Prevue March/April 2013 - (Page 72)

Beautiful weather plus beaches and nature offer a conducive setting for team building and corporate responsibility programs. NATURE IS NURTURE Beautiful weather plus beaches and nature offer a conducive setting for team building and corporate responsibility programs. At Lovers Key State Park, team building excursions include kayaking through narrow waterways of barrier islands. Groups can become one with nature as they journey through an ecosystem that’s home to West Indian manatees, dolphins, spoonbills, marsh rabbits and bald eagles at J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island. The Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail is a 190-mile marked trail where teams work together to navigate waters once traversed by the Calusa Indians. Debbie Regnone, owner of Resort Sports, Inc., Fort Myers, works with hotels, local DMCs and meeting planners to create team-building events for groups. “Many planners ask about team-building programs, but they also want a charitable outcome,” says Regnone. “The hope is that when the projects are done, many of these businesses and their employees will return to their communities and continue to give back.” One of the most successful programs is Resort Sports’ Save the Rain program, where teams create rain barrels that are donated to local farming communities who use the barrels to collect rain for washing clothes and other needs. A Canstruction activity creates sculptures with canned food that is donated to a local food bank, while Build a Bike assemble bicycles that are given to Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County. The Lee County VCB works with The Conservation Fund’s Go Zero program to help offset meeting groups’ carbon footprint. The VCB donates 100 percent of the cost of offsetting the CO2 emissions that result from any event within the destination, including attendee travel and facility energy use. BIG IDEAS For an unconventional alternative to the usual banquet set up, a meeting off site at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates, surrounded by an impressive collection of inventions and artifacts, lush gardens and historic homes, is a guaranteed motivator. The historic and botanic atmosphere, one of the nation’s Top 10 most visited historic sites, can accommodate up to 300 people in the same tropical wonderland that Thomas Edison and Henry Ford hosted their family, friends, heads of state and business associates. “When you think about the history here — about the innovators that would stay, meet, talk about business and host dignitaries, it is a place where creativity is naturally encouraged,” says Lisa Sbuttoni, public relations and marketing director, Edison & Ford Winter Estates. An awe-inspiring outdoor settings for a reception is in the shade of The Champion Banyan, a native India banyan tree that was a gift from tire industrialist Harvey Firestone in 1925. “Groups consistently comment on the intertwined roots above center stage center stage ground and how they join together at the base of the banyan,” says Sbuttoni. The inspiring tree was four feet high at the time of planting and is now nearly an acre in diameter with more than 350 roots. “It really does present a monumental visual picture of teamwork.” n Below: At South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island, the possibilities are endless for outdoor incentive retreats, business meetings and corporate functions. The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel GET IN TOUCH n Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau: FortMyers-SanibelMeetings.com n South Seas Island Resort: southseas.com n ‘Tween Waters Inn Island Resort and Spa: tween-waters.com n Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa: coconutpoint.hyatt.com n The Sanibel Harbour Marriott Resort and Spa: sanibelmarriott.com n The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village: westin.com/capecoral n Edison & Ford Winter Estates: edisonfordwinterestates.org n Resort Sports: resortsportsinc.com n Naples Transportation & Tours DMC at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point: nttep.com prevue Destination experiences for meetings + incentives http://www.FortMyers-SanibelMeetings.com http://www.southseas.com http://www.tween-waters.com http://coconutpoint.hyatt.com http://www.sanibelmarriott.com http://www.westin.com/capecoral http://www.edisonfordwinterestates.org http://www.resortsportsinc.com http://www.nttep.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Prevue March/April 2013

Planner's Pick: Miami
Fresh Meets: Renaissance Hotels
Bureau Buzz: Austin
Good Business: Washington, DC
Sea Shores: Cruising Sweden
Feelin' Good About Incentives
Special Section: California
On Location: JW Marriott Desert Springs
Caribbean & The Bahamas
On Location: U.S. Virgin Islands
On Location: Aruba
On Location: Omni Amelia Island
The South: Best of Golf & Spa
On Location: Fairmont Scottsdale
On Location: W Singapore
Austria
Ireland
On Location: Mexico City
On Location: Starwood Los Cabos
On Location: Universal Orlando
On Location: Villas of Grand Cypress, Orlando
Check Out: Alpina Gstaad, Switzerland
Club Med

Prevue March/April 2013