Great Event in West Palm Beach

Great Way to Warm the Soul

"Stand by Me" performed by musicians around the world from SKAT on Vimeo.

Georgia Floods 2009

It's amazing how detached we can be from the rest of the world, much less, the rest of the country! It is only through Facebook that I realized that my home state was underwater! In such a connected world, how could I have missed this occurrence? I have been; however, amazed to watch the outpouring of warm wishes, prayers, and offers of assistance among friends and acquaintances. I have found a few photos of what is happening right now in Georgia. I hope that all of my friends are safe and secure and as dry as can be expected.

L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem!

Wishing a safe and prosperous new year to all of my Jewish friends!

For the rest of us...what is Rosh Hashana?

Rosh Hashanah is one of the holiest days of the Jewish year. This holiday is difficult to understand because it is not a celebration of some historical event; rather, it celebrates a human being's ability to grow and change. From the first day of Rosh Hashanah to the beginning of Yom Kipperare called the High Holy Days or Days of Awe and are a time for deep thought,self-examination, and prayer. Rosh Hashanah is the time that Jewish people believe that God will judge all of the their deeds for the preceding year. During this time you must take certain steps to correct the mistakes you have made throughout the past year. These steps include: repentance, prayer, and charity. Because of the sacredness of this holiday, no work is permitted during Rosh Hashanah.

Rosh Hashanah or Jewish New Year occurs on the first and second days of Tishri which coincides with September or early October. Unlike most New Year celebrations, Rosh Hashanah begins on the first day of the seventhmonth (Tishri) on the Jewish calendar. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "head of the year" or "first of the year." The Bible refers to the holiday as "Yom Ha-Zikkaron" (the day of remembrance) or "Yom Teruah" (the day of the sounding of the shofar). Rosh Hashanah is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25.

Hearing the sounding of the shofar is the first commandment on Rosh Hashanah. The shofar is a ram's horn, a three-thousand-year-old musical instrument that is blown into like a trumpet. One hundred notes are blown on the shofar in the synagogue on each day of Rosh Hashanah. The high-pitched blasts of the shofar make an urgent sound that remind all that hear it to reflect on the past year and the year to come. Jews believe that the blasts of the shofar revitalize the soul and intelligence of all Jews that listen to it's blasts during Rosh Hashanah.

Throughout Rosh Hashanah no bitter or sour food is eaten. People eat foods including a sweet bread called challah, pomegranates, and apples dipped in honey. Sweet food is eaten throughout this holiday, symbolizing the desire to have a new year filled with sweetness.

Tashlikh or "casting off" is a popular practice during Rosh Hashanah. The people walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah and empty their pockets or throw bread crumbs into the river, symbolically casting off their sins. This tradition has no reference in the Bible, but plays an important role in the celebration of Rosh Hashanah for many Jews.

During Rosh Hashanah the people are encouraged to think only good thoughts and to be kind to all those around them. The common greeting during Rosh Hashanah is "L'shanah tovah" meaning "for a good year." This is a shortening of "L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem" which means "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."

TripAdvisor Warnings about Hotel Self Promotion?

Recently it has come to light that hotels are posting rave reviews about themselves on TripAdvisor - a very well known site where folks go to get the latest information on hotels or other information they are seeking when planning a trip.

You can read the USA Today article here.

This allows me to once again talk about the amazing benefits of using HelmsBriscoe for site selection. We have over 1000 associates around the world. We have an internal message board type system, if we need information, we can ask a question and that question immediately goes to all of our associates around the world. Not only does this allow us to work with our colleagues globally in order to plan meetings for corporations and associations wherever they would like to go; but it also gives us the most honest and up to date information on hotels, destinations, contract issues, contacts, etc.

Here is an example of our page, and all of the resources we have access to:



Just another way we work to help our clients have the best meetings possible!

HelmsBriscoe Velocity Training Rocked!

Lovely Luncheon at The Blue, Doral, Miami

Today brought with it a luncheon hosted by Preferred Hotel Group. We had a chance to meet with many hoteliers in Florida. The spotlight property who hosted our gathering was The Blue, A Resort Hotel Condominium. This location would be PERFECT for a corporate golf outing. It is an all-suite property, located right on "The Blue Monster", one of Doral's premier golf courses! The Executive Chef, Josh Wahler, is a veteran of Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen reality show, and his amazing culinary skills shine through! With meeting space to accomodate up to 150, and lovely board-room style facilities, The Blue would be an amazing venue for a corporate team building/golf retreat. The property also comes to mind in consideration of a destination wedding. The spa is beautiful, allowing events for the ladies as well as golf for the groomsmen! I would be glad to work with anyone wanting to plan an event at this beautiful property!

Watch What You Tweet!

We are currently being hosted beautifully by the Arizona Biltmore, there are several groups of young people here as well, and I was able to hear a great example of how what you put out there can get ya into a heap of trouble!

One of the "young people", upset about her lack of a continental breakfast (which was NOT ordered as part of their program), decided to make some rude comments on Twitter! The Biltmore is very in tune with technology and keeps up to date about what people are saying...her comment got out, got to the group leader, and got her on the next bus home!

It's All Coming Together Now!

It amazes me that we can connect all of these sites, I was supposed to attend a “webinar” today on best practices of social media and internet marketing…I think it was cancelled because of Michael Jackson’s funeral.

I have spent hours getting it all together now, it’s like a complex game…the leg bones connected to the knee bone, etc.

The internet is an amazing yet scary place. You can get pulled in and forget the beauty in the world. The beauty in our world is the people here, not the world wide web! All of my “social media” is as organized as it’s gonna get for the moment and now I venture out into the world to seek out clients, share my enthusiasm about my company, and soak up new personalities!

Meetings and Events Are Essential Business Functions, Spur Economic Growth

In adopting a zero-tolerance policy toward suspected corporate excess, policymakers have been demonizing companies for legitimate travel to meetings and events and for rewarding high-performing employees with travel. Handicapping businesses to score political points is shortsighted and erects barriers to recovery.

This type of travel helps companies build relationships, retain and develop employee talent, generate ideas and facilitate knowledge sharing that drives business growth. In a weak economy, doesn’t every company in America need more opportunities to promote recovery and plan for better days?

Trips have also been mischaracterized as CEO junkets. But attendees of incentive program travel, for example, are typically middle-class Americans who have earned travel to reward exceptional work.

Members of Congress who attack corporate meetings and events, yet attend their own yearly retreats should remember that good public policy addresses reality, not rhetoric.

Leadership Roundtable Held in Las Vegas to Discuss Obama's Remarks

Recently, Successful Meetings and MeetingNews hosted a Leadership Roundtable in Las Vegas at which members of the Las Vegas hospitality community gathered to discuss, among other things, President Obama's comments on holding meetings in Las Vegas. Here's what they had to say

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTa80JAgU0k]