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One of the many facets to our Convention is sponsorships. Being a Missouri delegate I was introduced to a verv special one as I attended my first fall Convention in Atlantic City in 1993. That tradition began in 1982 and is a breakfast sponsorship known as Wake Up to Missouri. This wonderfully conceived marketing idea provided a hot breakfast served via room service to delegates and was tremendous exposure for the Show Me State. Many of you may still have sweatshirts from this event that concluded in 2007 during the Kansas City Convention after a brilliant 25 year run.

Each year brings those of us who volunteer to serve with the hotel staff a few challenges (getting up at 4 a.m. after a night out in the Convention city for instance.) We all have vivid memories of fellow delegates forgetting they signed up and appearing in jammies or sometimes less as they answered that knock at the door (hint...there are lots of mirrors in a hotel room.) 

My favorite funny comes courtesy of the Toronto Convention in 2004.

I was assigned to help at the Intercontinental hotel and with a few years of experience now under my belt found the going to be smoother than normal. The staff was really on their game too and we were soon ahead of schedule which would lead to our undoing. We had served our meals for the allotted time between 6 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. in less than 15 minutes. The group decided to gather in the service area with hotel staff and chat until more rooms and floors could be covered. 

The hotel was so professional keeping the breakfasts steaming hot in warming stations. We even received a visit  from the head chef during this interval. So....now visualize a small room with a very low ceiling and the master chef opening the door on the warming machines to check out the breakfasts. The steam escapes in a large cloud and all eyes follow it the few inches to the smoke alarm just above. Within seconds the piercing sound and lights of the fire alarm are our new companions.

Here's one additional kicker....in this hotel they cannot be turned off by anyone except the fire department.

Well inside information is always invaluable and since we knew how and why things were happening it was hard not to smile and even snicker as the hotel was evacuated over the next few minutes. We did our part by directing our fellow delegates and other hotel guests to the exits....many in hotel robes and many with much less on. And you know how hard it is not to laugh when you're supposed to be serious.....my sides still hurt and the tears still flow as I have retold this story of  looking down 14 stories to the street to see the "White Out"....comprised of robes and bath towels on the Avenues below.

I must have looked like the cat who swallowed the canary as everyone returned several minutes later. The bewildered look on Catherine and Suzanne's faces....oh my gosh I really should not name names...is still just as vivid as I write this as when it happened.

So glad I volunteered that morning...Wake Up To Missouri!!

Yes, that's right, the number of appointment taking tour operator buyers is up by a full 40% over last year. This means more appointment opportunities for everyone. But DMO and supplier space is filling fast, so don't delay or you may find yourself on a waiting list for appointments.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tourisme Montreal for their sponsorship as the host city for Convention. The destination is fantastic, but it is the people organizing the event that are exceptional. Vous êtes le meilleur!

Check back next week -- I have another funny story to share with you from a NTA convention goer. Au revoir for now!

Remember, send me know your funny Convention stories (written or video) at NTAConvention10@gmail.com!

Dawn Rueckl
2010 NTA Convention Chair

The Guy with a Pillow Case Stuck to His Head 

Getting the most out of convention involves an understanding of the event and a clear picture of what your goals are. The business opportunities are endless, but as the Boy Scouts always say, you need to be prepared. In order to maximize your time and money, have a firm idea of what you want to accomplish before you get there and make a plan. Click here for some great guidelines on how to define your convention experience.

But the unexpected can always happen, as Paul Nakamoto from Roaring Camp Railroad tells us in his VERY funny story of his first NTA Convention. Read on....

"As a member of the NTA Board of Directors, let me be one of the firsts to incriminate myself with a funny convention story.

Part 1
In the past, NTA held two annual conventions, a Spring Exchange and the annual convention in the fall. While attending the Spring Exchange in Birmingham, Alabama (my first real visit to the south) I arrived real late, checked in to the hotel and fell asleep watching TV, chewing gum. The next morning I woke up and no gum...ah it had fallen out of my mouth and on to the pillow and now the pillow case was firmly fastened to my hair! No matter how much I tried I couldn't pull the pillow case and gum out of my hair. I tried everything I had with me, toothpaste, shaving cream, soap, shampoo, hair condition all it did was made a really big mess! So I called the hotel front desk and they suggested peanut butter and ice but all they had were Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and I tried both with no luck. So I called the front desk again and they transferred me to the hotel salon and barber shop and the person there said come on down we should have something that can remove the pillow case. I asked where are you located? The reply was walk through the lobby and were on the far end. I said, I'm an Asian Man from California, I can't walk through the hotel lobby with a pillow case on my head in Birmingham Alabama. So the front desk sent up a big floppy hat and I put the hat on, put a pair of sunglasses on and I ran through the lobby to the barber shop. Once in the barber shop, the barber said oh we can take care of this and I heard a SNIP and the barber had simply cut a big chunk of my hair off and now I had a man-made bald spot (one hour to go before my first appointment). I said now what am I going to do? The barber simply combed my hair with the part on the other side. So a few hours later I'm sitting in an appointment (with an unnamed tour operator) and I'm scratching my head with a pen forgetting that's now where my part is and I had colored in my part with blue ink. Oh it was an unforgettable day but the funniest part was on the bus that night hearing people gossiping about the guy who got a pillow case stuck to his head.

Part 2
Since the Spring Exchange was before Pow Wow, I was on a plane to Pow Wow heading for Dallas with a bunch of tourism colleagues from my area and as the flight attendant was serving drinks, she brought me two cups of ice with my can of Coke. I asked what's the second cup for? Her reply, oh that's in case you need to remove gum from your hair if you fall asleep. A little while later the next round of drinks came and when she served me a drink she handed me a Reese's Peanut Butter cup and I said, okay now I know I'm being set up and she just smiled and said, peanut butter is great for taking gum out of your hair. Then when I got to my hotel the desk clerk said oh wait there's a basket for you and it was full of assorted flavors of gum, a big jar of Skippy Peanut Butter and a big floppy hat. That entire week of Pow Wow, everything I left my booth I'd come back to a "gift" of some sort so my tourism colleagues here in the San Francisco Bay Area had fun with this one too."

Submitted by Paul Nakamoto
Roaring Camp Railroads 

Welcome to the first entry for the 2010 Convention blog!

I have a special message to all NTA members about Convention. Watch my first video blog below and hear what funny thing happened to me at the NTA Convention one year. Remember, check back frequently to watch and read your colleagues stories and get updates about Convention 10!

And, let me know your stories too! Send them to me (written or video) at NTAConvention10@gmail.com.

Happy laughing,

Dawn Rueckl
2010 NTA Convention Chair