To a friend from the past

Ann Eliza,

My dear friend Jocelyn has told me of the many questions you have of our time. As a favor to her I have agreed to give some of our secrets of this time. However, please do not share them with anyone else I wouldn’t want the world to end in 2012. I think I’ve said too much... Let’s get back on track to what you really want to know.

In today’s world there are several ways to communicate with one another. You no longer have to worry about the ink drying on that piece of parchment, but rather you are able to use your computer and cell phones to catch up with all of your friends and family. There is something called Social Media. It is how people communicate today. There is everything from Facebook, to Twitter, to Blogging, listening to musicians’ new songs on Youtube, and joining virtual book clubs. There are so many ways to keep up with everything it can get pretty exhaustive at times to be honest.  But let’s start with our ways of writing with one another.

Facebook is an outlet of communication that allows you to not only write to your friends and family, but also to share photos of one another along with videos (think of a video like watching someone in real life, but witnessing it later). This tool allows you to be able to quickly keep up to speed with those that you care about and even some people that you don’t really care about but still know everything about their lives. But explaining that would mean explaining meeting random “friends” while drinking during college years, so I’ll leave that up to Jocelyn to explain instead. While we’re on the topic of knowing random people’s lives, there is another tool called Twitter.

Twitter is like Facebook in the aspect that you can see what’s going on in your friends’ lives, but it also allows you to keep up with people that you’ve never even met. You can find out things from Newspapers, Magazines, Authors of all sorts, inventors, athletes, and all sorts of famous people- even the President! This tool will only allow each author to say short tid bits about their lives, so it’s not as personal as Facebook can be but it does give interesting looks into others daily happenings. What about if you want to share your own writing? Well then there is blogging.

Blogging is a format that people can use to express themselves in pages of words. It’s almost like writing your own life story onto a place where everyone can see. It’s revealing and yet entertaining to both write and read what others have to say. And what if you don’t have time to meet up with Betty Sue-Moo on Tuesday for your book club because that snow added an extra six hours of work onto your day? Have no fear! There is an actual place where hundreds of thousands of people share their insight on books, authors, and so much more right from their own home and at their own time.

Lastly, don’t forget Youtube where people will share actual video of their lives, movies, TV shows, music, and anything else that you can think of that a person would want to see. (If you don’t know what TV is I’m sure you and Jocelyn will touch on that another time.) It’s a very fast paced world we live in today. I wouldn’t say it’s lonely, but I think sometimes everyone wishes it was a little more private. With all of this information out in the world it can be very easy to feel like you need a break from everything and go back to your day where talking face to face or waiting for a letter to arrive is enough.

We may live in very different worlds Ann Eliza, but one thing hasn’t changed- knowledge is power. Just be careful what you do with it.

 

With Kind Regards,

Heather Hughley

Happy Henry's H20Park

 Splishing, splashing, swirling, twirling, and all while enjoying a family friendly Waterpark. Welcome to Happy Henry’s H20Park. With gallons of fun and dozens of waterslides nothing screams fun like a daring vertical drop into a deep blue pool of adventure. Why don’t you take a plunge and find out what all the bubble is about?

                When Henry was a little boy he told his parent’s, “I love swimming and to prove how much I love it I’m going to make the biggest Waterpark in Minnesota!” Now as a man in his sixties, Henry has brought his dream to reality. When Happy Henry’s opened in 2004 all of the Northern Snowbirds couldn’t believe that there was finally a Waterpark made for all seasons. Indeed ladies and gentleman, HHH20Park is not only an indoor waterpark, but it also ventures outside as well. How could that be possible some may ask? Let us tell you.

                As you walk in to Henry’s the first thing you see is slides zig zagging all around one another like a maze. There are tube slides, body slides, open top slides, and completely closed all the way around slides.  Plus, it has fun for all ages. There is everything from vortex pools, to our 300 gallon dumping bucket, lazy rivers, and multiple hot tubs. In fact one of our guest’s favorite hot tubs is the one that leads from our indoor facility to our outdoor facility.

                This four season hot tub tempts the brave to sit in the chilly Minnesota air while enjoying a nice hot soak. It also allows the summer lovers to have a comfortable setting to star gaze or watch fireworks over the 4^th of July. No matter the reason of loving this great feature, what people enjoy most is being able to visually map out the next Waterslide to enjoy.

                The Outdoor Waterpark at Henry’s includes many of the same large Waterslides as the indoor facility, however it also has the unique features such as: a wave pool, surf pool, tornado slide (pictured to the right), rowing pool, and a one large pool the size of a small lake that has floating docks and water trampolines. But because Henry didn’t want any of his customers to miss out on all of this fun during those chilly February days the outdoor facility does include a clear retractable dome. The dome keeps all of Henry’s guests enjoying an eighty degree day even on the days it’s negative twenty outside. Also, the clear dome design allows guests to feel like they’re in a very warm snow globe.

                So whether it’s a sunny day in August or a blistering blizzardy day in January-Happy Henry’s H20Waterpark has something for everyone to enjoy all year round.  So, throw that suit and towel in your bag, call up your friends and family, and come check out Henry’s for yourself. We guarantee you won’t be disappointed!

Home Away From Home

                Tall trees billowing in the wind, vibrant sunrises and sunsets, tons of golf courses and vineyards, and an endless supply of water. This is Long Island, New York and my favorite place in United States. You could call it my home away from home. About four years ago I was offered a job to work at a Golf Club in Southampton of Long Island, New York and because I had a wild hair I went for it. Even though it was only for six months of my life-it changed me and I’m forever thankful that I went. Everyone needs that life changing moment in their 20’s and Long Island was mine. It all started with the wine..

                If I hadn’t worked in Southampton I would not have discovered the excellence of wine. The Northfork had many more Vineyards than the Southfork (where Southampton is) but they sure know how to do wine just as well!

 

This is a picture of Long Island. The North Fork is on the left and the South Fork is on the right. As you can see there are only three Wineries on the South Fork.

                But it wasn’t just the wine that made these places memorable. I really enjoyed the Channing Daughter’s Winery because of the sculpture garden. The main piece is an up-rooted tree that is suspended upside down in the middle of the garden.

There is nothing like taking a bottle of wine and sitting in the middle of this big open field of unique sculptures. It’s so peaceful. In fact when one of my brother’s came to visit me I took him there and while we wandered our separate ways in silence I came back to find him napping on a tree. If that doesn’t speak of serenity I don’t know what does. 

                                                                          Serenity.

                However, the art and wine was just one small piece of my experience. There was also golf. When I first arrived I knew absolutely nothing about golf. All I knew is that you could play either 9 or 18 holes and choose to take a cart of walk the course. I had no idea that there was a science on how deep one should plant the grass seeds so that when it came time to mow there would be more options to make the course either a fast or slow play. Or, that the course had to be manicured daily to keep the game interesting. I learned quickly that golf was not just a sport but a business meeting and family gathering. I mostly worked with the upper crust of society (each member had to pay a half million dollars to even join the club) but I sure met a lot of interesting people. These men and women are powerful business people who fight for every dime they’ve ever made, but when it came to golf they were the most relaxed and polite people I had ever met.

                One of the most interesting things about Southampton is that there were three clubs within three miles of each other and most of the members belonged to at least two, sometimes even all three of the clubs. If I had the money I think I would do the same-these clubs are beyond beautiful and filled with history.

This is the back of the club I worked at. This view shows the staircase that leads to the upstairs deck, bar, and dining room along with the downstairs patio that overlooks the course.

This is a club that is literally right next door. I had taken this picture from the back deck of the club that I worked at. This club had been around for quite some time. It looks more like a gargantuan house than a club where you would enjoy food and drinks.

                The whole experience was magical and healing all in one. I started off as a 20 year old kid and returned as a 21 year old confident and happy adult. I learned how to stand up for myself while still being supportive of the people around me. It’s not just the golf, wine, sculptures, and never ending water that changed me, but it was mostly the people. I was the youngest person who worked at the club and I didn’t know a single soul when I started, but these people became not only my friends but also my family. 

Can you see why?

   None of us live in the same state or even the same part of the country, yet we still make time for each other because those six short months changed us all.

                I’m lucky to have tons of relatives that live in New York state, so I’ve made plenty of return visits since I left and every time is as great as the first time. Sometimes traveling is to relax. Sometimes it’s to escape and sometimes it’s to discover. Whatever the reason people find, I know mine is to find that place that makes the “Cheer’s” theme song come true. I want to travel to a place where, “everybody knows your name.”

How May I Help You?

 “If my best wines mislike thy taste, And my best service win thy frown, Then tarry not, I bid thee haste; There's many another Inn in town.” –Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Working in the Hospitality Industry I have come to form a strong opinion on what exactly hospitality means. I believe that most people perceive this word as just what the title says -an industry. This industry can encompass places such as restaurants, hotels, or some sort of club. It’s almost as if it has nothing to do with the people working there but rather the place alone.

            However, how can a hospitality industry run if not without its people? Which brings me to my definition of hospitality: Hospitality is the generosity, amenities, and services rendered within a place of business. Notice I did not specify the type of business because I believe all businesses support some type of service. My point of defining hospitality in this way is some people’s attitude in a defined Hospitality Industry such as that restaurant, hotel, or club. It’s almost as if some people totally forget that they are even interacting with another human being.

            Have you ever walked into a restaurant without a reservation and been told that it will be a fifty minute wait? Do you then get mad and yell at the host/ess, or do you simply just say “no thanks” and find a different place to enjoy your meal? It always amazes me that people who take the route of yelling forget that they somehow too probably deal with some sort of customer in their day to day life. How would they feel if something was not their fault, but yet they had to take blame for it because that’s what part of customer service is? Would you like to seat that angry person right away, or would you like to seat the nice couple who stayed quiet and understood that they had not made a reservation so they were going to have to wait?

            Why do some people think that they are supreme the minute that they are receiving a service? It’s as if they forget that they just had to deal with that same awful type of person the day before. Do we not all deserve a little human courtesy?

However, there is something to be said about taking ownership of one’s mistakes as well. If you made a mistake then you should apologize and try to fix it to help that customer, otherwise your business could sink in bad reviews.

I had a moment at work where a guest was upset. I took the guest aside and sat them down and listened to their complaints while noting down the key points of their issues. As they finished telling me why they were angry I addressed each issue that they had been upset about. I apologized on the things that shouldn’t have even happened in the first place and let them know how we would deal with these situations moving forward so that we could better ourselves.

Side bar: I should also mention that this person had made a huge scene earlier in the day and had bruised a fellow manager by snake biting them (placing two hands on another person’s arm while pulling in the opposite direction). The only reason they had been allowed to stay on the premise was because it was his child’s birthday and we didn’t want this child’s birthday to be ruined by her father’s poor behavior. With a promise that he would behave, we let them stay.

So, when I had talked to this man I was the second manager he had spoken with (the first was the snake bitten manager). He thought my calm tone was demeaning and started swearing at me. I let him know he needed to stop swearing at me to continue the conversation. He did not stop swearing and so I asked him to leave. He then told me that he was going to sue the entire facility and fire everyone who worked there. It was quite the temper tantrum. His occupation you may ask? The owner of a small town pizzeria. It made me wonder if that’s how he spoke to his own guests.

So, as retired news-anchor Denny Anderson always would say at the end of his broadcasts, “Good night and be kind.” 

Cute & Smart Advertising

   The Cincinnati Zoo is smart. They've posted many videos on YouTube showing their cute and furry baby animals. They do of course have adult animals that live at the zoo, but aren’t baby animals just adorable? Even when you visit their website the first thing you see are videos and pictures of the babies and all of the sweet laughable “awww!” moments that they do. This clever advertising not only captures the adult audience for giving them the warm fuzzy feelings, but it draws in the little kids who will surely beg Mom, Dad, or any driving adult to rush them to see these cute little creatures.

            In a world where social media now dominates the persuasion of what to do on a Sunday afternoon, the Cincinnati Zoo has shown that they can keep up in this fast pace marketing world. They know that putting up posters or commercials is not just enough anymore. It’s important to have their website with videos linked to YouTube. Not only are the videos cute but they each have some sort of educational fact written below to describe exactly what you’re seeing.

With the video posted above its mentioned that dogs are actually great play companions for Cheetahs. What they zoo will do then is get a puppy to match with one of their babies so that the two animals can grow up together as play mates. In the video we see that both animals love wrestling and running, so it’s easy to understand the logic of pairing these two animals together. Not only did I learn something new, but awwww isn’t this video just adorable? To the Zoo!