Special Post - IAAPA Interview

HELLO EVERYONE,

Kind of exciting news. I don't know if its been very obvious of recent, though you should be able to put it together from my work and posts about Williamsburg, but I am an amusement park junkie.

Back in June, after guidance from the great people at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, I applied to be an Ambassador at the annual IAAPA Convention in Orlando and was recently interviewed for the position.

Cross your fingers and say a prayer, this is a dream experience, plus they pay for everything, but getting there. Week and a half in Orlando anyone? Me me!

Here is a brief video on what exactly the convention is. There are only four places in the country that can host this event.

(A little old, but you get the picture)

Very exciting. Thanks for the support! 

Thanks for reading,
Joe

Fast forward to now. The results of a month of neglect.

Hello everyone,

This seems to be an all too frequent opening line, but I apologize for my extended absence. This is my catch up for you since I've last published:

After I left Williamsburg, I spent 2 weeks in RA training and being a Laker Leader. If you are new to the blog, RA is Residence Assistance, which I am for freshman residents and absolutely love. Laker Leaders are Freshman Welcome Week ambassadors who help with all of the events. Both jobs are highly involved, but it was great to welcome the new class in with such style. Check out our Flash Mob:

(Wow, this seems forever ago) 

The last three weeks have been utter chaos. As always, I have completely under estimated the complexity and the required time dedication of my classes. I have three large research papers this term, which all have turned out to be group papers. So, besides my three papers ( two 20 page and one 100 page) and four classes, I am also very much so involved in the Communication Department and working to bring the department back to life, which will be the subject of my next post. 

Now three weeks in, the residents are good and it promises to be a good year. Please look for more updates in the coming days. I am going to be more dedicated to this thing if its the last thing I do. 

Happy Sunday! Go Steelers! :-)

Thanks for reading, 

Joe

The Final Stories of Williamsburg

Hello Everyone,

I apologize for my blog neglect. The last month here has been crazy busy. I've had the opportunity to meet many higher ups, wonderful tours of the park and even present a project to the executives. This is my introduction of sorts for all the future posts that you will see.

I leave Williamsburg on Friday for Erie where I start RA training on Monday. I'm very exciting to go home and ready for school to get in the swing. There are many exciting things going on this year and I can't wait to share them with you. Stayed tuned.

Thanks for reading.
Joe

Yesterday was an odd day

Hello Everyone,

I hope the summer is going great! I'm still hanging out down here in Williamsburgs and having a great summer. I had an odd experience yesterday that I wanted to share:

So, growing up my family and I lived at the local zoo. It was a cheap place to entertain us, but we also learned a lot, which created my attention and appreciation for such facilities. Another cool part of the zoo was that they had weekly segments on the news about different animals and different happens, which was something that I always enjoyed. These broadcasts were always done by the park marketing guy and now president, Scott Mitchell.

Since my childhood I have volunteered at the zoo and worked there for a year, increasing my interest and appreciation. When it came time to chose a program for school, I had no idea what I wanted to do was called, but I knew what I wanted to be. I looked into Scott Mitchell and found out that Scott hold some sort of communication degree, which is completely the reason that I found communications and am now a very satisfied comm. major.

There is a reason I tell you this story now, which is simply because out of all the people that I may have seen in Williamsburg this is the guy who literally decides to go floating past me in Hubba Hubba Highway (one of our lazy rivers). Not only does he go by and recognize me, he also got out and held a conversation with me. I don't think he remembered my name, but he sure knew I was out of place working in Williamsburg.

This may sound way tacky, but when someone you admire is able to identify you and has no idea what little impacts that he has had on your life along the way, well, it means a lot.

Williamsburg, and more specifically Busch Gardens, is treating me very well. I have a meeting with the VP of HR in the upcoming week, a Manager of Park Ops, a Director of Park Ops and eventually I will get to see the GM of the parks, VP of Water Country and the Director of Park Ops at Water Country.

Lots to learn... Only a month left.

Thanks for reading,
Joe

What is the meaning of life?

Hello Everyone,

The meaning of life and the quest to find and understand it is exactly why my journey has led me to Williamsburg.

Went to my second team night tonight and am again impressed with the detail and respect that is Busch Gardens. Tonight was Illuminights Preview night for team members. Busch runs Illiminights all summer, which includes night shows in four countries and ending with a spectacular fireworks display.

Not only were the shows all good, but the fireworks were probably better than any that I've ever seen. Shot from three locations, the music, perfect timing and of top quality and technology, it was just incredible.Not to mention that they shot them tonight singularly for the team members, which is just so cool that they care about their employees that much.

Busch surprises me every day... typically in a good way.

This week I had an amazing opportunity to have breakfast with the GM of the parks in Williamsburg. It was really cool that the GM takes time to appreciate the thoughts and concerns of team members and actually uses that information.

Life is good and I work every day to find a meaning in my life, not only here, but in the future. I have learned so much here, so much so it is difficult to convey that through text, but it is definitely setting me up for success. I'm excited.

Thanks for reading,
Joe

P.S.- We got our room assignments for this school year and I will once again be in McAuley Hall, not to mention in the same room. Should be another good year. :-)