GBTA & The Olympics: Journey, Hard Work & World Stage
By Michael Farrell
Vice President, Client Solutions & Event Strategy
As the country, and the world, was a bit more attached to their televisions the last two weeks to see what was happening in the Olympics, I often find myself reflecting on the athlete’s journey and the years of hard work they’ve put in to earn themselves a spot at the Olympics. There are numerous stories of “small town” kids who dedicated their lives to their sport, who made many sacrifices along the way, and who consistently won at each level earning the right to be on the world stage.
While I certainly recognize the magnitude of difference between the Olympics and the GBTA (Global Business Travel Association) Annual Convention, I’d like to use three aspects in the Olympic analogy in this blog post to talk about Fox World Travel’s inaugural participation at the GBTA Convention in Denver a few weeks back. The three components I will borrow from the analogy are: journey, hard work and world stage.
Over 55 years ago Fox World Travel set out on a journey to be a prominent Business and Vacation travel provider in their small town of Oshkosh, WI. Our journey has been defined by three generations of the Juedes family who have very successfully coached and led the organization to where it is today. The team put in long hours and our dedication to the industry and our clients were the springboard for growth, resulting in Fox being recognized as one of the top agencies in the country.
As our team walked onto the “big stage” as exhibitors at the 2016 GBTA Convention in July, competing against and participating with the top names in the industry, not only did we walk in with assurance knowing we earned the right to be there, but we participated with pride remembering all the years of hard work that went into getting us to this spot. Fox World Travel isn’t (yet) a name as recognizable as Michael Phelps or American Express, but we’re swimming in the same race with them now and are on our way to claiming the gold.