Fun with Friends

Wednesday was a great day with a little of everything. We started the morning with our trip business class—a real treat of insider information followed by a hilarious game show. This year, we played the “Newly Zealand Game,” a take-off of the “Newlywed Game,” featuring five Consultants and their guests. Questions ranged from what Consultants would do with an extra $1,000 in their paychecks to guessing their partner’s toothbrush color or what cartoon character they’d be. After a solid hour of laughs (thanks, Karen and Marty Morris!), Noreen Petty and husband John emerged as top prize winners. We posed for a group photo—look at that beautiful blue sea of smiles!—then released everyone for another fun day on the town.

I chose to go for a punting ride on the Avon, the lazy river that ambles around the city. It’s a relaxing half-hour ride in a flat-bottomed boat driven by a “punter,” a driver wielding a metal-tipped pole and some serious biceps. This was definitely a favorite activity of most of the Consultants, as we saw punting boats full of cheery Consultants waving cameras throughout the day! We shopped for a bit (David found a great antique radio for our daughter), and then we prepared for our Executive Directors dinner.

This traditional dinner is one of my favorite activities of any incentive trip. We get to share an intimate gathering of friends and share ideas, business insights and triumphs together—these extraordinary people are truly examples to me. On this night, we ate at a venue like no other, the Octagon restaurant. It’s one of Christchurch’s glorious cathedrals, converted into a night spot reminiscent of the 1940s. The servers sport black fedoras, and surprisingly, each one also has a masked talent—one minute, a server would be refilling my water glass, and the next minute, that same server would be onstage playing an extraordinary classical guitar piece or singing a French favorite. The performances were so extraordinary, we were entranced long after dessert was cleared.

Tomorrow: “White water” takes on a whole new meaning!