Successful Meetings - May 2008 - (Page 50)

Fortune 1000 > Giving Them the Business HOME OF THE MASTERS CHAMPION They didn’t know it at the time, but the Oracle attendees who golfed were playing the same local links used by current Masters Champion, South Africa’s home-grown Trevor Immelman ty. For Oracle’s event, the workers got particularly inventive, designing a “veldt svelte” line of amenities for the winners that included Nelson Mandelastyle Madiba shirts for the men and a series of skirts and sarongs for the ladies. “Everything we gave the participants on site contained a note with it, telling them about who made it and where it came from,” says Hartop. “It was quite a surprise for them, and they really appreciated the effort.” Even more of a surprise awaited the craftspeople of Orange Farms Informal Settlement, where unemployment runs as much as 63 percent. The women, who worked around the clock for three months in order to fulfill the 700-person garment order, earned $29,000 for the project. Nine months later, and due in no small part to that income, the church was able to purchase new sewing machines and build a sustainable business, providing permanent, full-time employment for 39 people. In February, the program earned Carlson an Award for the Most Outstanding Sustainable Incentive Event, a new category in the annual Crystal Awards given by the Chicago-based Society of Incentive & Travel Executives. It also helped secure Oracle a place in Orange Farm’s heart. “You may never realize and know what this [garment] order meant for the men and women who made them,” wrote Maranatha’s Director and Senior Pas- tor Peter M. Sekhonyane in his thankyou to Oracle and Carlson. “The number of new staff has risen to 39, and we have new products such as the manufacturing of suits, wedding dresses, school uniforms, and track suits.” For her part, Fay Beauchine also appreciates the lasting effect Oracle’s program has on the winners themselves. “We’re in the business of creating lifetime experiences, not just trips, and this was a wonderful program, one that really did shine for the participants,” she says. “People come away not just feeling that they’ve been on vacation, but that they’ve been in a learning lab. It’s the best practice, and there’s hardly anyplace on the globe that wouldn’t welcome something like this.” MAY 2008 SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS 50 mimegasite.com http://mimegasite.com

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Successful Meetings - May 2008 Contents Editor's Note Industry Trends Destination News Destination News Suppliers Destination News Calendar On the Record Websites of the Month Management Matters Mouth for Sale Meetings Law Planner's Spotlight Pre-Event On Site Tools of the Trade Pre-Event Counting Change Giving Them the Business The Magnificent Seven All-American Gift Guide Green Lights Places & Spaces Anaheim & Orange County Upstate New York Cincinnati Detroit San Diego Phoenix Gurus

Successful Meetings - May 2008

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