Prevue January/February 2016 - (Page 14)

good business FedEx Ground Honors Our Heroes An Atlanta CSR program celebrates military families and benefits a bustling local USO Montego Bay Boys and Girls Club Atlanta skyline W hen FedEx Ground was looking for a CSR program for its executive leadership meeting at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis that reflected its culture, the USO was the perfect fit. "They wanted to connect with the community and there were many employees within their organization who had served our country," says Ira Almeas, president, Impact Incentives and Meetings and Impact4Good, who managed the program. "So we created an unsung heroes theme." The heroes are the soldiers, he explains, but the unsung heroes are the families. Most people are not aware that the USO at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is the country's busiest, because the majority of soldiers travel through there on their way to serve or when they return home. The airport's USO office offers them a variety of services, including free refreshments, information, and referrals. Using his connections with the USO, Almeas and his team designed an intricate program that touched both the attendees and local military families. The group was split into 14 teams, each of which was given a dossier of a solder and his or her family, including where they lived, their rank and other details. "We wanted them to have an image of the military person and their family, so there was a connection," he says. Teams participated in a Trivial Pursuit-style game, with the 20 questions a combination of fun trivia, military trivia and FedEx-related subjects. "It definitely was not easy, and created collaboration among the teams." Each correctly answered question netted the team a dog tag, and they were able to turn their 20 dog tags in for items such as plates and utensils to fill a picnic basket that would then go to the service member and family. A special touch was the recipe cards that the groups had to complete with their own family recipes, which often involved checking in with a spouse or going online to research the ingredients. Of course, all of this was timed to create a heated competition among the groups. Other gifts the teams created for the families included mosaic caption picture frames for family photos, ceramic plaquesPicture onto which they painted their favorite sayings and memory boards for the service members to display family photos. Each team also painted a panel that became a piece of a large mural that now hangs in the USO welcome office at Hartsfield Airport. SKIN IN THE GAME The day's surprise guest was a local soldier who had recently returned home, who spoke to the group about his experience. Almeas also invited his wife and young child. "His wife gave her side of the story and shared her life as part of the larger military family. People were so touched when they heard their personal stories. All of a sudden, they are real people standing in front of you. Even these big, burly guys in the audience were all choked up." Almeas feels that the key to the success of a CSR program is for participants "to feel like they have skin in the game. Not only are they involved but they feel like they get to know the person they are helping. It's much more special and memorable than writing a check when you have that human connection."-Barbara Scofidio impact4good.com "[FedEx Ground] wanted to connect with the community and there were many employees within their organization who had served the country-so we created an unsung heroes theme." 14 | prevue magazine http://www.impact4good.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Prevue January/February 2016

Planner’s Pick: Jamaica
Fresh Meets: 3 Hotel Brands to Watch
Bureau Buzz: Myrtle Beach CVB
Good Business: FedEx Ground Honors Our Heroes
Sea Shores: RCI: Anthem of the Seas
Rediscovering Value
EXCLUSIVE & ALL-INCLUSIVE Ramping up offerings & expectations
URBAN TRANSFORMATION How convention centers are shaping communities
FLORIDA: MEETINGS INSPIRED Sunny skies and more than 1,100 miles of coastline create the perfect place to rejuvenate and reward attendees
4 CORPORATE RETREATS FOR 2016 Looking for wellness in all the right places
PARROT CAY [ON LOCATION] A tranquil retreat for wellness and creativity
On Location: The Broadmoor
On Location: Chicago Marriott CRN
On Location: Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Cancun
On Location: Silversmith Hotel
Checkout: Delano Las Vegas, Rivea

Prevue January/February 2016