. Other than that we paid for nothing on this trip.) So of course, the audience just went crazy, and I'm sure that many others, including me, felt like we were on Oprah's Favorite Things episode! Just imagine those audience members crying, jumping up and down, giving out hugs and high fives...that's pretty much what we were all doing in our audience! :) It was great fun... We then were dismissed for lunch (I'm still shocked at how easily and quickly all 4000+ of us were fed at all of our meals....easy for us anyways...surely not easy for the resort staff!) Of course, the cruise was all that any of us could talk about over our meal!

Now....I have got to get some sleep before church tomorrow! So I'll wait to share pictures and stories of the rest of our trip for another day. There's lots more to come!!!! :) And by lots more, I'm basically referring to lots more of Alyson crying... haha!!