The Perfect Fit: Women & Franchising

An interesting combination of factors at this time in history may be the reason so many women are turning to franchising to fulfill their entrepreneurial desires. Women's increased financial power, better education, and corporate experience, combined with their desire for more autonomy and desire to connect with others who share their values make franchising a great fit for many women.Women are better educated now than ever. They have accumulated considerable corporate experience. After years in the corporate world they are tired of being locked into super-human schedules which often include brutal hours and travel obligations. They have grown weary of corporate politics, the corporate craziness of power struggles and meaningless competitive games. They are bored with unchallenging positions. They long for greater autonomy, flexibility and control of their schedules. They begin to hear that entrepreneurial voice, saying "You're smarter and more capable than 90% of the management team - why not use your talents to run your own show?" or, "I've paid my dues and now it's time to do work that I love, work that feeds my soul." or, "Why am I working myself to a frazzle to build equity in someone else's business? Why not build equity in my own?"But women can also feel a note of caution about business ownership. They might begin to wonder if starting their own business will be even more demanding than working for someone else. They may have heard horror stories of entrepreneurs that worked day and night with little financial reward. Or they wonder if they would miss the companionship of working with colleagues; they want to be in business for themselves, but not by themselves. They want to be business owners, and at the same time they want to be faithful to family relationships and responsibilities. Whether single or married, they don't want to take an unreasonable risk that could negatively effect their family or their security. Franchising can often be the perfect fit.Several characteristics unique to franchising make it tremendously appealing to women. By nature women are relational, they generally enjoy, in fact crave, opportunities to work with others toward a shared goal. Women like to connect at a deeper level, to feel that bond of shared experience. Experiencing something in common with others is rewarding at a deep level. Becoming a part of a franchise system meets this need. It offers women a way to be connected with like-minded souls - you have a built in team of franchise owners with whom you can connect. You're not alone. Once you sign the franchise agreement, you become a part of a community.Starting any business is a risk, but buying a franchise mitigates that risk for many women. Buying a franchise means you are purchasing a proven model, along with training and operations systems that have been tested and validated. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. Because it's a proven model it often accelerates the start-up phase, when a business can tax even the most energetic entrepreneur. You don't spend months or years wondering if you'll "make it." You have the confidence that if you follow the plan, the training, the systems, you are highly likely to succeed.Franchising may help you be move more quickly to becoming profitable. There are two primary functions in any business - the developmental function and the implementation function. With a franchise, the entire business concept development cycle has been completed (not to mention paid for) by the franchisor. Once you purchase a franchise, you start right in with the implementation cycle. The majority of your time can be spent on obtaining and keeping customers, not on determining what customers really want and how to provide it. Imagine how many months or years it would take you to come up with your own viable concept -- the product, the services, the pricing, the financial targets, the staffing plan, the entire marketing package, the materials, the website, the sales plan, the sales scripts, and everything else involved in creating a business - perfecting everything as you go along, at the same time you're trying to generate business to pay for the development cycle. Franchising launches you quickly into generating income. You have completely developed and tested products and services to sell. You have branding systems, marketing materials, and operational processes completely developed for your immediate implementation. Very likely, you'll have access to a website. Yes, you have to get your own customers; yes you have to work hard; yes, you have to be networked in your own community. But you can begin making the business work immediately and move more quickly to being profitable.Which brings us back to not being alone - your franchisor wants to see you succeed. Franchising gives you access to people who know what it's like to walk in your shoes who are invested in your success. Most franchisors provide initial training and ongoing mentoring through a variety of means. When you aren't sure how to handle a certain situation, you can pick up the phone and call someone who has been there and done that. When you have an exciting success, you can pick up the phone and call someone who will be celebrating with you.For many women, franchising is a perfect fit and the most congruent way to listen to that entrepreneurial voice. 2005 Darcie HarrisDarcie Harris is co-founder of EWF International, an Oklahoma based firm providing peer advisory groups for women business owners and executives. EWF International franchises are available throughout the Southwest. View this article and others at http://www.ewfinternational.com. darcie@ewfinternational.com

How To Switch to The Fast-Track From the Side Track

Work-In-ProgressWant to win the game?Until you cash-in your chips, consider yourself a Work-In-Progress (W-I-P), as if you were a Picasso unfinished painting which he returned to again and again.Your W-I-P attitude leads to active personal growth and self-improvement while you keep adding and subtracting from your knowledge and belief core, (your painting), and stay willing to change your mind.Those of us who believe we are a finished-product, stop learning and experiencing, leading to an extreme state of comfort-zone-itis. We inhibit our left and right brains, instead of exciting and firing our synapses of discovery.Our comfort-zone is where we make decisions about right-and-wrong, what's important, and what we are capable of doing. Have you recently attempted something for the first-time, using some new electronic gadget or using a special computer program, and heard your still-small-voice whisper in your ear, - You cannot learn that, it's too complicated! -Some of us feel a cold chill in the pit of our stomach warning us of impending doom when we face change and newness! Do you keep trying or get up and walk away?Those who kick-butte are willing to fail more than snailers, and continue to attempt new approaches. They maintain a belief system, an attitude of mind, to keep trying until they find a way, or make a way, to succeed. That's called grit.Comfort-ZoneThere are scientific-facts like gravity and electromagnetism, simply reality, based on personal experience, and beliefs, which come from our family, community and education. Repetition and conditioning create our comfort-zone, and after age 25 we stop revisiting our beliefs and submit to their dictatorship.How many beliefs do we hold that are plain wrong because times have changed, or our decision years ago about people, have not kept up with their personal growth?Scientists seem to lack the ego of the rest of society, who must protect and defend its unchanging beliefs. In any given year scientific journals will report new proofs that contradict what was once proven-truth, and inform us of a new reality. They are stronger because they welcome change in their beliefs.The rest of us, including the author, suffer from distortion-thinking, unrealistic expectations, and twisted self-perception, leading us to beliefs in fables, myths and outright lies. The media, government bureaucrats, and Washington lobbyists, in addition to Eisenhower's industrial-military complex, drug companies and oil producers, have a vested interest in not disturbing our dormant comfort-zone.DisruptionLearning only occurs when there is a disruption of our comfort-zone rituals. That's why we have to experience a disaster, even hit-bottom, before we can change a core belief we hold about ourselves and our gifts and talents.We don't -think- our way to changing beliefs; there must an emotional explosion that shakes up our brain and mind.Your CareerMost of us get comfortable in our career, like putting our feet into old shoes. We stop questioning if the job we do is right for us, permanent or where else we can best develop our genetic gifts and talents. The status quo becomes a core belief in our comfort-zone.Did you know that the average executive changes careers five-times in a lifetime?Not jobs or companies, but lifestyles and occupations. Will you be comfortable with the coming upheavals in your life? What's your competitive-advantage?A recent report by the National Academies, a hot-shot advisory group with no axe to grind, specializing in Science and Technology, warns that heavy-weight corporate changes are three (3) years away.Downsizing, outsourcing, bankruptcies, and mergers and acquisitions, lead to catastrophic changes in your life, ready-or-not. Are you really insulated from change? What's your unique competitive advantage over your peers?You are familiar with the expansion in China and India, but you might be interested in knowing that almost forty (40) percent of major U.S. corporation are moving some of their highest paying positions overseas. No, not yours, right?Not Just IndustrialIt began with cheaper labor costs, increased because of tax incentives by the foreign companies, and now is focused on science and technology. Domestic executives and professionals are rapidly being replaced with international staffers who are highly trained and fully competent. Yes, they are paid one-third of U.S. financial packages.Fortune 500 companies like Exxon and Dow have always operated internationally, but by 2009, small companies will market coast-to-coast, and continent-to-continent. Yes, it's the Internet, and global trading practices, and it will affect your life, and disturb your sense of status-quo.The TalentToday, talent is global; universities in China and India are producing world-class graduates, PhDs in science and technology, and training executives for international management. International companies are linked by scholarships they finance, with emerging markets schools, and their new graduates.Many of these students have proven fully capable of running departments and divisions, and producing impressive profits. Yes, they are fluent in English, thanks to their education and the Internet.The author of the Outsourcing Report, Professor Marie Thursby, of Georgia Tech College of Management, says the coming revolution is based on a working collaboration between companies and international universities that are already established and growing. She has examined fifteen industries and companies in the U.S. and Europe, and sees explosive change as a fait accompli, though existing executives and professionals seem unconcerned and unaware.Two ReasonsThe massive economic growth in China and India leads international companies to want a piece of their growing pie, and operating local is a necessity.The second reason is the increase in the foreign talent pool, their adaptability, and willingness to change, learn and travel, without argumentToday, based on the thousand of foreign students trained in the U.S., who return to become professors in their own country of origin, there is no exclusivity on brain power. The future Nobel Prizes will go to graduates of foreign universities.AndHiring by major companies for positions in the U.S. are being reduced not just for research and development, but including middle management. The highest paying jobs are easing out the harbor for foreign shores.The U.S. is becoming less competitive and in time - a generation - may be marginalized.Did you know that in 2006, Japan has experienced no population growth? The death statistics are look eye-to-eye to new births. Investments in Japan may soon reflect a stagnant domestic economy.Sure, you say, - but it cannot hurt me because my company is not science or technology oriented - . Set your sights on potential declining economic growth in the U.S., and consider the question of your children's future. Are we producing world-class executives, marketing experts and innovators?It is government statistics that U.S. students lag way behind the world in math and science acuity, starting in high school, and students never catch up to world competition. Do want to see your country as a backwater market?We train our kids to be masters of distraction, beginning with video games, TV, and personal-messaging on the Internet.We respectfully suggest our society consider the stranglehold the Educational Establishment has on our resources. Some of our best universities vie for the title of Best Party School, in order to attract paying students.Our experience is with the Reading Establishment, that is delighted with the status-quo, and their members, who are not required to confront their own comfort-zone.Would it make a difference if the average student would Triple their Reading Speed, Double their Memory - Guaranteed!See ya,copyright 2006 H. Bernard WechslerOriginal partner of Evelyn Wood, author: Speed Reading For Professionals (Barron's Publishing); helped market speed reading to 2,000,000, including the White House staff of four U.S. Presidents. Director of Education for Speedlearning Institute, international speed reading and memory training organization.http://www.speedlearning.org/home.php hbw@speedlearning.org

Maritime Security & Counterterrorism Training Videos Break All Sales Records

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL July 23, 2004 " A series of U.S.-produced maritime security and counterterrorism training videos have proven to be the fastest selling maritime training programs in history, according to Martin Glenday, President of Moxie Media. The training series is the first comprehensive ISPS Code and MTSA-compliant maritime security training program designed specifically for seaports and shipping companies to meet both US and international regulatory requirements. After only 90 days from their introduction to the market, there have been over half a million dollars in orders. The Maritime Security Compliance Video Training Series has been purchased by over a dozen foreign governments, including China, Barbados, Grenada, Montserrat, Turkey, St. Kitts & Nevis, and the United States. Other purchasers include the US Coast Guard, the Port of Los Angeles, Maersk Shipping, the US Senate, Dow Chemical, Tropical Shipping, Shell Oil, the National Park Service, TECO Barge Line, Maine State Ferry Service, Hess Oil, the University of California, V. Ships, Wackenhut Corporation, the University of Hawaii Marine Center, Domino Sugar, Crowley Maritime, GlobalSantaFe, Dynegy, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, and the University of Washington. Moxie Media co-developed the 11 video (or DVD) training program with SeaSecure LLC, a global leader in maritime security and counter-terrorism consulting.As a result of the terror attacks of 9/11, the United Nations and the United States established requirements that port and ship personnel all receive specific maritime security training, said Kim E. Petersen, President of SeaSecure, in a press conference. The extraordinary cost of sending such staff to distant learning centers, including academy fees, airfare, hotels, and time away from work, has been crippling. After receiving extensive input from government and maritime agencies, SeaSecure and Moxie Media created a training program that is easy to use, reasonably priced, and compliant with all US and international regulatory specifications. The SeaSecure & Moxie Media Maritime Security Compliance Video Series has become the standard for the industry and is in use by governments, universities, port authorities, and shipping companies around the world. Ship and seaport security training is now required due to the passage of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, and the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. The ISPS Code was adopted by the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO) to address maritime security at all international ports and the security of ships engaged in international commerce. The US adopted the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 to codify the requirements of the ISPS Code. Both the ISPS Code and the MTSA have set strict training standards for port and ship operators.Martin Glenday, president of Moxie Media, stated that, With the passage of the July 1, 2004 compliance deadline, the US Coast Guard and foreign authorities are increasing their vigilance to ensure that all required training has been performed by ship owners and port facilities. There is no quicker way to achieve an in-house capability for training compliance and certification than through this video training series. Using the unparalleled international maritime security experience and expertise of SeaSecure, we have developed this series of programs to meet and exceed the mandatory training requirements of the ISPS Code and MTSA. The importance of these videos cannot be overstated. Ports face losing their Statement of Compliance, thereby jeopardizing future visits by ships. And without proper training of their personnel, both ships and ports face increased liability in the event of a security incident. Moxie Media is one of the United States' largest producers and distributors of training and safety programs.For the first time ever, ship, terminal, and port facility operators have the means to train an unlimited number of employees at a fraction of the cost associated with seminar and academy based programs " saving travel costs, tuition costs, and hotel and meals. More importantly, this program will significantly reduce lost time from work and increase productivity. Ports and ships will have the ability to provide ongoing and refresher training for new and returning employees at any time and at no additional charge.Also available for every training program is a comprehensive Facilitators Guide, complete with test questions and answer key. The guide provides the course facilitator with the tools necessary to efficiently and effectively instruct, test, and score students on their comprehension of the maritime security curriculum. Furthermore, Moxie Media and SeaSecure can also provide third party certification of student test results. The cost for the entire series is $2,750, with individual programs available for purchase from $295 to $450 each. Yearly licensing options are available for companies requiring multiple sets.About SeaSecure:Headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, SeaSecure is widely recognized as the global leader in maritime security and risk management. A multi-disciplinary company, SeaSecure provides risk consulting services (including vulnerability assessments, and design & engineering); risk management solutions (including project management, procurement, and management software tools); training; and, maritime guard services.SeaSecure's staff members have performed security and vulnerability assessments in over 90 countries and 170 seaports. In 2001, SeaSecure was appointed Senior Advisor on Maritime & Seaport Security to all of Florida's deep-water ports. SeaSecure's international clientele includes some of the world's largest seaports, shipping companies, and cruise lines. SeaSecure provides maritime security training to governments and industry, including the US Coast Guard, US Department of Homeland Security, and the governments of China, Aruba, Turkey, Grenada, the Maritime Security Institute, and many others. Its executives sit on the US Senate Port Security Working Group, the Maritime Security Council, the US Marine Transportation System National Advisory Council, and the US Department of Homeland Security's Area Maritime Security Committee for Southern Florida.About Moxie Media:Since 1985 Moxie Media has been producing Training, Safety, Environmental, and Security related video, DVD, Internet and print based programs for Business and Industry. With an award winning staff of writers, producers, directors, editors, and software developers Moxie has built a library of over 1,000 training titles for the Maritime, Offshore Oil and Gas, Construction, Chemical, Utility, Security and OSHA compliant industries. Moxie also provides custom design and production services in a broad range of communications media: Film, Video, Interactive Multimedia, Internet-WWW, and Print. To order the Maritime Security Compliance Video Training Series for ISPS and MTSA Certification, please call toll free in the United States 800-346-6943 or outside the United States 504-733-6907. For more information please visit: www.moxietraining.com

Susan Eisenhower to Visit Triangle

Raleigh, NC November 7 2003-- The International Visitors Council / World Affairs Council (IVC / WAC) and the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, will sponsor a visit by Susan Eisenhower to the Triangle. Ms. Eisenhower is chair of the Eisenhower Institute in Washington, DC, and granddaughter of former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Ms. Eisenhower is best known for her work in Russia and the former Soviet Union. Ms. Eisenhower will make two speaking appearances in the Triangle. The first will be a luncheon at the Cardinal Club, 150 Fayetteville Street Mall (Wachovia Building), Suite 2800, Raleigh on November 20, 2003 at noon. The event is $30 for members of IVC / WAC; $35 for non-members. Must be paid in advance. Cardinal Club and Triangle Society members can register directly through the Club. Cost includes program, lunch, and all taxes & gratuities. Space is limited. RSVP is needed by November 17. The second appearance will be in Geneen Auditorium, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, November 20, 6 - 7 p.m., followed by reception & wine tasting from 7 - 8:30 p.m. Ms. Eisenhower will share about U.S. / Russia relations. The Fuqua School of Business is located at 1 Towerview Road on the Duke University campus in Durham. For specific directions, call Student Services at 919.660.7934.The evening event at Duke is co-sponsored by the Fuqua MBA Association, Fuqua International Center, Duke Graduate and Professional Student Council, Fuqua Diversity Cabinet, Fuqua Admissions Department, Fuqua Leadership Cabinet, and Fuqua Association of Women in Business.Ms. Eisenhower has been appointed to the National Academy of Sciences' standing Committee on International Security and Arms Control (CISAC) where she is now serving a third term. In 2000, a year before September 11, she co-edited a book, Islam and Central Asia, which carried the prescient subtitle, An Enduring Legacy or an Evolving Threat? Among other commitments, Ms. Eisenhower serves as an Academic Fellow of the International Peace and Security program of Carnegie Corporation of New York, and is a director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Nuclear Threat Initiative. She served two terms on the National Advisory Council of NASA. About the Eisenhower InstituteThe Eisenhower Institute is a 501 (c)(3) organization founded in 1983 with a mission to advance Dwight D. Eisenhower's intellectual and leadership legacies in foreign and domestic policy through: a rigorous pursuit of facts; the encouragement of reasoned and respectful debate; and the quest for outcomes that serve the long-term interests of the American people while promoting justice and international peace. The goal of the organization is to build a policy institute in Washington, DC that promotes sound and forward-looking policies, and that lays the intellectual and civic groundwork for the next generation of opinion-leaders, policy-shapers and public servants. More information is available at www.eisenhowerinstitute.orgAbout IVC / WACFor 30 years, the International Visitor Council has brought participants to the Triangle from all over the world to meet and confer with their professional counterparts and to experience the United States firsthand. The visitors, who are current or potential leaders in government, politics, business, the media, education, and other fields, are selected by American officials overseas. They come to the United States for two to four week periods of sponsored travel through the auspices of the International Visitor Program of the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State.When their national itinerary includes the Triangle area, the International Visitors Council arranges their professional activities in a wide variety of fields, including biotechnology, business management, pharmaceuticals, environment law, government, grassroots democracy, print journalism, and broadcasting, finance, trade issues, the arts, and education. The emphasis of the program is to increase mutual understanding through communication at the personal and professional levels.More than 200 current and former Heads of State, 1,500 cabinet-level ministers and many other distinguished world leaders in government and the private sector have participated in the International Visitors Program.Our 2002 merger with the Triangle World Affairs Council complements our current programming and gives us additional resources, including access to former ambassadors and other prominent individuals available for speaking engagements in our area.More information is available at www.ivc-wac.org

BHN to Organize Hotel Investment Conference in Montenegro

NEWPORT BEACH, California, USA --- BHN, organizer of some of the world's most prominent hotel investment conferences, has signed an agreement with the government of Montenegro to organize a conference focussing on hospitality investment opportunities in the Balkan republic. Jim Burba, founder of BHN, and Mr. Vladimir Mitrovic, the Republic of Montenegro's Minister of Tourism, announced their plans to hold the event in May 2001 at the world-renowned Spa Center-Institute Igalo, in Herceg-Novi, Montenegro.Reflecting the importance of the future of the hospitality industry in Montenegro, Minister Mitrovic stated, President Milo Djukanovic of Montenegro personally will invite a select group of international delegates to travel to Montenegro to see the rich opportunities that our beautiful country has to offer the hotel and tourism industry. The region has stabilized and the Republic of Montenegro is ready for the world community to participate in its growth and development as a premier travel destination. The goals of the conference include introducing the international hotel and tourism investment community to the process of privatization of hotels and resorts in Montenegro, identifying new sites for development, explaining management and franchise opportunities and developing a better understanding of Montenegro's government plan for economic development and restructuring. BHN will focus on developing a conference that will help the local government become familiar with the outlook for hotel lending and how hotel deals are currently being done, as well as key issues to shape the hotel and tourism industry in Montenegro. This will be an incredible opportunity for the world's hospitality leaders to view firsthand the limitless investment opportunities that Montenegro offers, Jim Burba explained. The European Coordination Center for the conference will be in the London offices of Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG). Jim Burba recently joined WATG as Vice President and Worldwide Director of Advisory Services.BHN will plan, organize or produce several upcoming hospitality industry investment conferences which will be held in 2001. Included on the roster of events is: the 16th Annual Hotel Industry Investment Conference and 5th Annual Latin America & Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Forum scheduled for January 2001 in Los Angeles, California; the 5th Annual Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference scheduled for April 2001 in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles; and the 4th Annual International Hotel Investment Forum scheduled for March 2001 in Berlin, Germany. Information about all the BHN conferences appears on www.BURBA.com, the BHN website.For more information, contact Bob Hayes, BHN Director of Communications at (949) 574-8500 or email: bhayes@watg.com

Unique Revenue Sharing Program from Only Fun Vacations

August 4, 2004 -- How would you like to offer your clients, employees, contractors, brokers or other business associates an incredible service that everyone needs? Leisure travel is one of the largest industries in the world. Everyone loves to travel. Whether it is a cruise vacation to the Caribbean, a weekend in Las Vegas or perhaps an all-inclusive stay in Mexico, leisure travel remains one of the most successful tools for maintaining important business relationships. Travel partnerships can be expensive and often fail to provide the quality of service needed to maintain those delicate business relationships. That is where we come in. We can provide you with a total leisure travel solution that can benefit all aspects of your business. What is the cost? Absolutely nothing!Imagine that you could provide your clients, employees or other business associates with a full service travel website featuring booking engines, cruises, vacation packages, destination guides, trip reviews and travel tools. Tens of thousands of pages of the best travel offers you can find. Better yet we can private label the site to reflect your current corporate branding. We also will give each of your client's special incentives to book, such as $100 Gift Certificates with any cruise or vacation booking. Did I mention that all of this doesn't cost you anything? There is one more important detail I forgot to mention, your company will earn 25% of all commission revenue, and for a small yearly fee you can earn 40% of all commission revenue!That's right! Not only does this program cost you absolutely nothing, but you can generate profit to the bottom line as well. Don't see the benefit yet? Maybe you want to raise money for a charity? Need an incentive to get a client to purchase your product? Pass your profits to your clients in the form of a discount? Provide an employee benefit or incentive? Drive more traffic to your website? Enhance your member services program? Create excitement for a promotion or membership drive? The possibilities are endless and we are here to develop a solution for you.We can have you up and running with your own private label site like the www.ameriplantraveler.com website within days. Completely free of charge! Ameriplan uses our leisure travel program to provide a discount travel benefit to their network of insurance brokers. Only Fun Vacations has over 25 years of experience developing strategic partnerships with clients like Sprint, Price Club, Travelnow, OneTravel, Pass Privilege, Nevada Power, Commercial Travel Corporation, Adventure Tracker & Ameriplan USA to name just a few. By providing exceptional value & service we have become a leader in innovative marketing programs and benefit programs. Some of the services we can provide include:-Marketing Promotions-Client Loyalty Programs -Value Added Benefits -Employee Incentive Programs -Special Event Planning -Fundraising -Customized Travel Clubs -Group Travel Services -Honeymoon Registry -Travel Deals Newsletters -Radio Promotions -Travel Fairs With 20 years of experience in the travel industry we have become a well respected organization that is involved in many organizations including the BBB " Better Business Bureau, ARC " Airlines Reporting Corporation, IATA " International Air Transport Association, CLIA " Cruise Line International Association, NACTA " National Association of Commissioned Travel Agents, ASTA " American Society of Travel Agents and Vacation.com the largest travel consortium in the United States. In addition members of our company sit on the advisory boards of industry groups and organizations. Frank Costa, President of CTOFV also hosts a weekly radio show called the Travel Insiders which airs in San Diego, CA. This industry experience has allowed us to create preferred relationships with major travel suppliers like Carnival Cruise Lines, Apple Vacations, Pleasant Holidays, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean / Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Club Med, Sandals and many others.What does all of this mean? Well it means you get experience, service and value when you partner with Only Fun Vacations. Call or email us today to find out more details or to set up a special consultation.

Marilyn Nelson to Receive Award at Berlin Hotel Investment Conference

The hosts of the upcoming 5th Annual International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) have announced that Marilyn Nelson, chairman and chief executive officer of Carlson Companies, Inc., will receive the prestigious IHIF Lifetime Achievement Award at the event to be held March 19-21, 2002 at the Inter-Continental in Berlin, Germany. The award is given annually to a hotel industry leader who has demonstrated remarkable leadership, and it is voted by an advisory board to the IHIF. Previous winners include Lord Forte, Gerard Pellison, Paul Dubrule, Gabriel Escarrer and George Rafael.Nelson is responsible for both the future and the daily operations of Carlson Companies, one of the largest privately held companies in the world. It is the parent corporation of a global group of integrated consumer service and corporate solution firms. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, the company operates travel agencies, hotels, restaurants, cruises and marketing services. More than 190,000 people are employed under Carlson brands in more than 140 nations. About the selection of Nelson to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, co-host Jonathan Worsley stated, Marilyn Carlson Nelson is very deserving of this award due to her tireless efforts on behalf of the hotel industry. Since the events of September 11, she has been one of the drivers to get the industry moving again, and she is using her position as chairman of the Carlson group to lobby the United States Congress. Worsley added, Marilyn is a figurehead within the hotel industry. The philosophy of Carlson is summed up in the company's credo: Whatever you do, do it with integrity; wherever you go, go as a leader; whomever you serve, serve with caring; whenever you dream, dream with your all and never give up' sums up the character of Marilyn and Carlson Companies.Upon hearing that she had been chosen to receive the IHIF Lifetime Achievement Award, Nelson stated, It is truly an honor to be personally recognized by my colleagues in the hospitality industry, but I can only accept this on behalf of the tens of thousands of Carlson hospitality team members across the globe who continue to build and operate our industry's most exciting brands.The IHIF is hosted by BHN, Insignia Hotel Partners and Hotel & Motel Management. BHN brings together nearly two decades of experience in developing the world's most prominent gatherings of the hotel and tourism investment community, including the recently held Asia Pacific Hotel Investment Conference in Hong Kong and the upcoming Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles, California and Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference in Puerto Rico. Insignia Hotel Partners, a premier hotel real estate advisory company, specializes in individual hotel and portfolio brokerage, capital advisory services and asset management. Hotel and Motel Management is the preferred advertising vehicle for hospitality industry suppliers, service providers, franchise companies and management companies around the world. Additional information about the IHIF Lifetime Achievement Award, the program and online registration for the event is available on the IHIF website: www.berlinconference.com .