Unseen Faces and Missing Leaders: A Recap of Our Baltimore Spring Launch

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Discussion Overview

This thread discusses the recent Baltimore Spring Launch, focusing on the absence of certain leaders and top sellers, as well as the performances of new team members during the event. Participants share their observations and experiences regarding the event's dynamics and the individuals involved.

Discussion Character

  • Anecdotal
  • Opinion-based
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant mentions noticing a new Marketing Director at the event but did not see her at the conference.
  • Another participant recalls that Tony, who was with Dan, is a Sales Marketing guy and has been with the company for about six months.
  • Several participants express missing Susie Lite, who has left for another company, and note the absence of top sellers as strange.
  • One participant shares that Tony is involved with the "Summer's Best" challenge and describes him as nice and excited.
  • Multiple participants comment on the humorous dynamic between Dan and Tony during the event, describing their performance as entertaining.
  • Some participants inquire about Duska Mills, with speculation about her absence being related to personal matters.
  • One participant expresses disappointment over David Meehan's absence and shares a positive past experience with him as a speaker.
  • Several participants discuss the challenges faced by team members in attending the conference due to family commitments.
  • One participant raises concerns about David's sales practices, suggesting they may undermine the integrity of the business.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Views differ regarding the reasons for the absence of certain individuals and the implications of their absence. Some participants express nostalgia for previous leaders, while others focus on the new dynamics introduced by current team members.

Contextual Notes

The discussion reflects a mix of personal experiences and observations from the Baltimore Spring Launch, highlighting the community's engagement with changes in leadership and team dynamics.

Who May Find This Useful

Participants within the consultant community who are interested in the dynamics of leadership changes and team performances during events may find this discussion relevant.

BethCooks4U said:
I agree that the parade was long but I also loved that they recognized the top 10 in all Exec lines. That gave deserved kudos to a lot more people and they all deserved it! :thumbup:
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This is quite disappointing to me b/c my Exec only invited her top 3 in sales and top 3 recruiters to participate. See not even all of the Execs follow the rules or 'create a level playing field.'

Owell, life isn't fair and I've learned to just pull up the big girl panties and take the high road. Life is too short to sweat such little things that really aren't important.

I will say though, I listed the Parade in my survey as a "got to go" in my opinion. There's more than enough recognition and in fact, there is so much anymore I felt this years wasn't even worth while. They paraded everyone on and off the stage like a herd of cattle. Picture taking was near impossible, most categories didn't get names read and it felt like (IMO) that it was a "get'em on and off" to say "we did it" type scenario. Last year when i got to walk at least we got to go stand on a circle and pause for a minute for pictures and to actually feel recognized. It should be a worthwhile experience and not a rush job which is how it turned out this year.
 
Melissa78 said:
This is quite disappointing to me b/c my Exec only invited her top 3 in sales and top 3 recruiters to participate. See not even all of the Execs follow the rules or 'create a level playing field.'

Owell, life isn't fair and I've learned to just pull up the big girl panties and take the high road. Life is too short to sweat such little things that really aren't important.

I will say though, I listed the Parade in my survey as a "got to go" in my opinion. There's more than enough recognition and in fact, there is so much anymore I felt this years wasn't even worth while. They paraded everyone on and off the stage like a herd of cattle. Picture taking was near impossible, most categories didn't get names read and it felt like (IMO) that it was a "get'em on and off" to say "we did it" type scenario. Last year when i got to walk at least we got to go stand on a circle and pause for a minute for pictures and to actually feel recognized. It should be a worthwhile experience and not a rush job which is how it turned out this year.
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WHEN I walk, I WILL pause for at least a second or two! ;) What can they do at that point? Give me the big HOOK? HAHA
 
Melissa78 said:
This is quite disappointing to me b/c my Exec only invited her top 3 in sales and top 3 recruiters to participate. See not even all of the Execs follow the rules or 'create a level playing field.'

.
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Actually....depending on what level of Exec they are was how many ppl they were allowed to have in their parade. I think Exec's could have 6, Sr. Exec maybe it was 10 and NED had 20. Not sure about the # for SED, but I know that my NED added 2 ppl to her parade b/c her Exec only had 6 slots for her top ppl and my NED wanted to be sure that a few others were recognized.
 
Melissa78 said:
This is quite disappointing to me b/c my Exec only invited her top 3 in sales and top 3 recruiters to participate. See not even all of the Execs follow the rules or 'create a level playing field.'

Owell, life isn't fair and I've learned to just pull up the big girl panties and take the high road. Life is too short to sweat such little things that really aren't important.

I will say though, I listed the Parade in my survey as a "got to go" in my opinion. There's more than enough recognition and in fact, there is so much anymore I felt this years wasn't even worth while. They paraded everyone on and off the stage like a herd of cattle. Picture taking was near impossible, most categories didn't get names read and it felt like (IMO) that it was a "get'em on and off" to say "we did it" type scenario. Last year when i got to walk at least we got to go stand on a circle and pause for a minute for pictures and to actually feel recognized. It should be a worthwhile experience and not a rush job which is how it turned out this year.
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Or maybe instead of announcing everybody they could just parade in and take their seats. Like you said there could have been other people they could have recognized more than what they did for the parade. Last year a good friend of mine worked so hard on earning Excellence Award only to be rushed out on stage in groups of people.
 
I tell you what...when you earn and accomplish a new level you want to be recognized and you deserve to be. However as someone sitting in the General Session that has been something I have "complained" about on my form almost every year. There are so many consultants that to give everyone their 5-10 seconds we would need a whole general session just for that. That's how it used to be. They've sped it up quite a bit. Actually, they used to let new Directors say something as they came across. Imagine how long that would take now!!

Saying all of that, I do see how this year was a little more rushed than it really should've been. There is no real happy medium for this though. I didn't enjoy the parade, half the time I didn't even know what was going on. I can see how the ones in the parade could feel special (especially with the 2nd row seating). Congratulations those of you who got to walk!!! That's awesome!
 
If they hadn't done the Advanced Directors and the Directors (2 groups!) in the same general session, it wouldn't have seemed too bad, but I guess since they did that parade the day before, they had to. I don't mind that....you work hard for that moment to walk out on stage and be recognized, even if it is just 2 seconds.By the way- recognition even for the Adv. D's and D's was less than 45 minutes total. I was looking at my watch and the first group of directors only took about 15 minutes.
Shoot...depending on which bathroom you went to, it would take you THAT long to wait in the line! ;)
 
I loved the parade and said so in my survey. I thought it was a great way to do that recognition. Yes, I could hear the "Sports Center" commentary, and it was hysterical. I didn't see Becky D or Linda, both of whom I usually see. I did see Carolyn, and she was kind enough to kidnap me and force me to go to a Thai restaurant (which I thoroughly enjoyed).
 
I was one that got to walk in the parade this year. My sr exec got 10 slots & chose the top 5 in sales & top 5 in recruiting of which I was #4. It was a huge honor and I was personally shocked that I made the list! They didn't announce all our names, only the flagbearer. I'm sure it was boring for you all and I apologize. This was my 1st conf so I didn't know they hadn't done that before. I also think the directors took so long because of the new career plan. There were so many who promoted (myself included) and I think they wanted everyone to have their moment. =)
 
kristina16marie said:
I was one that got to walk in the parade this year. My sr exec got 10 slots & chose the top 5 in sales & top 5 in recruiting of which I was #4. It was a huge honor and I was personally shocked that I made the list! They didn't announce all our names, only the flagbearer. I'm sure it was boring for you all and I apologize. This was my 1st conf so I didn't know they hadn't done that before. I also think the directors took so long because of the new career plan. There were so many who promoted (myself included) and I think they wanted everyone to have their moment. =)
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I walked as well. We were dead last ( Yellets team) aphabetically. The wait was crazy and I had no idea how entertaining Dan and Tony were because we couldn't hear anything where we were lined up. The seating was primo though... I would be perfectly happy with that and not the parade. My director is a NED so she had 20 slots to fill.
 
beckyjsmith said:
I walked as well. We were dead last ( Yellets team) aphabetically. The wait was crazy and I had no idea how entertaining Dan and Tony were because we couldn't hear anything where we were lined up. The seating was primo though... I would be perfectly happy with that and not the parade. My director is a NED so she had 20 slots to fill.
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Your NED is awesome! She's my hospitality director here in NC...has been kind enough to open to up to me and several hospitality members in the area for almost 2 yrs now. :)
 
We had just as many Director promotes last year. I agree with the above that its a catch 22 (Chef Kearns) - it kills me to sit thru all the recognition and tend to use the time as potty/stretch the legs/get a drink time to make the time pass by BUT there should be a happy median.

Time spent that can be cut down: The theatrics on presenting the products. Really necessary? NO. Nice and creative but not necessary. The length of time for the bag promotion - again cute, but can be cut down to not include how long to 'drive the car' to the stage and do the skit. So many testimonials, cut them down. Oh I'll just stop now while I'm ahead. I voiced my opinions on the survey and thats all any of us can do.

If it was up to me it would go back to separate conferences so that we could go back to the theater and have decent seating and not have to watch jumbo screens to see what is going on but...those days are gone.

So when given lemons, make lemonade. :)

The point of the thread is who didn't you see...its now all about the parade.
Time to change it back to "who didn't you see".
 
esavvymom said:
Your NED is awesome! She's my hospitality director here in NC...has been kind enough to open to up to me and several hospitality members in the area for almost 2 yrs now. :)
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I agree she totally rocks. She is actually my director. She is a very generous soul. I always thought that's who you were referring to when you talked about your hospitality director. So see? We're practically family! :D
 
Well Melissa I didn't see you but hope to at the next one. :)
 
beckyjsmith said:
Well Melissa I didn't see you but hope to at the next one. :)
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Not sure how to take that good or bad but we'll just have to make it a point! :) I love to put faces with names and even personality - so hard here.
 
Lol no I like your online personality so I would've loved to have met you at conference. :) It's all good...
 
pamperedlinda said:
The parade was very long. I was in it for my NED and we were one of the last groups to go. From the time we lined-up til the time we walked was over an hour of standing in the back of the room. What I didn't like about it was that we couldn't hear or see what was going on. We missed the entire scene with Dan and Tony (?). The good part was we had 2nd row seating :D for the remainder of the session.
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You forgot to mention the lovely aroma in the 2nd and 3rd rows ;)
 
dannyzmom said:
You forgot to mention the lovely aroma in the 2nd and 3rd rows ;)
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I had forgotten about that...til now :yuck: thanks
 
beckyjsmith said:
I walked as well. We were dead last ( Yellets team) aphabetically. The wait was crazy and I had no idea how entertaining Dan and Tony were because we couldn't hear anything where we were lined up. The seating was primo though... I would be perfectly happy with that and not the parade. My director is a NED so she had 20 slots to fill.
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Where at in NC is your NED? I have (1) 2nd Generation and (4) 3rd generation in Concord, NC who obviously cannot come to our meetings in Pennsylvania.
 
Melissa78 said:
Where at in NC is your NED? I have (1) 2nd Generation and (4) 3rd generation in Concord, NC who obviously cannot come to our meetings in Pennsylvania.
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Melissa, Kathy Yellets is in the Raleigh area...a bit too far from Concord (about 3 hrs). Missy Kistemaker (sp?) is down around Mooresville though - both are north of Charlotte. She might be closer - they are about 25 miles apart from each other. Missy is in my SED's downline. She's always in the top of her group with sales and recruiting and a very nice lady. I had dinner with her a few nights. HO could tell you for sure though if there is someone else closer.
 
esavvymom said:
Melissa, Kathy Yellets is in the Raleigh area...a bit too far from Concord (about 3 hrs).

Missy Kistemaker (sp?) is down around Mooresville though - both are north of Charlotte. She might be closer - they are about 25 miles apart from each other. Missy is in my SED's downline. She's always in the top of her group with sales and recruiting and a very nice lady. I had dinner with her a few nights. HO could tell you for sure though if there is someone else closer.
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Thanks! I'll keep track of that name. She was invited to (hold your pants) Love Carpenters Meetings but I do like to have a few ideas in case one doesn't work out due to scheduling etc.

I'd give an arm, leg, anything! to go to Love's mtg. She's a lucky girl!
 
And here I am in podunk New Mexico with no awesome meeting to attend....lonely...gotta do it on my own I guess. I crave MORE....
 
raebates said:
I loved the parade and said so in my survey. I thought it was a great way to do that recognition. Yes, I could hear the "Sports Center" commentary, and it was hysterical.

I didn't see Becky D or Linda, both of whom I usually see. I did see Carolyn, and she was kind enough to kidnap me and force me to go to a Thai restaurant (which I thoroughly enjoyed).
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Our team decided that we all loved that restaurant so much it'll be our location for team dinner every year from now on...and YOU will just HAVE to join us every year Rae!!!
xoxox
 
dannyzmom said:
You forgot to mention the lovely aroma in the 2nd and 3rd rows ;)
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?? Okay, please share :D
 
ChefCKHall said:
And here I am in podunk New Mexico with no awesome meeting to attend....lonely...gotta do it on my own I guess. I crave MORE....
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Right. Instead you just happen to make the Phoenix Spring Launch meeting even more worthwhile than conference. The Langford-Blessing team is STILL quoting you and trying to emulate you at shows.

"Like this it's a knife, Like this it's a killing tool!" I'm sure I'm not quoting that right.

CK, I'd give anything to do meetings with you. Move to Tucson.
 
dannyzmom said:
Our team decided that we all loved that restaurant so much it'll be our location for team dinner every year from now on...and YOU will just HAVE to join us every year Rae!!!
xoxox
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You must share the name of your Thai place. I LOVE Thai food!
 
dannyzmom said:
Our team decided that we all loved that restaurant so much it'll be our location for team dinner every year from now on...and YOU will just HAVE to join us every year Rae!!!
xoxox
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ummm...I am coming too! They will like me too :chef: and I already love :love: you and Rae.....
 
pamperedlinda said:
ummm...I am coming too! They will like me too :chef: and I already love :love: you and Rae.....
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Of course you can join us! And Sandra - it's called Star of Siam...and you can come too!
 
Missing out on some LUV here....may I join the group? Let's just book the whole place!!
 
ChefCKHall said:
Missing out on some LUV here....may I join the group? Let's just book the whole place!!
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Absolutely!! They don't have any huge signs you could knock down ;)
 
dannyzmom said:
Absolutely!! They don't have any huge signs you could knock down ;)
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I am sure I could find SOMETHING!
 
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