Loving Leadershare

Hi! Kristine Widtfeldt here, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Close To My Heart. I'm commandeering Jeanette's blog today because I feel it's a moral imperative that I share the great goings-on in our spring Leadershare events. Yup, I really do!

In the past month, we've been delighted to attend events hosted by two amazing Senior Executive Directors: Karen Morris in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Tina Sutton in sunny Navarre, Florida. Talk about fun. Energy. Loyalty. Creativity. Ideas. And friendship to last the ages. I have been flat-out wowed by these two women and the extraordinary teams they lead.

Karen's event was in a beautiful Las Vegas hotel ballroom, where she engaged us with great stories and recognized top performers on her team—and my! Can this woman ever hold an auction. A tradition at Leadershare events is holding a silent auction featuring donated artwork, with proceeds benefitting Operation Smile. Karen, ever the gentle competitor :), knew the totals raised at previous Leadershare events and was motivated to best them. When the auction concluded, she found the group was a few hundred dollars short. Undaunted, Karen took the stand—metamorphosing from sweet and kind Karen into full-blown, fast-talking auctioneer, auctioning off just about every additional piece of art, product, or even training books or tapes. Sold! Everyone had a great time and she raised a great deal of money for more "smiles" for children in need.

Add in some darling create-and-take projects, a great class on Studio J, awards, and lunch with dear friends, and it was a day to remember. Did you know that Karen's team has more longevity than any other? Many in the ballroom that day had reached their 10 and 15-year anniversaries, and a couple will be celebrating their 20-year mark with Close To My Heart soon—from Naomi, to Denise, to Kim, to Bren, it was a magical day to spend with each of you.

Then, just last week, we were off to the sunny beaches of Navarre, Florida, to spend a few days with Tina Sutton and her supportive, smart husband Kent. Together, and with her team, Tina staged the first congress of "Flip Flop University," celebrating creativity and business success with the Scattered Hearts team. I tell you, Tina can make any day a party. NEVER have I seen such a small group make so much noise, have so much energy and have such great enthusiasm for their team and their passion! Sporting matching blue shirts, and posing with an inflatable pink flamingo (and flamingo glasses, of course—check out the photo of me, Tina, and Monica Wihongi on the beach wearing our shades!), these ladies had a blast.

Tina shared the secrets of her success (secret: there are no secrets!) and did an amazing job recognizing and honoring the many Consultants in attendance who have earned or are striving to earn a Close To My Heart incentive trip. Tina even invited us into her craft room for lunch, along with several members of her team. (The chimichangas were fabulous, but I admit that I fell in love with the diet Grapico soda!) From the flip-flop sugar cookies to the group photo on the beach, this event made me smile so much my face hurt by the end of the day. And speaking of the end of the day, it concluded spectacularly: Tina's team set a new high for Operation Smile donations AND the team gave Tina a standing ovation for all her efforts. An amazing day all around!

Look out Toronto and Philadelphia, here we come! Gosh, I love this job.