Podcasts about customer service manager

Join me as I sit down with Antonio De Souza, one of RC aerobatics' most talented pilots. Originally from Brazil and now based in Atlanta, Antonio brings a unique perspective and flying style that combines European precision with modern 3D techniques.In this interview, Antonio shares his journey from flying at just 4 years old to becoming an Extreme Flight test pilot and Customer Service Manager. We discuss his competition experiences at the XFC, TOC Invitational, and Tucson Aerobatic Freestyle, plus dive deep into his equipment setup, training approach, and what makes his flying style so distinctive.Topics covered:- Antonio's RC journey from Brazil to the USA- His role at Extreme Flight as both team pilot and staff member- Detailed equipment setup preferences (servos, engines, props, and radio)- The differences between various XA airframes- His training philosophy and advice for improving your flying- Experiences at the recent Tucson Aerobatic Freestyle competition- Upcoming projects and events for 2025Whether you're looking to improve your own flying or simply appreciate watching world-class aerobatics, Antonio's insights are invaluable for any RC enthusiast.Antonio's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/antonio.desouza.71Extreme Flight Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1483262701885613Extreme Flight: https://extremeflightrc.com/-----Music track: Inspiring People by AylexSource: https://freetouse.com/musicNo Copyright Music for Videos (Free)

Steve Healis graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with an engineering degree but quickly realized he did not want to be an engineer. Procter & Gamble only hired engineers for their entry-level supervisory positions because engineers would have a better understanding of the technology – BUT they had to find engineers who also had people skills. Steve started as a supervisor in the laundry detergent (Tide, Bold, etc.) packaging department and, after two years, was promoted to warehouse manager. During this time, he learned how to hire, fire, discipline, motivate, and manage professionally. Later, he was recruited by Frito-Lay as the Sales Operations Manager, overseeing distribution facilities and the truck fleet in the Pacific Northwest. His last corporate job was as Sales and Customer Service Manager for Technicolor Videocassette in Newbury Park, CA. They duplicated videocassettes for all the major studios (Disney, Warner Brothers, MGM, etc.), and it was here that Steve learned about corporate sales and customer service. Six years of corporate jobs, combined with his engineering background, prepared him perfectly for business ownership. In 1988, a friend from Procter & Gamble asked Steve to join him in growing his part-time janitorial business. Steve said yes, and in six years, they grew the company from one employee to 50. Seeking more, they split in 1994, and Steve started Avalon Building Maintenance, Inc. with 20 employees. Over the next five years, he grew it to 450 employees, making the Inc. 500 list. Engineers with Steve's degree were known as “efficiency experts,” and he incorporated a limousine as a mobile office, equipped for work on the go. In 2002, Steve was approached to sell his company but declined because key employees would be let go. Instead, in 2003, he sold the company to his top employees with a 50-year royalty agreement. This allowed Steve to create a unique way to sell businesses that gives the seller a lifetime of residual income while enabling employees to buy the business with no money down. He has since helped many other businesses sell their companies this way (PassTheBaton.com). This reduced schedule over the last 21 years has allowed Steve the time and resources to launch various businesses, including an employment agency, a computer company, and a home cleaning company. He has started 25 total businesses with 28 partners, employing over 1,500 people, and recently launched a logistics company that helps people receive, inspect, store, deliver, and install high-end furniture in their new home or office. Steve lost his only daughter to mental illness and got divorced in 2018. In 2021, Steve met Andressa in Brazil, and they got married in 2023. -- Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at REF Orange County.

This episode of the Building HVAC Science podcast features Greg Bokan, Customer Service Manager at TruTech Tools. Greg shares insights from his recent experience (November 13, 2024) attending the IHACI (Institute of Heating and Air Conditioning Industries) trade show in Pasadena. The event attracted a younger crowd, including many students and instructors, offering an opportunity to showcase tools like multimeters and thermal cameras that appeal to HVACR beginners. Greg highlights the importance of engaging with emerging professionals and fostering enthusiasm in the industry. The conversation delves into Greg's rich personal background, including his career in sheet metal work and his time as a professional photographer. Greg reflects on the transition from traditional film to digital photography, noting how the technological shift reshaped the industry. He also discusses his passion for beekeeping and gold prospecting, sharing intriguing details about both hobbies and how they intersect with his love for physics and nature. These personal anecdotes provide a glimpse into Greg's multifaceted interests outside of his professional life. Greg emphasizes the rewarding nature of working at TruTech Tools, where customer care and quality service are paramount. He shares practical tips for customers, such as having order numbers ready for smoother interactions. The episode concludes with a lighthearted discussion about Greg's long-standing friendship with Jim Bergmann and the possibility of future episodes featuring staff highlights to give customers a deeper connection to the TruTech team. You can reach Greg here: Greg@TruTechTools.com   This episode was recorded in November 2024.

Hosts Fran Chismar and Tom Knezick connect with David Hoffman (Chief Operating Officer) and Stephen Gillis (Sales and Customer Service Manager) from Hoffman Nursery live from the floor of the ASLA 2024 Conference in Washington D.C.. Topics include the history of Hoffman Nursery, the intricacies of transitioning a family business to the next generation, managing growth both internally and externally, and the larger role that native plants are taking in the nursery industry. Music by Egocentric Plastic Men, Outro music by Dave Bennett. Follow Hoffman Nursery here. Have a question or a comment?  Call (215) 346-6189. Follow Native Plants Healthy Planet – Website / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube Follow Fran Chismar Here. Buy a T-shirt, spread the message, and do some good.  Visit Here.

At NAB in Las Vegas, we connected with Doc Rock, Community Manager for Ecamm Network and Eden Liu, Customer Service Manager and EP of Camo Livestreams, for Reincubate/Camo, in a conversation focused on the  importance of diverse representation in the tech industry. They shared insights on breaking stereotypes and encouraging more women, especially minorities, to pursue careers in tech and content creation, and highlighted the significance of authenticity in presenting on camera and the value of personal voice.  Show Notes: Chapters: 01:25 Learning and Networking at NAB.02:30 Promoting Diversity in the Industry.06:20 Embracing Unique Perspectives.06:26 Contact Information Sharing. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

At NAB in Las Vegas, we connected with Doc Rock, Community Manager for Ecamm Network and Eden Liu, Customer Service Manager and EP of Camo Livestreams, for Reincubate/Camo, in a conversation focused on the  importance of diverse representation in the tech industry. They shared insights on breaking stereotypes and encouraging more women, especially minorities, to pursue careers in tech and content creation, and highlighted the significance of authenticity in presenting on camera and the value of personal voice.  Show Notes: Chapters: 01:25 Learning and Networking at NAB. 02:30 Promoting Diversity in the Industry. 06:20 Embracing Unique Perspectives. 06:26 Contact Information Sharing. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

Laura talks to AquaReale's Office Manager/Customer Service Manager on how she handles her job and why she is such an integral part of our company's success.

L'Intelligenza Artificiale generativa spinge i Customer Service Manager a prendere decisioni rilevanti e impattanti. Si tratta quindi di sfruttarla al meglio considerando opportunità e implicazioni: Paolo fabrizio condivide 3 modalità di utilizzo efficace da cui puoi trovare ispirazione. Articolo completo QUI >>

Mr. and Mrs. Mocha interview Wayne and Tina 3 days before Splash Mocha Atlanta 2024! Get it from the Owners mouth. What is Splash Mocha ? Where did it start? and How did it evolve? What makes Splash different from other events? And get personal and Learn about Splash Mocha's owner Wayne and his wife's intro into the Lifestyle. Customer service manager Tina shares her and her husbands LS intro and how they met Wayne and his wife. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ofacez/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ofacez/support

We sit down with Paul Blackburn, Customer Service Manager at Entergy Texas, and discover the diverse career opportunities within the energy sector. From utility line workers to customer service roles, learn about the pathways to pursue these rewarding careers. Also, Paul shares insights into Entergy Texas' resilient response to hurricanes, freezing temperatures, and other challenging weather conditions. Explore how Entergy Texas' commitment to community extends beyond power supply, as they play a key role in economic development for our area. For more information on Entergy Texas visit https://www.entergy-texas.com/

A Middle Tennessee Business Podcast...Erica Battle is the future of modern education. When I met her on one of my client's podcasts, Stronger Than My Father with Marcus Meneese (strongerthamyfather.org) , she amazed me by her observations and innovative thoughts on leadership and culture in our schools. She's so good at her job that she speak and coaches school staff around the world!Erica began her career in education over 15 years ago by substitute teaching as she worked through college. After she obtained her B.S., Erica took a job in Public Relations as the Customer Service Manager managing the customer experience. Due to a downturn in the economy, Erica found herself searching for a job due to downsizing, which led Erica back to the classroom as a substitute teacher as a temporary means to support her family. Through that second experience in the classroom, Erica found her love and passion for education and has not looked back.Stuff that came up:11:36 - Educational trauma and its impact on students.23:33 - Teacher compensation and school culture.34:25 - The challenges of education leadership.37:51 - Literacy crisis and its impact on politics.54:08 - Education system and parental expectations. 1:08:47 - Financial literacy and athlete wealth management.Follow Erica:https://www.lifechangesinprogress.com/*****SUBSCRIBE/RATE/FOLLOW What's Your Problem? PODCAST:www.whatsyourproblempodcast.comwww.instagram.com/whatsyourproblempodwww.instagram.com/jimmccarthyvosTiktok: @jimmccarthyvos __________________________________________________________The Dad Joke Challenge is sponsored by Ed Fox and Tradebank of Nashville, for when you have unsold inventory or services and think that barter is smarter, go to www.nashville.tradebank.com. The Dad joke challenge with Ed Fox - Author of 101 groan-tastic dad jokes available on Amazon Kindle, or you could go TikTok channel @specialedfoxdadjokes____________________________________________________________****You hear Jim mention it on almost every episode, ME vs. WE and how 2023 will be 1943 all over again….order “PENDULUM:How Past Generations Shape Our Present and Predict Our Future”:https://a.co/d/7oKK7Ip__________________________________________________________________________The co-author of Pendulum wrote a myriad of other books and started a non-profit 21st Century Non-Traditional Business School that you should really check out: Wizard Academy - www.wizardacademy.org__________________________________________________________________________Talking about the real problems (and possible solutions) of everyday business owners and professionals in and around Middle Tennessee and beyond...this is the What's Your Problem Podcast!Curious about podcasting? This podcast (and many others) is produced by www.itsyourshow.coWYP Intro VO: @johndavidwells#podcasts #podcast #podcasting #tennessee #nashville #podcastproduction #sales #selling #business #marketing #radio #production #voiceover #vo #fitness #bni #networking #nft #nonfungibletokens #crypto #cryptocurrency #applepodcasts #businesscoach #businessideas #businesslife #businesspassion #businesstips #countrymusic #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #marketing #mindset #nashvegas #nashville #nashvillelife #nashvillemusic #nashvillescene #nashvilletennessee #nashvilletn #newpodcast #podcastaddict #podcasters #podcastersofinstagram #podcastlife #podcastlove #podcasts #podcastshow #tennessee #bradlea #therealbradlea #droppingbombspodcast #droppingbombs #lightspeedvt #virtualtraining #grantcardone #garyvaynerchuk #drummer #drummerworld #drumporn #drums #drumsdaily #fashion #guitarist #instadrums #jasonaldean #love #lukebryan #midland #mirandalambert #morganwallen #musicfestival #nashville #nashvillelife #nashvillemusic #nashvillescene #nashvilletennessee #nashvilletn #nature #opry #percussion #realcountrymusic #rock #singer #tennessee #timmcgraw #womenofcountry

Laura talks to AquaReale's Customer Service Manager, Sandy. on her role and how she helps us make more money

On our last episode of season 2, we talk with Mike Owens, Manager of Parks/Recreation & Golf, about park reservations and Melissa Creel, Customer Service Manager, about the policies and procedures for alcohol licenses. Podcast notesPark Reservations and Event Permits (229) 227-7089https://thomasville.org/parks-and-recreation/park-reservation-applicationAlcohol Licenses (229) 227-4170https://thomasville.org/departments/city-tax-information/tax-forms

Amy Rogan is Customer Service Manager for DIY Detail. This podcast interview is to introduce her as the newest member of the team! Questions for Amy? She can be reached at amy@diydetail.com Oh, and if you're looking for some Interior Clean & Protect? Click here: https://bit.ly/InteriorCleanProtect#detailing #podcast #diydetail #vanlife

Laura talks to her customer service manager, Sandy, about what her position entails.

118. Jill Campbell - Own Your Career “You have to own your own career.” - Jill Campbell “Be humble.” - Jill Campbell “Be really mindful that there are a lot of other people in your life, and in the organization, that got you where you are. Pay back that good grace you got from everybody else.” - Jill Campbell Jill Campbell Guest Bio: Jill Campbell is the President and Chief People and Operations Officer for Cox Enterprises, a private, family-owned company based in Atlanta, Georgia, with nearly $20 billion in annual revenues and nearly 50,000 employees. In her role, she leads the people solutions,real estate, aviation, facilities, security and corporate affairs departments.   Previously, Campbell served as Chief Operations Officer of Cox Communications. In this role, she oversaw the company's day-to-day operations, ensuring company-wide alignment with competitive strategies to enhance marketplace execution and grow the company's nearly 7 million residential and business customers. Campbell joined Cox in 1982 as Director of Communications in Oklahoma City, where she also served as Customer Service Manager and acting General Manager. She later served in several roles for Cox operations, including Vice President and General Manager for Cox's Bakersfield, California, and Santa Barbara, California, operations; vice president of customer operations for Cox in Phoenix; and vice president and general manager for Cox's Las Vegas operation. In 2001, she was promoted to Senior Vice President of Operations for the Eastern Division, and in 2011, she expanded her role to oversee operations for the company's entire field operations. A graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Campbell also earned an MBA from Oklahoma City University. She is currently on the board of directors for the Atlanta History Center and Georgia Power and is a member of the International Women's Forum. Jill is a member of the International Coaching Federation and is also a Certified Master Coach. She previously served as a board member for several nonprofit organizations, including United Way, Boys & Girls Club of America, YMCA, Woodruff Arts Center, Girl Talk and the WICT Foundation. She also served on the boards of the California, Arizona and Nevada cable television associations. In April 2017, Campbell was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame. In 2004, Campbell received the Atlanta Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) Woman of the Year Award, and in 2008, she was honored by WICT as its national Woman of the Year. She was ranked number two in Cablefax's 2015 Most Powerful Women in Cable. In 2020, Campbell was honored with the Alumni of the Year Award from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. She is married with three children and two granddaughters. R.O.G. Takeaway Tips: Have your own career path and plan. Make your intentions known. Know you're always on stage. Find a sponsor. Don't assume that people know what you've done (Share your successes). Take time to mentor others. Be aware of your surroundings, be kind. It's not all about you. It's about the team. Be humble. Resources: Jill Campbell on LinkedIn (ln/jillcampbell2) Article on Jill Campbell - Five Things Business Leaders Can Do To Create a Fantastic Work Culture Jill Campbell to Receive Fearless Leader Award The Wict Network Article on Jill Campbell - Jill Campbell Fearless Leader Award Network Diversity Index Quiz Coming Next: Episode 119, Building Bridges Coaching Tips for Generous Leaders with Shannon Cassidy. Topic: Behavioral Style Adaptation  Credits: Jill Campbell, Sheep Jam Productions, Host Shannon Cassidy, Bridge Between, Inc.

Kathleen Sweeney is the Customer Service Manager & Marketing Lead at BookBrush.com. Today she tells us about Book Brush, their dedication to indie authors, how we can use it and the latest features being added.To see more in video format, check out these Book Brush youtube links:Create a BOOKMARK in Book Brush in Just a Few Minutes!Create Great GIVEAWAY Graphics with the Book Brush Tools!Now Creating Duplicate 3D Book Templates is EASY in Book BrushBook Cover Creation is SUPER EASY with a Community TemplateFind the Book of the Week And I Was Like November by Rachael Biggs.Sign up to put your book on Book of the Week.Want to support the show?Go to https://pencilsandlipstick.com/support-the-showLooking for tips on writing, publishing, and storytelling? Join my writers' newsletter! https://www.subscribepage.com/katcaldwellnewsletterWant more information on my books, author swaps, short stories and what I'm reading? Sign up for my readers' newsletter.Find the transcription for this episode here.

Joan De Souza has 20 years managerial experience as the Customer Service Manager at the Los Angeles Times, managing and leading more than 200 staff. She was a decision-maker responsible for implementing a firm wide circulation system, which became the central hub of the subscription and delivery process. She was also responsible for implementing such projects as the home delivery customer service at La Opinion.Currently she is the founder of a local business support group, Business4Business, which assists businesses to continuously succeed. Joan is extensively involved with her community. She served on the Executive Board of Directors for the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce in which she was the Vice Chair of Membership.Joan is the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce Lead Ambassador, the Fundraising Director of the Pasadena Quarterbacks Club, Board member of the Foundation for Living Beauty, former Community Engagement Specialist for The First Tee Pasadena, Co-Chair Special Needs Ministry at St. Philip the Apostle Church, former member of the Board of Directors Rosemary Children's Services, Volunteer Coordinator Special Olympics World Games Los Angeles 2015 and former member of Business Networking International.Joan was born in Lawrence, MA and raised in Northern California. She graduated from San Diego State University with a BA in Social Sciences.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joandesouzathinktank/Website: www.business4business.orgEmail: joan@joandesouza.comPhone: 626 482-8867Mailing Address: P.O. Box 5254, Pasadena, CA 91117__________________SGV Master Key Podcast:www.sgvmasterkey.cominfo@sgvmasterkey.com

I have reinvented myself frequently over my professional career. After I graduated from college at The Citadel (where I played NCAA Division I basketball), I was employed in the Marketing Department at the corporate headquarters of Wendy's International in Dublin, Ohio. From there, I worked in hospital administration for Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. After getting married and moving to California, I became the Customer Service Manager for an academic publishing company in Santa Barbara. When our daughter was born and we moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, I became a police officer with the Cincinnati Police Department, where I was a SWAT Hostage Negotiator. In 2004, I obtained my Masters degree from Boston University. Following a family relocation to Texas, I started a school security consulting business and coached high school girls basketball. Each time I took on a new job, I had to develop new skills and faced different challenges. There was always a significant learning curve with every new position. But my greatest challenge began in 2012 when I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Acral Lentiginous Melanoma, which presented on the bottom of my foot. By the time the cancer was detected, it had metastasized to a lymph node in my groin. Because my disease is extremely rare I was treated at the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center. I had two surgeries to remove the tumors, and after I healed, I was put on a weekly injection of the drug, Interferon, to help keep the disease from returning. I realize pain and discomfort can beat you to your knees and keep you there if you let it. But I also came to appreciate that I could use my hurting and anguish to harden my mind and make me more resolute. I was no better at dealing with pain and discomfort than the next person. But every day, I found a way to survive, with the knowledge that I would need to do it again the following morning. I wrote my book, Sustainable Excellence, Ten Principles to Leading Your Uncommon and Extraordinary Life to help people find and live their uncommon and extraordinary purpose. The ten principles outlined in the book will provide the bedrock necessary to form the foundation of unshakable beliefs and dedicated behaviors to reinforce your attitude, no matter how much pain you must endure or how many obstacles you must overcome. Sustainable Excellence is available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GLGVTVS), Barnes & Noble.com, (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sustainable-excellence-terry-tucker/1137534840), or anywhere you can get a book online. ​ Unfortunately, my cancer experience hasn't ended with me conquering my disease. The melanoma that had plagued me for over five years returned in 2017, and my only treatment option was the amputation of my left foot in 2018. The cancer reemerged again in 2019, requiring multiple operations. In February 2020, an undiagnosed tumor fractured my tibia. My only remedy, in the middle of the COVID pandemic, was an above the knee amputation of my left leg. I also learned I have tumors in both of my lungs. But I refused to be a victim of this malignancy. I vowed to continue my fight. I knew the only way cancer could win is if I gave up or gave in to the disease, or it killed me. In addition to my faith, I use my 4 Truths to guide the decisions I make in my life. These 4 Truths are: 1. Control your mind, or it will control you. 2. Embrace the pain and discomfort we all experience in life and use it to make you a stronger and more determined individual. 3. What you leave behind is what you weave in the hearts of other people. 4. As long as you don't quit - you can never be defeated http://www.motivationalcheck.com

Kathleen Sweeney is Bookbrush's Customer Service Manager & Marketing Lead. She brings over 17 years of client service experience, business assurance, strategy and problem solving to Book Brush. Kathleen loves creating images and is happy to share her knowledge. We're talking trailers for TiK Tok Instagram and other social media, as well as QR codes and where to use them. And so much more!

Kathleen Sweeney is Bookbrush's Customer Service Manager & Marketing Lead. She brings over 17 years of client service experience, business assurance, strategy and problem solving to Book Brush. Kathleen loves creating images and is happy to share her knowledge. We're talking trailers for TiK Tok Instagram and other social media, as well as QR codes and where to use them. And so much more!

Mike Raetz and Thayne Jensen sit down with the crew on the first episode of 2023. Mike is a veteran tournament angler on both hard and soft water as well as a guide. Mike's full time job is in the Production Department at Clam Outdoors. Thayne is a former Customer Service Manager at Clam Outdoors and is now on the Clam Marketing Team. The crew gets caught up on current ice fishing conditions and picks Raetz's brain on how he targets and catches big fish all winter long.

Mike and Customer Service Manager, Lance Mark, walk you through the steps to properly clean and care for your gas log set, so it stays in perfect condition.

Missouri Job Ready Day One is a new service explained by Jerri Bowles, Customer Service Manager for the Missouri Office of Workforce Development.Support the show

Mike and Customer Service Manager, Lance Mark, discuss the benefits of buying a functional fireplace that produces heat versus a heatless model intended for ambiance.

Creating Sterile Processing Department schedules that make the most of a staff's time requires a complete understanding and visibility of the demands of a particular healthcare facility. And to gain that big picture, a department needs data and lots of it. Still, more than that, a Sterile Processing Department needs a platform solution that provides reporting in an innovative and actionable way.What's the next generation of technology available to make SPD scheduling demands less challenging?Tyler Kern, the host of ConCensis, came together with Seamus Johnson, Sr. Director of Application Development for Censis, Jeff Long, Network Director of Sterile Processing at St. Luke's University Health Network, and Cody Troutt, Director of Central Sterile at Williamson Medical for a third, and final discussion on Censis' new CensisAI2 Productivity platform. This third conversation with Kern, Johnson, Long, and Troutt includes the following:The importance of optimized SPD staff utilizationCreating tray efficiencies through data analysisAdvice for hospitals considering or evaluating the CensisAI2 tool“You have to be able to demonstrate to them (the C-Suite) a return on investment,” Troutt said. “It doesn't matter if you work for a for-profit or not-for-profit hospital. Your not-for-profit hospitals are not for a loss either.”Seamus Johnson is an experienced Senior Software Engineer with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & healthcare industry. Johnson's proficiency in Software Architecture, Agile Methodologies, C#, Angular, and TypeScript makes him a valued asset to the Censis team, where he's spent most of his career.Jeff Long is an experienced Department Director with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & healthcare industry. Long is skilled in Medical Devices, Infection Control, Orthopedics, Capital Equipment, and Healthcare. Strong business development professional with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) focused on Organizational Management and Leadership Development from Ashford University.Cody Troutt is an experienced Customer Service Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & healthcare industry. Troutt's a strong support professional skilled in Coaching, Medical Devices, Sales, Team Building, and HR Policies.

There are an estimated 51.4 million inpatient surgeries performed in the U.S. on an annual basis. That's a lot of reusable instruments that require sterile processing. It's no wonder Sterile Processing Departments (SPDs) have their hands full. Labor shortages, mainly since the pandemic, put tremendous strain on already taxed SPDs.Censis creates solutions to give SPD departments an edge in streamlined efficiency and data-driven analysis to provide actionable insights. Their latest solution, CensisAI2 Productivity, combines with CensiTrac to deliver SPDs with the complete visibility they need to increase productivity in sterile processing. Tyler Kern, the host of ConCensis, rejoined with Seamus Johnson, Sr. Director of Application Development for Censis, Jeff Long, Network Director of Sterile Processing at St. Luke's University Health Network, and Cody Troutt, Director of Central Sterile at Williamson Medical continued their discussion on the CensisAI2 Productivity solution.This second conversation with Kern, Johnson, Long, and Troutt includes the following:The challenges of visibility in operational processes for SPDsBest practices for utilizing CensisAI2 and CensiTracHow CensisAI2's dashboard helps SPD managers be proactive“One thing that we had realized was that our existing technology had not been optimized or even built,” Long said. “We had no standardization on how to use the technology we were using. We had a lot of work to do, and that's why the timing was perfect on a lot of the technology we incorporated since then.”Seamus Johnson is an experienced Senior Software Engineer with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & healthcare industry. Johnson's proficiency in Software Architecture, Agile Methodologies, C#, Angular, and TypeScript makes him a valued asset to the Censis team, where he's spent most of his career.Jeff Long is an experienced Department Director with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & healthcare industry. Long is skilled in Medical Devices, Infection Control, Orthopedics, Capital Equipment, and Healthcare. Strong business development professional with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) focused on Organizational Management and Leadership Development from Ashford University.Cody Troutt is an experienced Customer Service Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & healthcare industry. Troutt's a strong support professional skilled in Coaching, Medical Devices, Sales, Team Building, and HR Policies.

Many areas of healthcare struggle with staffing issues, requiring personnel to do more with fewer resources. Sterile processing departments are not immune to these issues. Today, increased responsibilities and difficulty finding and retaining qualified employees to manage these critical tasks are challenging to solve.Even with data tracking tools and platforms, making sense of all that collected data to take actionable steps to create efficiencies can take time and effort. So, what can sterile processing departments do?Tyler Kern, the host of ConCensis, welcomed three guests to the show to discuss the issue and a solution Censis created to work together with its CensiTrac Instrument Tracking System to provide actionable insights that will help streamline operations to achieve department goals. CensisAI2 Productivity is that solution, and on this first of three episodes, Seamus Johnson, Sr. Director of Application Development for Censis, Jeff Long, Network Director of Sterile Processing at St. Luke's University Health Network, and Cody Troutt, Director of Central Sterile at Williamson Medical laid the foundation for the need create productivity solutions for sterile processing departments.This first discussion with Kern, Johnson, Long, and Troutt includes the following:Why measuring productivity in sterile processing departments is essential.The staffing challenges SPD departments face in today's healthcare landscape.Validating staffing needs through actionable data.“Always have an elevator speech in your back pocket,” Troutt said. “Because you never know when you'll get on the elevator, and your chief, whatever title, will be there. And you must have that in your back pocket, ready to go all the time. Data is something that they'll most always listen to.”Seamus Johnson is an experienced Senior Software Engineer with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & healthcare industry. Johnson's proficiency in Software Architecture, Agile Methodologies, C#, Angular, and TypeScript makes him a valued asset to the Censis team, where he's spent most of his career.Jeff Long is an experienced Department Director with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & healthcare industry. Long is skilled in Medical Devices, Infection Control, Orthopedics, Capital Equipment, and Healthcare. Strong business development professional with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) focused on Organizational Management and Leadership Development from Ashford University.Cody Troutt is an experienced Customer Service Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & healthcare industry. Troutt's a strong support professional skilled in Coaching, Medical Devices, Sales, Team Building, and HR Policies.

Mike welcomes Customer Service Manager, Lance Mark, back to the podcast to review the most frequent questions our customers have about their fire features.

Add educational fun for the whole family to your Christmas Break with these fun Master Books homeschool resources. Rachel, a homeschool mom of 4 and Master Books' Customer Service Manager, joins the podcast to share books and other homeschool resources that will help your family enjoy the holidays even more. You can avoid waiting for them to ship by downloading them as ebooks. Rachel also encourages homeschool moms to celebrate their wins and those who are needing to make changes in the coming school year. This is an uplifting episode for Christian homeschool moms!  Links: The Work of Your Hand (Download) (masterbooks.com) Meet the Chief! (Download) (masterbooks.com) Quizzles: In the Big Inning (masterbooks.com) Quizzles: Lot, Stock, & Pharaoh (masterbooks.com) Social Issues Pocket Guide (masterbooks.com) Logic & Faith Pocket Guide (masterbooks.com) UFOs & ETs Pocket Guide (masterbooks.com)   Show Highlights 1:30 - Shipping news for those who ordered during Master Books' Cyber Monday Mega Sale.  3:00 - Master Books fun and educational resources to use during Christmas Break 8:02 - Celebrating the wins of your homeschool year 13:30 - Tips for navigating a homeschool reset for the new year, 2023 19:05 - Language Lessons for Junior High Students is in the works.

Mike sits down with Customer Service Manager, Lance Mark, to review and resolve the most common technical issues our customers experience with their gas fireplaces and gas log sets.

In this episode, Mike and Customer Service Manager, Lance Mark, explain how Woodland Direct's service philosophies strive to simplify our customers' fire projects.

Real Estate is Relationships   We have two JJs in the house!  JJ Azizian currently coordinates the largest real estate networking group in the country, teaching investors how to market themself and build relationships in the real estate industry.  If you are not visible, you are invisible!  JJ shares all the nuggets of social media, especially the importance of engagement.  If you are struggling with your social media presence, you NEED to hit play...right...NOW!   JJ Azizian is a graduate of the USC School of Business.     Right out of college, I spent several years working for Hughes Aircraft Company,  in their Space and Communication Group.  Upon being hired, I quickly became the youngest Supervisor in the history of Hughes, and then became the youngest Senior Staff Administrator, heading up the coordination of a division wide productivity measure program.     I've worked behind camera, as a Productions Manager and Producer, in the freelance film industry of Hollywood, having worked on over 200 productions, and over 1000 days on set; working on Music Videos, commercials, Feature Films, documentaries, and episodic television.   I spent several years working for Lowe's Home Improvement, as the Customer Service Manager, and ran the front end for what was at the time the 3rd largest grossing store in the country.   I've been running my family's portfolio of residential and commercial real estate for the last 15 years.   In the last, I have taught horse back riding, country western dance, and coached little league baseball for kids from the ages of 5 to 14, as well as coached Junior Varsity football for a local high school.   From aerospace, to the film industry, to retail sales, to coaching sport teams, my expertise is building teams, building leaders, and training people to work together to run efficient departments, companies, and organizations.   www.facebook.com/JJ.The.Connector.Azizian   www.instagram.com/jj.azizian   www.linkedin.com/in/jjazizian   jjazizian.com     To learn more about Jen Josey, visit www.TheRealJenJosey.com To join REIGN, visit www.REIGNmastermind.com

Mike sits down with Customer Service Manager, Lance Mark, to discuss how Woodland Direct's expert service team strives to make fire projects as simple as possible for our customers.

Terry Tucker is the Founder of Motivational Check LLC and the author of Sustainable Excellence, Ten Principles To Leading Your Uncommon and Extraordinary Life. I have reinvented myself frequently over my professional career. After I graduated from college at The Citadel (where I played NCAA Division I basketball), I was employed in the Marketing Department at the corporate headquarters of Wendy's International in Dublin, Ohio. From there, I worked in hospital administration for Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. After getting married and moving to California, I became the Customer Service Manager for an academic publishing company in Santa Barbara. When our daughter was born and we moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, I became a police officer with the Cincinnati Police Department, where I was a SWAT Hostage Negotiator. In 2004, I obtained my Masters degree from Boston University. Following a family relocation to Texas, I started a school security consulting business and coached high school girls basketball. Each time I took on a new job, I had to develop new skills and faced different challenges. There was always a significant learning curve with every new position.- From Terry's About me Page Terry Tucker Vroom Vroom Veer Stories Terry remembers getting a giant stuffed dog named fluffy when he was about 2 years old, he climbed all over it and tried to eat itSpent his childhood running the streets in Chicago spending all day on his bike looking for things to do and people to hang out with; probably got hurt sometimes and that's pretty coolIf he could talk to his younger self what would you say? Don't be afraid to do something you want to do. You won't regret the things you did; you will regret not doing things you wanted to do4 year old Terry was upset that his parents told him to go upstairs and brush his teeth; he was expressing his anger towards his parents while brushing his teeth; his dad heard that and put him to bed for the rest of the nightMJ showed up at basketball practice to pick up his kids; that turned out to be a bit of a distraction to the other kids on the teamWent through the stages of grief when was first diagnosed with cancer; when on interferon he was praying to die; god gave him the strength and resolve to fight to live and win each dayAdmiral Stockdale survived the Hanoi Hilton by learning to control what he could control; breathing and thinking; face the fact that you may die here; it's up to you to decide to survive Connections Website Sustainable Excellence Membership Sustainable Excellence (Book link) In Love and War Man's Search for Meaning

Andy and Denny (SprinklerSupplyStore.com Customer Service Manager) discuss 3 of their customer journey experiments.   1 - Bonjoro Personalized Videos 2- YouTube 3- Emails  

Terry Tucker  The Motivational Check I have reinvented myself frequently over my professional career. After I graduated from college at The Citadel (where I played NCAA Division I basketball), I was employed in the Marketing Department at the corporate headquarters of Wendy's International in Dublin, Ohio. From there, I worked in hospital administration for Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. After getting married and moving to California, I became the Customer Service Manager for an academic publishing company in Santa Barbara. When our daughter was born and we moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, I became a police officer with the Cincinnati Police Department, where I was a SWAT Hostage Negotiator. In 2004, I obtained my Masters's degree from Boston University. Following a family relocation to Texas, I started a school security consulting business and coached high school girls basketball. Each time I took on a new job, I had to develop new skills and faced different challenges.  But my greatest challenge began in 2012 when I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Acral Lentiginous Melanoma, which presented on the bottom of my foot. By the time the cancer was detected, it had metastasized to a lymph node in my groin. Because my disease is extremely rare I was treated at the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center. I had two surgeries to remove the tumors, and after I healed, I was put on a weekly injection of the drug, Interferon, to help keep the disease from returning.  I took those weekly injections for almost five years before the Interferon became so toxic to my body that I ended up in the Intensive Care Unit with a body temperature of 108 degrees. Fortunately, expert medical care saved my life. The Interferon gave me severe flu-like symptoms for two to three days after each injection. I lost fifty pounds during my therapy, was constantly nauseous, fatigued, and chilled, my ability to taste food significantly diminished, and my body constantly ached. This misery went on for over 1,660 days! One thing I learned during all my pain and discomfort is that you have two choices. You can succumb to the debilitating distress and misery, or you can learn to embrace it and use it to make you a stronger and better human being. I chose the latter. Make no mistake, there were times I felt so poorly and was in so much agony that I prayed to die. Each day was a struggle to use my mind to override my body's apathy and distress. I realize pain and discomfort can beat you to your knees and keep you there if you let it. But I also came to appreciate that I could use my hurting and anguish to make me stronger and more resolute. I was no better at dealing with pain and discomfort than the next person. But every day, I found a way to survive, with the knowledge that I would need to do it again the following morning. I wrote my book, Sustainable Excellence, Ten Principles to Leading Your Uncommon and Extraordinary Life to help people find and live their uncommon and extraordinary purpose. The ten principles outlined in the book will provide the bedrock necessary to form the foundation of unshakable beliefs and dedicated behaviors to reinforce your attitude, no matter how much pain you must endure or how many obstacles you must overcome. Sustainable Excellence is available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GLGVTVS), Barnes & Noble.com, (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sustainable-excellence-terry-tucker/1137534840), or anywhere you can get a book online. ​ Support the show

The electricity bill is a source of angst and frustration for many Jamaicans as the cost of this indispensable commodity continues to soar. Efforts to keep electricity costs under control have been futile for many. But here on the Impacting Jamaica podcast Ruthlyn Johnson, Customer Service Manager for Area East at JPS, breaks down your light bill in simple terms - what aspects you can control, what's out of your control, what appliances are the big contributors to your bill; and how you can use them optimally.Don't miss this opportunity to understand your electricity bill and plan to keep your bills to a reasonable level in the future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More about Terry Tucker: I have reinvented myself frequently over my professional career. After I graduated from college at The Citadel (where I played NCAA Division I basketball), I was employed in the Marketing Department at the corporate headquarters of Wendy's International in Dublin, Ohio. From there, I worked in hospital administration for Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. After getting married and moving to California, I became the Customer Service Manager for an academic publishing company in Santa Barbara. When our daughter was born and we moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, I became a police officer with the Cincinnati Police Department, where I was a SWAT Hostage Negotiator. In 2004, I obtained my Masters's degree from Boston University. Following a family relocation to Texas, I started a school security consulting business and coached high school girls basketball. Each time I took on a new job, I had to develop new skills and faced different challenges. There was always a significant learning curve with every new position. But my greatest challenge began in 2012 when I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Acral Lentiginous Melanoma, which presented on the bottom of my foot. In addition to my faith, I use my 4 Truths to guide the decisions I make in my life. These 4 Truths are: 1. Control your mind, or it will control you. 2. Embrace the pain and discomfort we all experience in life and use it to make you a stronger and more determined individual. 3. What you leave behind is what you weave in the hearts of other people. 4. As long as you don't quit - you can never be defeated. If you are besieged with anything in your life, know there are people available, able, and willing to help you. I understand what it is like to fight for your life. I hope the quotes, stories, videos, recommendations, and podcast recordings on these pages will encourage and motivate you to fight on against whatever is hindering you. However, if you are overwhelmed by what is going on in your life, please have the courage to contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at: 800-273-8255 (USA Only). For a list of International Suicide Hotlines, please click here. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/gobegreat/message

The greatest approach to avoid the economic anguish and unhappiness that comes with financial stress is to keep your #purchasingpower stored in a safe and secure long-term inflationary hedge. As a result of excessive #inflation or #debt reductions via #deflation. #Metals are the actual #money at the end of this monetary experiment because they help to preserve #wealth over time. Today, Sean Reynolds, the Customer Service Manager at BullionMax, joins us to talk about what it's like to help families get through these uncertain economic times from the other side of the table. During this RTD Interview, you'll learn more and get more analysis.

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is  Kelly Molson, MD of Rubber Cheese.Download our free ebook The Ultimate Guide to Doubling Your Visitor NumbersIf you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website rubbercheese.com/podcast.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this episode.Competition ends October 1st 2022. The winner will be contacted via Twitter. Show references: https://maryrose.org/https://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/https://twitter.com/DominicJonesUKhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dominicejones/ https://www.nmrn.org.uk/https://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/news/item/1152-buoyant-bounce-back-bodes-well-for-portsmouth-historic-dockyard Dominic Jones was recruited to the Mary Rose in 2019 ago as Chief Operating Officer, and became CEO in 2021.  He brings an excellent background in commercial visitor attractions (Disney, Merlin) and creative visitor experience development.During his time at the Mary Rose, he has already driven an excellent commercial and operational performance and worked closely with previous Chief Executive to create the new Portsmouth Historic Dockyard joint venture with the National Museum of the Royal Navy, which launched successfully in August 2020.  Transcriptions: Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip the Queue, a podcast for people working in or working with visitor attractions. I'm your host, Kelly Molson. In today's episode, I speak with Dominic Jones, CEO of the Mary Rose Museum and Director of Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Dominic shares the amazing impact of the joint venture between the Mary Rose Museum and the National Museum of the Royal Navy and his advice for any attractions looking to start and improve their partnership arrangements. If you like what you hear, subscribe on all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue.Kelly Molson: Dominic. Welcome to Skip the Queue. Thanks for coming on.Dominic Jones: Thanks for having me. I'm looking forward to it, I think.Kelly Molson: You are looking forward to it. You don't need to think about it. Can we just point out, I know, listeners, you can't see this, but if you're watching this on YouTube, can we just see, you've got a lovely little, "I love Skip the Queue" graphic in the background there. Look at that.Dominic Jones: Yeah, I think it's important to get across that I do love Skip the Queue and it's important to get that across before the icebreaker questions, I think, just in case you had a couple and you were thinking, "Oh, I'm going to be a bit tough." And then, so I did that and I tweeted this morning how excited I am about your forthcoming website attraction questionnaire, so that's a double. That's a double positive, right?Kelly Molson: Thank you. Thank you. Don't worry, listeners. I've got a special little recording so you understand what we're talking about that will be coming out in the next week or so, so you'll find out more about that soon.Dominic Jones: And I bought you a rubber for your rubber collection. Can you see that? Mary Rose rubber?Kelly Molson: Wow. Look at that.Dominic Jones: You may or may not get that depending on how the icebreakers go, so that's my third attempt.Kelly Molson: Gosh, I've never been bribed for a good icebreaker question.Dominic Jones: It's not bribery. It's a nice gift. It's a nice gift.Kelly Molson: Right, well, let's get cracking on the icebreaker questions, shall we? I think I've been quite kind to you. Tell us something that you are really great at cooking.Dominic Jones: I really like cooking. I actually find cooking really relaxing, so on a Friday or Saturday, I often cook at home, so it depends, really. I quite like making my own recipes, so just using what we've got in the house. So for example, scallops with chorizo, or if you're doing a steak, might do it with some sort of watercress and various cheese, or just sort of experimenting. I really like sort of seeing what we've got, putting it together and making it work. I think it's important, when you're cooking, to drink some wine as well.Kelly Molson: Oh, I agree.Dominic Jones: So cooking with wine is something I enjoy doing.Kelly Molson: We can be friends, Dominic.Dominic Jones: There we go.Kelly Molson: Absolutely, we can be friends. Also, really great choices of food there. I would definitely eat both of those. You'd be really good on Ready Steady Cook, then. That would've been your show.Dominic Jones: Yeah. Do you know what? I used to... So I once applied for a game show, which I didn't get on, I was very disappointed, but Ready Steady Cook was one I think I could have done. Because it's not hard, is it? Most things go with things, and it's also about having the confidence to carry it off and knowing... The only time it went wrong was I wanted to cook for my girlfriend, who's now my wife, a lemon pasta dish and it tasted awful and it had lemon rind in it and stuff, so... But apart from that, it's always worked out.Kelly Molson: Well, I mean, you must have done all right. She married you.Dominic Jones: Yeah.Kelly Molson: She married you in the end.Dominic Jones: True.Kelly Molson: All right. Well, our next one, I've gone topical for this. If you were the captain of a pirate ship...Dominic Jones: Yeah?Kelly Molson: What would be the name of your ship?Dominic Jones: That's a good one. Oh. I do like pirates. I think, because I'm Welsh and because I'd want to be a pirate who... A bit like sort of the Warrior in the Dockyard, which isn't a pirate ship, by the way, but when it came in, people normally surrendered, I want to be a scary pirate that people would think, "Oh, don't..." Maybe, like, Smoking Dragon or something like that. And then we'd light smoke as we came in so people are like, "Oh, here's the Smoking Dragon."Kelly Molson: Yeah, I like that. And there'd be a big dragon's head on the front with flame and smoke coming out of it.Dominic Jones: And people... Because a lot of pirates were Welsh. I don't know whether you know this, but a lot of pirates were Welsh.Kelly Molson: I didn't know that.Dominic Jones: Yeah, it's massive.Kelly Molson: Wow.Dominic Jones: Massive.Kelly Molson: Okay. All right. This is great. That's an excellent answer.Dominic Jones: I have to say, these are slightly biased questions because I was listening to a few of your podcasts recently and, like, you had someone from the zoo, "Oh, what's your favourite animal?" Or you had someone from IAAPA, "What's your favourite ride?" And I'm getting a "name a pirate ship"? Know what I mean?Kelly Molson: All right, what's your favourite boat?Dominic Jones: No, only joking. I'm not going to answer that. I'm not going to answer that.Kelly Molson: All right, but what is your favourite smell? That's my last question.Dominic Jones: Genuinely, we're looking at smell now for the museum, because smell is so important, it's something that can make a difference. When I was at Madame Tussauds Amsterdam, we used smell, as well, as part of the experience, because it just creates that emotive moment. I do like cookie dough and cookies and the smell of that sort of baking which you get pumped in in Disney parks. I quite like the smell of red wine.Kelly Molson: Yeah. Yep.Dominic Jones: Yeah, so I think it's food or drink smells I like, but yeah. Good question.Kelly Molson: Good answer. We are at Unpopular Opinion Point. What have you got to share with us?Dominic Jones: This is a hard one because I've decided to go work on this and I did have some really cool ones about lager and N-Dubz and stuff, but I decided to go with work because one of the things that through my whole career, anyone who knows me will know is I get really frustrated when people blame the weather, so I think you shouldn't blame the weather for anything because what happens is when someone blames the weather, when the weather's... So I've worked in theme parks and in museums and aquariums, indoor and outdoor attractions, and you probably know that when it's bad weather, it's great for indoor attractions, when it's good weather, it's good for the theme parks, right?Dominic Jones: So you get people that, when it's good weather in theme parks or bad weather in museums, they say, "Oh, our marketing and our everything we're doing is brilliant because the visitors are coming." And as soon as it's the bad weather or the good weather, depending on what you are, then it's all about the weather. So, "Our visitors are down because the weather was good." If you're in an indoor attraction and it really, really irritates me, and it's one of those things, they're mutually exclusive, you can only blame the weather if you give the weather credit when it's good, and it's one of those things, if things are good, I always think you should look outside the window and think, "Right, what's the reason for that?" And then if things are bad, you should look inside your organisation. It's one of my pet hates, but probably doesn't work for the podcast, so I should probably go with the lager or N-Dubz one, but anyway, there we go. But it is important, right? I think it's a good one.Kelly Molson: It is important. No, I think, yeah, that is important. It's really interesting. I've never really thought about that before. We need to give the weather more credit.Dominic Jones: Well, you need to give the weather credit if you're going to use it to blame. For me, it's a constant. It's something... And these days, weather forecasts are 10, 14 days out, so you should be able to plan.Kelly Molson: Yeah. Okay. Good. All right.Dominic Jones: I'll get off my high horse now. Yeah.Kelly Molson: Listeners, let us know how you feel, so let us know if you want to know about that N-Dubz one as well. I'm intrigued. Right, Dominic, I want you to tell us about your background because we met up recently, didn't we, at the M+H exhibition? And you were very humble about coming on the podcast and you said, "Oh, I'm not going to have anything... You've had really interesting people on and I'm not that interesting." You are really interesting and you've had such an incredible background. Tell us a little bit about it and how you got to where you are now.Dominic Jones: Well, I'm not sure about that. I do like listening to your podcast and you have some amazing guests and 9 times out of 10, I normally think, after listening to them, "Right, I'm going to either do something that they've suggested." Or I follow them on LinkedIn or Twitter and think, "Right, let's learn from them." Because I think you should always learn from other people, but so my career is a lot of luck, a lot of opportunity and a lot of chats.Dominic Jones: When I was growing up, I wanted to be a leisure centre manager. You know? Like you probably won't remember The Brittas Empire, but that was my dream. That was my dream, much to my mum's disappointment. And so that was all I ever wanted, so I went to college and did a leisure studies course, a HND, and there was a placement in PGL Adventure, which is like an adventure park, and I was a Multi Activity Instructor. Absolutely loved it.Dominic Jones: But then I sort of realised, actually, there's a whole world out there and decided I wanted to work in theme parks, so I applied to work at Disney and didn't get it the first time. I was very cocky, I was the wrong sort of person for Disney, but I went back three times and eventually got it and I did a placement in Disney and it was the best thing I ever did and it changed my life. It's one of the few jobs that I've left and thought, "My life will never be the same again." So good. So I did that and I got my master's degree. I didn't get the doctorate because I went on spring break, but hey, I was young...Kelly Molson: Well, spring break, though.Dominic Jones: Exactly. I was young. And then sort of went to Thorpe Park and was a Ride Operator. I remember my friends and some of their family were saying, "That's a real waste of..." Because I went to, in between Disney, went to university in Swansea, and they said, "It's a real waste of university, operating a teacup for £3.50 an hour." Or whatever it was at the time. But I loved it and for me, it was... I thought, "If you want to become a manager or you want to become, eventually, a General Manager or a Director of a theme park, it's really important to know how these things work."Dominic Jones: So I loved it, and just in case you ever get to operate the teacups, it's not too complicated, there's a red and green button, the red is to stop and the green is to start. I mean, it was five hours of training, but I finally mastered it and you can't actually make it go faster, so when you're there on the microphone and say, "Do you want to go faster?" You can't, it goes faster anyway, but I loved it and then very quickly rose through the ranks, so I became a Ride Supervisor, Team Leader, Area Team Leader, Coordinator, went to Chessington, worked there just at the time when Tussauds had bought Thorpe Park, so it was a real great time for career opportunities.Dominic Jones: Then I went to Madame Tussauds, was the Customer Service Manager there and helped create the first contact centre, if you like, call centre, where we sold tickets for things like Rock Circus, which is no longer in existence, but Rock Circus, the London Eye, Madam Tussauds, the Planetarium and that became the Merlin Contact Centre in the future, and then I started applying for loads of jobs, more General Manager jobs, and didn't get them and realised that I needed to get some marketing and sales experience.Dominic Jones: So I left and went to work for Virgin and then I was there for nearly 10 years and absolutely loved it and instead of getting the sales and marketing, well, I got the sales experience, I ended up becoming Vice President of Europe, the Middle East and Africa for the logistics side of the business, and then also, so we opened up Kenya, had some amazing life experiences, we saw the whole world and then was Regional Vice President Sales in Hong Kong for Asia Pacific, so great time.Dominic Jones: And then my wife became pregnant, obviously, I was involved in that, and it made me realise that I probably couldn't do a job where I was traveling 24/7. I mean, for a while, I did literally consider, which makes me sound like a bad person, "I could call in from Skype and things like that." And my wife was like, "Come on." So we went back to Wales and it was really hard to find a job that would allow me to be at home and be around so I actually thought, "Well, originally, when I went to Virgin, I wanted to have marketing experience."Dominic Jones: So I actually went to Thorpe Park and the marketing team and looked after the partnerships and promotions, did some really cool things, the Ministry of Sound nightclub deal was there, did some stuff with Lionsgate. A really good time doing the "buy one, get one free" things, the partnerships and events, got some good bands together on the stage that hadn't been on stage with the Wideboys and the [inaudible 00:11:55] boys if you know your dance music, it was massive.Dominic Jones: Anyway, so I did that for a bit and then got an opportunity to go back to Wales, which is where my wife's family is from. I'm from North Wales, she's from South Wales, so I got a chance to run Oakwood Theme Park, which I absolutely loved and probably would've been there forever if an opportunity hadn't come up with Merlin and Merlin, it was to look after the rest of Europe and the rest of Europe was basically anything in their midway, so Madam Tussauds, Dungeons, Lego Discovery Centre, Sea Life, that wasn't in the UK or Germany, so it was like Istanbul, Helsinki, Paris Blankenberge in Belgium, Spain. I mean, it was brilliant and I did that for a few years.Dominic Jones: Then I went and ran Thorpe Park for a few years, which absolutely loved because that was where I started as a teacup operator and I remember, there was a guy there, good friend of mine, he said, "I remember, when you were on the teacups, you said, 'One day, I'm going to come back and run the place.'" And I did, so amazing. And then, in that time, I had three kids and really was commuting from Christchurch, so decided to change careers again and come into the heritage world and came as the COO of the Mary Rose, which I did for two years, and then, during the pandemic, became the CEO, so quick sort of... Yeah. But lots of luck and right place, right time, all those sort of things, but that's good, right? That's most people's career.Kelly Molson: Whoa. That is amazing. I mean, you've been to so many different places. I love that you went full-circle at Thorpe Park as well. What an incredible story, to have gone in there as an operator and then end up running the place. That is amazing.Dominic Jones: Yeah, I loved that. And actually, all the jobs I've had have really become part of our story. I was talking to someone yesterday about the Mary Rose and they were talking about what they were going to do next but how the Mary Rose had been a massive part of their story and I said, "That's the beautiful thing about work and careers and life. Whatever you do, it becomes part of your story and you're part of their story." So whether it's Thorpe Park, whether it's when I opened up, for Virgin Atlantic, the Nairobi route for logistics and the Hamlin, it was amazing and I've been to Kenya probably more times than I've been to Birmingham, you know? So that's part of my story, and when I leave the Mary Rose, I hope isn't any time soon, this will always be... It'll be my favourite Tudor warship. I mean, it's probably the only Tudor warship, but also my favourite one, so yeah.Kelly Molson: That was the answer to my question, as well. "What's your favourite ship?"Dominic Jones: Yeah.Kelly Molson: Wow. I'm blown away by your career. I just think you've had such a phenomenal journey to get to where you are now. There's something that I want to talk to you about today and that's about your joint venture that you have with the Mary Rose and the National Museum of the Royal Navy. I just want to read out a tweet that I saw because this is what sparked this conversation, so this is a tweet that went out on the Mary Rose Twitter account.Kelly Molson: It says, "We are very pleased to share that Portsmouth Historic Dockyard saw a 150% rise in visitor numbers in 2021, reported by ALVA today. The significant rise in visitors demonstrates the effectiveness of the joint venture between Mary Rose and the National Museum of the Royal Navy in our first year."Kelly Molson: I am very intrigued by this because this has been kind of a constant throughout most of the podcast conversations that we have is about how collaborative the sector is, but this is really specific about two attractions collaborating together to bring more visitors in. I would love you to tell us about this.Dominic Jones: Well, yeah, the end result's fantastic. 150% increase in visitors. It really feels joined up. My son's school is coming in today so I was in the visitor centre and I was waiting to see what time he was coming in because he obviously wouldn't tell me the time he's actually in, so I was looking around the visitor centre and I couldn't be prouder, when you see the mixture of Victory and Warrior and Mary Rose, and how far we've come since we started, but if you go back in history, the Mary Rose used to be part of Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and there was one ticket and there was a separate company called Portsmouth Historic Dockyard that ran it, and lots of trusts, at that time, there were lots of trusts that fed into it, and then, for whatever reason, some of these trusts went independent.Dominic Jones: And so when I joined the Mary Rose, we were separate. We had a separate ticket, visitor centre, if you like, so imagine, I guess, like a... You know when you're on holiday and there's people trying to get you to go on boat rides or they're trying to get you to come into their restaurant? And literally, we were competing, so when a visitor was outside, there'd be the Mary Rose saying, "Hey, come and see Henry VIII's warship, the biggest Tudor collection in the world." I mean, it's amazing. And then the people next door, "Hey, come and see the Victory and the Warrior." And it just was really difficult for the customers, and for whatever reason, we weren't together and we had these two separate companies, so for quite a while, when I started, along with Helen, who was the CEO and Dominic and a gentleman called John in NMRN, we had meetings to see if we could get closer and to get a deal, and then I think Matthew joined, as well, from NMRN, and eventually we kind of got to an agreement.Dominic Jones: It was about, "What can we do together? What, collaboratively, can we do?" We came up with three things. We can sell tickets together, we could run a visitor centre together, so that's #1, the visitor side. We could market the destination together, and we could do strategic operations like events. So we then looked away and came across a deal, and for us, it was important that the two parties, so Mary Rose and the National Museum of the Royal Navy had a 50/50 parity of decision so it wasn't a one-sided joint venture and it was really... There's lots of talent in both organisations, so I've always admired what the National Museum of the Royal Navy have done over the years and how they've told history and how they bring it to life, and obviously, I love the Mary Rose.Dominic Jones: And so when we put us together, it was just a real opportunity, that synergy. You know when people say "one and one and you get three", but it was exactly like that and it worked really well, so we share marketing, so marketing costs, we share, we share marketing resource, so Mary Rose marketing people work along with NMRN marketing people. We do some things independently so our trusts are independent, our conservation, our research and all that sort of stuff, that's just Mary Rose and NMRN is just that, although we are working on some projects together, but in terms of the visitor, we have one visitor centre, we have one ticket you can buy, lots of options, we could talk about that, some amazing pricing we did which allowed us to do that.Dominic Jones: Because when you're competing against each other, you almost are encouraged to discount more, so we had, at times, the National Museum of the Royal Navy who were saying Portsmouth Historic Dockyard then might have a deal on Groupon, we might have a deal on Wowcher and you'd just be discounting, discounting, discounting, and you wouldn't be really getting across the real value for the customer, so yeah, it was really hard, and I remember, we would really fight for every single visitor because, for us, 84% of our money comes from tickets, so I remember, we'd get Henry VIII down the front, out the front, we'd have him talking to the visitors, saying, "Oh", you know, and with people talking in French and he'd go up in French and say, "Well, I was the king of France. Why are you going to Victory? Come to Mary Rose." But he wouldn't be taking them away from Victory, because that would be bad, but he would be saying, "Go to both." And we'd always be positive about NMRN, but we'd also want people to come to Mary Rose because that was how we were going to survive.Kelly Molson: Just going back to those times, then, was it more like a rivalry than anything?Dominic Jones: Yeah, it was really hard.Kelly Molson: So it was really difficult?Dominic Jones: It was really hard. I mean, we all respected each other, but it was really hard. It was like one of those ferry terminals or restaurants on holiday. I mean, I remember, we would flyer, like circus marketing, bumping into the brand, resort domination, we called it. We would be literally, when it was sunny because you can't blame the weather, when it was sunny, we'd be on the beach with Mary Rose leaflets saying, "Hey, get out the cool, we're air-conditioned, come to the Mary Rose." We were literally in all the restaurants, we had colour-in sheets, "Come to...", it was all about getting everyone to come and actually, we quickly realized that the NMRN was spending so much money on getting people to Portsmouth that we needed to make sure when they're in Portsmouth, they came to the Mary Rose and we did.Dominic Jones: I mean, I look back on it now, we had adverts that had, because we'd been very lucky with Tripadvisor, five stars, I mean I would've dreamed of that at Thorpe Park, but five stars constantly so we'd have posters that say, "You've just missed the best thing to do in Portsmouth." And then another one. "Turn around." You know, like when you go to Camden Town and there's a McDonald's, a Burger King and then outside the Burger King, there's a sign. "Why are you going to Burger King? Go to McDonald's." It was like that, so it wasn't great.Kelly Molson: It's quite intense, as well, isn't it, for the visitor?Dominic Jones: Yeah.Kelly Molson: That's a lot of pressure.Dominic Jones: Well, it is and I would do it and I would literally go down and leave, because you've got to leave from the front, and I would put my Mary Rose coat, which I've still got here, and I'd be down the scenic and we'd be... And I remember coaches would turn up and one of the ladies who was fantastic with us, Sandra, she's now one of our Visitor Experience Managers, but she'd jump on the couch and say, "Have you booked your tickets? Where are you going? Can I tell you about the Mary Rose?" And she'd bring whole coaches in. It was hard and it was really... I went to sleep every night easy, because it was so tiring and it wasn't sustainable and we did need to get a deal, and actually, the National Museum of the Royal Navy and the Mary Rose always treated each other with respect, but it was like the Battle of Victory Gate and that's not the way to behave and that's not the long-term way to run a business.Dominic Jones: So what was really great was we've got a deal, we got the ability to sell tickets together and we got the ability to work together and there's some really super talented people in the National Museum of the Royal Navy and in Mary Rose and we did some great things, so when we reopened after COVID, we did this really cool video where we had Henry VIII and we had some of their characters from Warrior and some of their actors all visiting each other's attractions in the lift, wearing face masks, getting hand sanitiser, and it just feels joined up.Dominic Jones: I mean, I've done lots of partnerships in my career. At Merlin, we had a Sea Life in Helsinki, which was a joint venture with a theme park called Linnanmaki. If you ever get to interview this lady who ran Linnanmaki, or she might the CEO there, she was amazing, but we had this joint venture. See, it's really hard in a joint venture because, especially if it's a 50/50 parity decision one, you've got to get agreement and that means that you work really hard on doing the right thing, so what's quite nice is if we were on our own, we probably would've done marketing campaigns and other things which were okay, but because we end up working together and we've got to make sure we get that joint agreement, the results is always way better. It's brilliant. And the customers benefit, because it's one entrance, it's one ticket, there's a lot more value in it, so yeah, it's been really successful.Kelly Molson: I hadn't realised quite how intertwined the organisations were in terms of decision-making and marketing, like you say, and sharing all of those resources. You talked a little bit about the visitor centre. Did you have to change the infrastructure and stuff? Did you have to build new buildings and all of that and agree on that?Dominic Jones: Well, no, they had a big visitor centre because, I mean, they've got a lot more footprint, more attractions, they've got the Warrior, they've got M.33, they've got a Submarine Museum over in Victory and we've got the Mary Rose, which is amazing. And so we had a building called Porter's Lodge, which was here and then there's the gate, and then they had their visitor center and their visitor center was perfect, so we moved in there, but we agreed to make it look and feel like it was Mary Rose and National Museum of the Royal Navy, so we spent a bit of money on the look and feel of it, so that was good and same with the brand and the marketing and making it feel like it was something new, but yeah, so there was a bit of that.Dominic Jones: I mean, in terms of infrastructure, we went with their ticketing system because it made more sense because it would be a bigger cost for them to change. We went with some of the Mary Rose's media buying because, at the time, we were buying media cheaper and better. And actually, now, we're in the process of going to tenders together, so the digital agency, we've done together, the PR agency, we've done together and it's great because it's a bigger portfolio and you get different views, and I always think the best way to run any business, so, for example, the Mary Rose or Thorpe Park or wherever it is, to talk to your customers, to talk to your staff and then, obviously, to talk to the manage experts. And we get that in spades, because we've also got our staff and our customers and our volunteers, but we've got NMRN staff and customers and volunteers and together, we are getting some really cool ideas and things we can do, so it's working well. As you can see, 150% increase in the first year.Kelly Molson: I mean, I've read it with my own eyes.Dominic Jones: And I hope you saw, NMRN, they did a little nice fist bump reply, and it just is in the spirit of it. We are working together and I think that's so important.Kelly Molson: It is massively important. You mentioned something about pricing earlier, and we've spoken about this before, but you said that you did something interesting that you'd implemented that allowed you to grow the yield and the revenue as well. Was this something that you did jointly too?Dominic Jones: Yeah, it was. So we had to come up with a new pricing structure because we were doing something new, so they had, what was it called? Full Navy Ticket, which was for all of their attractions and we had an annual ticket, so when we merged, we had to come up with a new pricing structure and it's a good opportunity to change, and 84% of our business, our revenue comes from tickets, theirs is about, I think, 80% or so, I can't remember, so it's still important to them as well. So we had to get the pricing right and it allowed us to really think about what's the best value for the customer and what's the best thing to do that stops us having to discount heavily?Dominic Jones: So we created a... It's like a decoy pricing model, like supermarkets have been doing it for years, so if you buy one attraction, it's a really bad ticket. I mean, still, a few people buy them, it's a really bad ticket, so it was... I mean, it used to be £18. We put the price up to £24. It used to be, if you bought one ticket, you could visit that attraction all year. You can only visit it once. So we made it a really unattractive ticket, so that's your lower decoy, so the idea of that is you only buy that if all you really want to do is go to the Mary Rose or all you want to go is go to the Victory and if you've just come to see one of those things, that's the sort of money you would pay, it's very competitively priced with other things on the South Coast, so that's what we did.Dominic Jones: And then we created a Three-Attraction Ticket or Three-Ship Ticket, which was slightly more money, so that went up to £39, which was the biggest sort of sting, about a £15 increase, big, big jump. And that was an annual ticket. That was, you could pick your three attractions and visit them all year. And then we did, "But for £5 more, you could have an Ultimate Explorer and have everything including the..." And that sort of, so you've got the lower decoy, which is the single attraction, then you've got the medium decoy, which is three ships, but then you go, "Well, for £5 more, you could do everything."Dominic Jones: And 80% of people do the Ultimate Explorer and they do everything, and it's so good value. I mean, it's less than the price of a football game and football game, 50% of the time, you're disappointed, and you don't get long, do you? It is incredible value and you get to go to all the attractions, you get out on the water, it's brilliant. So we've got that. And then we were going to put in an upper decoy, now, an upper decoy is a premium, really expensive ticket, so for example, we might, "We have, at Mary Rose, you can go into the ship for £300 and have a private experience." And we were going to put that in, but actually, because the decoy system worked so well, we didn't need that so we've just kept it as Single Attraction Ticket, Three-Attraction Ticket and Ultimate Explorer and it's working really, really well.Dominic Jones: So yeah, that's our pricing. And because of that, we don't have to discount because we put all the value and loaded the value in, actually, we don't have to discount. And then, when we do discount, we want to reach the right people, so, for example, we do, between the months of November and February, we do a Loyal and Local campaign where we go out to Portsmouth and Southampton regions and we say, "Bring a bill in and you can get a considerable discount." All year round, we do a discount for people who've got a Portsmouth leisure card, so anyone who's on Universal Credit, so they get 50% off.Dominic Jones: And we do some other really cool community engagement stuff between us with schools and stuff like that, and then if we do do a discount, so discounts are still important, so there's some amazing partners out there, GetYourGuide, Picnic, lots of the providers that really support businesses, Virgin, Ticketdays, all that sort of stuff. But we do it at the right level, so we've got like a playground, so whereas before, we might have been competing against each other, thinking, "Oh, we need to discount by 40% or 50% and then give them extra commission so they push it." We now do it at a really fair level, so there is a bit of a discount, but it's not much.Dominic Jones: And then for the consumer, we want the cheapest, best-value ticket to always be on our website. And we used a couple companies, so we used a company called, they were called Brand Incrementum, they're now called Magic Little Giants, we use them, we use some insight into what previous businesses have done before, but we copied the American Six Flags website model. If you ever want a quick lesson in pricing, just go to Six Flags. Their website is that... I mean, you're into websites, right?Kelly Molson: I am.Dominic Jones: It's the best website for pricing. I love it and I check it nearly every month. It makes me laugh, how focused they are on decoy pricing and how in-your-face they are, but how you don't know it as a consumer unless you know. It's amazing. It drives my family mad. I love it. Anyway. Yeah.Kelly Molson: This decoy pricing, I've never heard that phrase, I've never heard that used in pricing before. This is all new to me.Dominic Jones: It's like supermarkets when you get... And I remember, we've got a local supermarket near us and the guy did, "buy one bottle of wine, get one wine free". And then he had, "or buy one wine for £7 or buy two for £7". We were always going to buy two for £7 or two for £8. It's all that sort of trying to encourage behaviour, but he didn't quite get it because recently, I went in, it was like, "buy one, pay for one" and I was like, "Isn't that... That's the same as normal, yeah?" "Yeah." But he's a nice guy so I bought one. Well, that's my problem.Dominic Jones: But no, it's the same way supermarkets have been doing, where they try with the club card to get you to purchase things, or they're trying to do that, and all we're trying to do is encourage everyone to go for that Ultimate Explorer, which is the best value. It's almost like you can imagine it on the website, it's got a sign saying, "Pick me." So even to the extent we still don't, this day, discount our Single Attraction Ticket on our website. We don't give any discount for it and then we give a £5 discount on the three attractions and £5 on Ultimate Explorer. But yeah, loving the pricing.Kelly Molson: Love this. This is such great insight. Thank you for sharing. This partnership is really intriguing to me because I think it seems like the perfect setup, right? Because you're literally neighbors in the same area, you could make this work really well. What advice would you give to other attractions that are thinking about partnering with other attractions? Like what would be your top tips for people to make this work well?Dominic Jones: I mean, it's really hard. You've got to think about, because often people see it as competitors, but you've got to think in terms of getting the customers or the guests or the consumers, whatever you call them, giving them the best value, and during lockdown, when we were being interviewed and stuff, we'd always say, "Come visit the Mary Rose or come visit..." Once we did the joint venture, "Come visit the Historic Dockyard. But also, if you can't come visit, go visit your local museum, go visit anyone." It's important to share that, and I think there are always benefits of working together, you're always stronger together.Dominic Jones: When I was at Oakwood Theme Park in Wales, amazing theme park, you're in West Wales and we were thinking, "Well, how do we reach further and advertise more?" And actually, we ended up working with a farm, which was a stunning farm that had rides and animals called Folly Farm down the road and we worked, then, with Manor House Wildlife Park and Heatherton, and you actually work together and you can work together and I'd always say, "Try it on something." So try it whether it's an event or try it whether it's a destination marketing campaign. I mean, we're working with the people of Portsmouth, so with... "The people of Portsmouth", that sounds a bit grand. We're working with attractions in Portsmouth on trying to get people into Portsmouth, so we do something with Portsmouth Council where the Spinnaker Tower and D-Day Museum and Mary Rose and National Museum of the Royal Navy and now Portsmouth Historical Dockyard, together, we advertise in London because actually, advertising in London individually is really expensive, but if you do it collaboratively.Dominic Jones: There's lots of ways to do stuff collaboratively and find another angle. So we've got other people on our site that we're not partners with at the moment, so the Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust, amazing people who run some of the small boats that we did the Gunboat Race with the D-Day veterans on the weekend. Fantastic. So yesterday, we had a really great Volunteers' Tea Party to celebrate the end of volunteer and we had the volunteers from the Property Trust, we had the volunteers from the NMRN, the volunteers from the Mary Rose, there's always some synergy and I would say, in any way, find it.Dominic Jones: Everywhere I've worked, I've tried to get partnerships with local businesses, with other theme parks, with other attractions, because, actually, it's your stronger together, and if you're going, especially, after a local market, because you've always got to love your locals, that's the most important thing. If they see that you actually are the sort of people that work with each other, it makes them almost more proud of you. You remember the Game Makers in the London Olympics in 2012 and how amazing they were and how they did that sort of course where everyone was recommending all this stuff to you, that's kind of what you want, but I would find some common ground, whatever it is.Dominic Jones: Whether it's lobbying, we found common ground at Thorpe Park with other attractions to lobby the government for things, for VAT to level... Or whether it's in Oakwood, trying to get some advertising to get people from Bristol to cross the bridge to come into Wales or whether it's, I'm trying to think, in Amsterdam, we worked, so Madame Tussauds Amsterdam and Dungeons, which I was responsible for, we worked with Heineken because they had this amazing experience and with Tours & Tickets, so we'd make sure that if anyone came to Amsterdam, they came to our attractions. It's those sort of partnerships, finding the common ground and making it work.Dominic Jones: And don't be scared of it, because you are always bigger and better together and customers have so much choice, so working together delivers amazing results. I would never want to go back to not being part of a partnership with the National Museum of the Royal Navy and I would love it if we could do more. We are keen to do more with other attractions in the South to get people to come to the South Coast, to come to Hampshire. But yeah, I would definitely do...Dominic Jones: And also, you get bigger buying power, so say, for example, Merlin are really strong, so they don't necessarily need those with other partners because they can do a campaign in the press, Sun, Days Go Out and you've got all the Merlin attractions, but if you're individual attractions, you can't, so if you do a partnership with your competitors, you can then suddenly say, "Right, well, we want to do a Days Out campaign in the press between all these independent attractions."Dominic Jones: I mean, it's brilliant. I love it and I love, also, this industry, how collaborative especially the heritage side is. You can say, "Oh, I was thinking about doing this. What do you think?" Or, "What do you think about that?" And everyone will share and everyone is almost willing you to be successful. It's crazy, right? It's one of the best industries in the world. If you were in, I don't know, the restaurant business, you wouldn't be doing that, would you? Or another... It's so good. Anyway, hopefully, that answers your question.Kelly Molson: Oh, absolutely.Dominic Jones: I get very passionate about it. I'm so sorry. I love it.Kelly Molson: I'm so glad that you do because it answered my question perfectly and I think you've given so much value to listeners today in terms of all of the things that you've done, I couldn't have asked for a better response. Thank you. It's a big year for the Mary Rose, isn't it? And I think it would be very right that we talk about that. So it's your 40th year celebration this year, isn't it?Dominic Jones: Yeah, 40 years since the raising, so 1982, October. I am obviously older than you so I remember watching it on Blue Peter as a child and it was the world's first underwater live broadcast. It was watched by over 60 million people worldwide. I mean, it was amazing of its time and so yeah, 40 years, and because of that, we've now got the world's biggest Tudor collection of everyday life, there's nowhere else in the world you can get closer to Tudor and we've got the biggest maritime salvation, so we've got a lot of plans to celebrate. Unfortunately, the pandemic got in the way. During the pandemic, I'm not going to lie, it was horrific. There were times when we were drawing a list of who we were going to give the keys to, got really, really bad and it got dark for everyone and every museum, every attraction, every business, I'm not trying to say, "Oh, poor us." Everyone had that tough time.Dominic Jones: But it meant that actually investing, we were going to do another building, we were going to do a whole museum dedicated to the raising and actually, probably one of the best things that came out of it is we didn't because we got the joint venture, which is brilliant, our trading improved, we had a fantastic summer and then we were like, "Right, we should really do something for the 40th anniversary, but we can't afford taking another lease of another building or building another building, so what can we do?" And we managed to come up with a few plans, so the first thing we're doing is we're doing a TV documentary, which is going to be brilliant, coming out in October. Honestly, I've seen, they started some of the filming and the pre [inaudible 00:37:39], it's going to be brilliant.Kelly Molson: Oh, that's so exciting.Dominic Jones: I can't give too much away because we've had to sign something, but it's going to be great. And actually, we even had, because we're responsible for the wreck site, so we had Chris and Alex who helped raise the Mary Rose, our Head of Interpretation, Head of Research, amazing people, they were out diving the other day because we're still responsible for the wreck site and it just gives you goosebumps. I saw the footage and oh, it's amazing. So we got that. We're also building a 4D experience.Dominic Jones: So when we reopened last summer, we opened with this thing called 1545, which was an immersive experience and we wanted to get across the Mary Rose didn't sink on its maiden voyage, it was Henry VIII's ship that he, when he came to the throne, he commissioned two ships, the Mary Rose was one of them, it fought in lots of battles, it had a long life and then sank defending Britain in a battle, by the way, the French who were invading was twice the size of the Spanish Armada, but because history's written by the winners, we don't hear that.Dominic Jones: But amazing, so we did this amazing, immersive experience. We got Dame Judi Dench to do the voice and you feel like you're going to get sunk. Well, the ship does sink and you go under and then you go into the museum and it's so good and we were like, "We want to do something for the end. We want to have a finale that says..." Because the thing about our museum, it's authentic. There's 19,700 artifacts. You can't get that anywhere else. I mean, it's just brilliant. Anyway, so we thought, "How are we going to end this?" And the thing we don't do justice to is the finding, the raising, the excavation, all the divers, there was 500 volunteer divers. From the 1960s, people were looking for it.Dominic Jones: I mean, Alexander McKee, who found it, was on the news and people would say... It was like an Indiana Jones movie, they were saying, "Oh, he's never going to find it." And other people were looking, the Navy were looking and there was a bit in Indiana Jones where they got the map the wrong way around and all of that. Brilliant. So they found the Mary Rose and then they got Margaret Rule who was this amazing lady who had, when she went to university, I think she didn't get a place at university at first because she was a woman and this is amazing, today's day story, and she didn't dive, she was an archeologist. And then she said, "I'm going to dive." Taught herself to dive and without her, this museum, the Mary Rose wouldn't be here, so Alexander McKee, Margaret Rule, two amazing people, both of them...Kelly Molson: What a woman.Dominic Jones: Yeah, what a woman, but both of them, both of them, without them, we wouldn't be here. So we want to tell their story, but also, we want to put the guests and the visitors to what it's like to dive, so with a mixture of real-life filming, footage from these 500 volunteer divers, outtakes from the Chronicle programs that are on the BBC, including, if we can get it to look right, even His Royal Highness, Prince Charles diving. It is stunning.Dominic Jones: So we're going to take the guests on a bit of a pre-show with the history, then they're going to get into the 4D theater and it'd be like you were boarding a red, going out to the wreck site, there'll be a dive briefing, you'll have the wind in your hair, the seats will be buzzing, but I'm hoping it's this good. I better ring the people after this [inaudible 00:40:38].Kelly Molson: You're really building it up, Dominic.Dominic Jones: Yeah. Well, it better deliver. No, they're brilliant. Figment are amazing. They're so good. So you get in there and then you dive and then you go down and you see what it's like to be under the water. The Royal Engineers were involved, the divers were involved and then you'll be there when the Mary Rose is raised, we're even going to recreate the moment where it... Oh, it'll be brilliant.Dominic Jones: So in answer to your question, we're doing a documentary and a 4D experience, and we've got anniversary lectures so if you're around in October, come and get involved. We've got a lot of people, from historians to divers to... Just talking about the relevance of the Mary Rose and the history of it, and also the diving, and we've got a new coffee table book coming out, so we've got lots and lots and lots going on.Kelly Molson: Oh, my goodness. It's all going on.Dominic Jones: And if we'd have done it the old way, if we'd have done it with a new museum and a new building, I don't think it would've been as good. I mean, I joined the Divers' Legacy group, so about 150 of the divers, on a Zoom call a few weeks ago and it's just, it takes you... These people, who, some of them are retired now or bear in mind this was 40, 50 years ago and hearing their stories and it's living history and it's so important that we tell these stories and capture them now, because in 50 years, they won't be here, and part of our responsibility, our charity objectives, if you like, is to tell the story and forever, and I think that bit of the story's missing, so if that's one thing that we do while I'm at the Mary Rose, I'll be really proud.Kelly Molson: Ah, that is wonderful. And it is [inaudible 00:42:12].Dominic Jones: You have to come, right? You're going to have to come.Kelly Molson: Well, this is the question. When do I need to come to experience everything that you've just sold to me? Because I am sold.Dominic Jones: Yeah. You probably want to come after our anniversary, because we're hoping to launch all this around that time, which is in October, which is, now, this is an interesting one because this was a good conversation with our trustees and our board. "Do you want to launch something in the off-peak period? Don't you want to launch it at Easter or the summer or..." And my view is we should launch it because it's the right thing to do and we're launching this in October because it's a legacy, we want the divers there, we want as many of them there as possible and it's going to be at the Mary Rose forever. This is the ending to the Mary Rose Museum. So it's not like we're launching something for Easter or summer, so we are going to launch it in October, so I'll let you know the details, come and get involved.Kelly Molson: All right, absolutely. I am there. If it's as good as what you've just described, then it's going to be one amazing day out.Dominic Jones: It'd be better. And then, and final thing, sorry, which we're not doing, but I wanted to do is we've still got some of the Mary Rose down in the ocean, so one day, I'd like to bring that back up. I don't think I'll be here to do that because it's probably be in 15 years' time or something because we need to raise a lot of money and do that, but we want to bring the rest of her back up or whatever's left down there back up, and that's quite exciting because our story continues. We still do research.Dominic Jones: We did this fantastic piece of research on skeletons, on human remains. It's a really cool diversity story. Out of the eight skeletons, one was Spanish, one was Venetian, two were North African, second generation, not slaves, a real diversity story in Tudor England. Amazing. Maybe the Victorians whitewashed history. Who knows? But what a great story. And we keep learning and we've got this amazing team of curatorial staff and all of our staff, from the maintenance to the visitor staff to the volunteers and every day, we learn something new, so [inaudible 00:44:03] we want to do. And then, at some point... Have you seen The Dig on Netflix?Kelly Molson: Yes. Yes.Dominic Jones: Great film.Kelly Molson: So good.Dominic Jones: Great film, but I want to write to Netflix to do The Dive. Can you imagine? This story about human endeavor with the Mary Rose? It'd be amazing, so we'd like to do that as well at some point, but we just don't have enough hours in the day, right?Kelly Molson: No. Just add it onto that long list of stuff.Dominic Jones: Yeah.Kelly Molson: Wow. Thank you.Dominic Jones: So if you know anyone in Netflix, let us know, or if anyone from Netflix is listening, get in touch, we want to do that. It'd be cool.Kelly Molson: I would love it.Dominic Jones: I've already casted.Kelly Molson: If someone from Netflix was listening, that would be incredible. Who have you casted?Dominic Jones: Well, so local, because you've got to get local, so for Margaret Rule, I reckon Kate Winslet, she'd do a good job. Great actress. I mean, we've already got Dame Judi Dench, so the same sort of caliber in our 1545 experience, and then also another local who could bring the Alexander McKee, Kenneth Branagh, but to be honest with you, Netflix can do all of that, because let's be honest, I'm not going to make movies, am I? I'm running a museum. But I just think it'd be really cool. It'd be really cool.Kelly Molson: I don't think there's anything that you couldn't do, Dominic, to be honest, after this podcast, so who knows?Dominic Jones: It'd be really cool. Yeah, who knows?Kelly Molson: All right, last question for you, a book that you love that you'd recommend to our listeners?Dominic Jones: I love this question and I really struggled, so I went back and thought about a work example, because I think that's probably more useful, so in all of my career, I've come across lots of people who talk about strategy and I have my own view on what strategy is, but there are lots of books you can read about strategy and there's only one book, in my opinion, that is worth reading and it's this, Good Strategy/Bad Strategy. Hopefully, it's still in print. It is the only book to read on strategy. It's the best book I've... And without this book, I don't think I would've been able to do half the stuff that I've done, because it's all about how you formulate your decisions, how you make your decisions, what the outcome is, it's about execution, it's about everything that, for me, you need to be successful, so I recommend this book. Really good book.Kelly Molson: Good Strategy/Bad Strategy. I have not read that book, but I feel like that's going to go...Dominic Jones: You should read it.Kelly Molson: Yeah, that's going to go top of my pile. All right, listeners, if you want to win a copy of this book, as ever, if you just go over to our Twitter account and you retweet this podcast announcement with the words, "I want Dominic's book." And then you will be in with a chance of winning it. Oh, my goodness. I have had such a good time listening to you today. Thank you so much for coming on and sharing. It's been so valuable. Yeah, that's blown me away today. I'm very excited about coming to visit and thank you for sharing the insight into your partnerships.Dominic Jones: Yeah. Absolute pleasure. And thanks for being kind with the icebreakers, you're going to get the rubber, that's going to your collection.Kelly Molson: Oh, yay. A rubber rubber.Dominic Jones: Because I was really upset that you've got a rubber collection without the Mary Rose. That actually hurt my feelings. It hurt my feelings.Kelly Molson: Well, I'm sorry, I've never actually visited the Mary Rose.Dominic Jones: Well, we're going to put that right.Kelly Molson: We are going to change this, aren't we? So yeah, I'm sorry. I will come and get my rubber in-person, then. Don't post it to me. I'll come and get it in-person when I come and visit.Dominic Jones: Yeah, let's do that. Thank you. Keep it up.Kelly Molson: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five-star review. It really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, rubbercheese.com/podcast.

In todays episode we have Renee Jadan Realtor (Mark Z Realtor Team) Renee Jadan is a professional Real Estate Agent at Mark Z Real Estate Experts serving the Detroit Metro area. With 25+ years of sales and service experience, she has mastered the art of building meaningful relationships. She confidently and eagerly takes on new challenges in all parts of her life. Renee began working at Nordstrom at just 18 years old. Over the course of her career, she held multiple roles in leadership, ascending from Customer Service Manager to District Store Support Manager for Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky. Driven by her people-centered approach, Renee successfully managed various aspects of the customer experience. Renee has dedicated her career to maintaining sincere relationships through service, developing salespeople, and driving productivity. LINKS: PHONE: (248) 840-7550 INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/soldbyreneej/?hl=en EMAIL: reneejadan@gmail.com FACEBOOK: facebook.com/renee.jadan LINKEDIN: linkedin.com/in/renee-jadan-5b7278ab #keepingupwiththechaldeans #chaldeanDetroitMichigan #kuwtc Keeping Up With The Chaldeans is a weekly Podcast show based on Chaldean Entrepreneurs. We showcase your work in hopes that we can share the business amongst the community. Strength in numbers. That is our goal with the show! To learn more about "The Chaldean Community in Detroit" please visit:

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Hello and welcome to DTC Podcast, I'm Eric Dyck, today we've got a Tech Stack episode featuring Bumpboxx and Rich Panel. Fix your customer service! ➝ https://richpanel.com Get a sweet customized boombox ➝ https://bumpboxx.com You'll meet Christina Ebersole, Customer Service Manager from Bumpboxx and Amit RG, CEO of Richpanel to hear Bumpboxx drove $150K from customer service alone, with 20% of that coming from Self Service. This episode is a gold mine for learning best practices around customer service and for Amit's reminder that the best customer experiences are the ones where customers get what they need without talking to anyone…and you'll hear exactly how Christina's set up Bumpboxx to do exactly that… Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video

I have reinvented myself frequently over my professional career. After I graduated from college at The Citadel (where I played NCAA Division I basketball), I was employed in the Marketing Department at the corporate headquarters of Wendy's International in Dublin, Ohio. From there, I worked in hospital administration for Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. After getting married and moving to California for my wife's job, I became the Customer Service Manager for an academic publishing company in Santa Barbara. After our daughter was born and we moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, I became a police officer with the Cincinnati Police Department, where I was a SWAT Hostage Negotiator. Following a family relocation to Texas, I started a school security consulting business and coached high school girls' basketball in Houston. Each time I took on a new job, I had to develop new skills and faced different challenges. There was always a significant learning curve with every new position. However, my greatest challenge began in early 2012 when I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Acral Lentiginous Melanoma, which presented on the bottom of my foot. By the time the melanoma was detected, it had metastasized to a lymph node in my groin. Because my cancer is so rare, I was treated at the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center. I had two surgeries to remove the tumors, and after I healed, I was put on a weekly injection of the drug, Interferon, to prevent the disease from coming back. I took those weekly injections for almost five years before the Interferon became so toxic to my body that I ended up in the Intensive Care Unit with a fever of 108 degrees. Fortunately, expert medical care saved my life. The Interferon gave me severe flu-like symptoms for two to three days after each injection. I lost fifty pounds during my therapy, was constantly nauseous, fatigued, and chilled, my ability to taste food significantly diminished, and my body constantly ached. This misery went on for over 1,660 days! One thing I learned during all my pain and suffering is that you have two choices. You can succumb to the debilitating discomfort and misery, or you can learn to embrace it and use it to make you a stronger and better human being. I chose the latter. There were times during my Interferon therapy that I felt so poorly and was in so much agony that I prayed to die. Each day was a struggle to use my mind to override my body's apathy and distress. I realize pain and discomfort can beat you to your knees and keep you there if you let it. But I also came to appreciate that I could use my hurting and anguish to make me stronger and more resolute. I was no better at dealing with pain and discomfort than the next person. But every day, I found a way to survive, with the knowledge that I would need to do it again the following morning. I wrote the book, Sustainable Excellence, Ten Principles to Leading Your Uncommon and Extraordinary Life, to help others find and live their uncommon and extraordinary purpose. The ten principles outlined in the book will provide the bedrock necessary to form the foundation of unshakable beliefs and dedicated behaviors to reinforce your attitude, no matter how much pain you must endure or how many obstacles you must overcome. My hope is that people who read the book will lead a life of significance, as well as a life of success. Unfortunately, my cancer experience hasn't ended with me conquering my disease. The melanoma that had plagued me for over six years returned in 2017, and my only treatment option was the amputation of most of my left foot in 2018. The cancer reemerged again in 2019, requiring multiple surgeries. In February of 2020, an undiagnosed tumor in my ankle fractured my tibia. My only remedy was the amputation of my left leg above the knee. I am also being treated for tumors in my lungs. But I refused to be a victim of this malignancy. I vowed to continue my fight. I knew the only way cancer could win is if I gave up or gave in to the disease, or it killed me. In addition to my faith, I use my 4 Truths to guide the decisions I make in my life. These 4 Truths, which I have developed over my ten-year battle with melanoma, are: 1. Control your mind, or it will control you. 2. Embrace the pain and discomfort we all experience in life and use it to make you a stronger and more determined individual. 3. What you leave behind is what you weave in the hearts of other people. 4. As long as you don't quit - you can never be defeated. I chose my blog title, Motivational Check, for a simple reason. When I was a recruit in the Cincinnati Police Academy, it was a phrase any of our classmates could shout if they needed encouragement, motivation, or support. The class's response was to answer with a loud “84,” signifying our Recruit Class number and letting the person needing the reassurance know that we were all there for him or her. I understand what it is like to fight for your life and one thing I've learned is that as long as you don't quit, you can never be defeated. However, I came to understand the responsibility for altering your life is entirely up to YOU. Whining, complaining, and blaming others for your plight will not enhance your experience. Motivation alone will not cause you to progress. YOU have to want to make the change and commit to it every minute of every day. There are no days off when attempting to make significant and lasting improvements in your life. Just as fire strengthens metal and lifting weights until exhaustion grows muscle, use the pain and discomfort you are experiencing to harden your mind and make you a better and more determined individual. Keep fighting no matter how many setbacks you have or how bad you feel. Believe in yourself and know that there will be light at the end of your journey one day.    https://www.motivationalcheck.com

Customer Service Manager, Rikki Dionisio discusses the customer service side of Bootstrap Farmer. Rikki covers how that team covers product support, order support, and growing support. Topics include: Orders, returns, international shipping, tax exemptions, training, communication, and working with other teams like creative, special projects, wholesale, and administration. And as always- interview bloopers.

Bootstrap Farmer's Customer Service Manager, Rikki, joins us to talk about her recent trip to Dallas, where she went on several farm tours and met some of our local farmer friends. Rikki discusses how this up-close experience with growers using our products and with the manufacturers that produce them is what makes the brand so unique. Listen as she recounts some of the lessons she learned and how she tries to help other growers keep calm and reassured during the hectic growing season. 00:00 Intro 01:54 Touring the Fabrication House 03:54 Bootstrap Farmer Warehouse Tour 04:31 Dallas Trade Show 06:33 Meeting Amanda from Bishop Hill Farms 11:52 Meeting Sky Flower Farm 15:09 Dinner with Calvin our Lead Injection Moulder and Drew Demler 18:58 Visiting Profound Microfarms 22:42 Visiting Urban Dirt Company 24:58 Helping Growers Navigate Challenges 26:51 Visiting Double 07 Farmers 29:24 Visiting Paris Coffee Shop with Automated Grow Rack 30:15 Warehouse Walk-through 38:27 Karl's Farm and Beta Testing 45:00 Final Thoughts

Customer Service Manager from Jenson USA Ryan Pezer (37) joins the show today to talk about his work, family, and how it feels working from home due to covid-19.   --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/youradventurepodcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/youradventurepodcast/support

Welcome to the Evolvepreneur Secrets For Entrepreneurs Show! My very special guest today is Terry Tucker... In many ways, I believe I am just like any of the billions of people existing on this planet. I have reinvented myself frequently over my professional career. After I graduated from college at The Citadel (where I played NCAA Division I basketball), I was employed in the Marketing Department at the corporate headquarters of Wendy's International in Dublin, Ohio. From there, I worked in hospital administration for Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. After getting married and moving to California for my wife's job, I became the Customer Service Manager for an academic publishing company in Santa Barbara. After our daughter was born and we moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, I became a police officer with the Cincinnati Police Department, where I was a SWAT Hostage Negotiator. Following a family relocation to Texas, I started a school security consulting business and coached high school girls basketball in Houston. Each time I took on a new job, I had to develop new skills and faced different challenges. There was always a significant learning curve with every new position.

Kevin Estela sits down with Dayna Monroe to discuss some of her most recent hunts in Hawaii and with the BRCC team. She talks about her transition from working as the Customer Service Manager at Kifaru to now working at Black Rifle Coffee Company as their Outdoors & Hunting Marketing Coordinator. Sponsors and Affiliates: Black Rifle Coffee Company(Code: Craft15 for 15% off select items including first First Club Order) Kifaru Triarc Systems: (Code: fieldcraft for 5% off) HOIST Hydration: (Code fieldcraft10 for 10% off) Headspace: (Free one-month trial) Ten Thousand: (Code: fieldcraft for 15% off) KC Hilites: (Code: fieldcraft for 10% off) Athletic Greens: (FREE year supply of Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs today) LMNT: (Try it for free. Just pay shipping) Manscaped.com: (Code FIELDCRAFT for 20% off and FREE Shipping) Vertx: (Code: fieldcraft for 20% off) Anthem Snacks:(Code FIELDCRAFT10 for 10% off) Personal Defense Network: (Code: $3 for your first year of membership) Vertx: (Code: fieldcraft for 20% off) Wild Alaskan Company: (15% off your 1st box of premium seafood) Ten Thousand: (Code: fieldcraft for 15% off) Range Meal Bar: (Code: fieldcraft for 10% off) Haven Tents: (Code: FIELDCRAFT for $20 off bundle) Hard Head Veterans: (Code: fieldcraft for $15 off) Uncanna: (Code: fieldcraft for 10% off) Qalo Silicone Rings: (20% off order USCCA FOLLOW US: https://fieldcraftsurvival.locals.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcj3FycZBXIPNj7QIBKTIDw http://www.instagram.com/fieldcraftsurvival

Update: One year later:In many ways, I believe I am just like any of the billions of people existing on this planet. ​I have reinvented myself frequently over my professional career. After I graduated from college at The Citadel (where I played NCAA Division I basketball), I was employed in the Marketing Department at the corporate headquarters of Wendy's International in Dublin, Ohio. From there, I worked in hospital administration for Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. After getting married and moving to California for my wife's job, I became the Customer Service Manager for an academic publishing company in Santa Barbara. After our daughter was born and we moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, I became a police officer with the Cincinnati Police Department, where I was a SWAT Hostage Negotiator. Following a family relocation to Texas, I started a school security consulting business and coached high school girls' basketball in Houston. Each time I took on a new job, I had to develop new skills and faced different challenges. There was always a significant learning curve with every new position. But my greatest challenge began in early 2012 when I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Acral Lentiginous Melanoma, which presented on the bottom of my foot. By the time the melanoma was detected, it had metastasized to a lymph node in my groin. Because my cancer is so rare (only about 6,500 people are diagnosed with this form of malignancy in the U.S. each year), I was treated at the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center. I had two surgeries to remove the tumors, and after I healed, I was put on a weekly injection of the drug, Interferon, to help keep the disease from coming back. I took those weekly injections for four years and seven months before the Interferon became so toxic to my body that I ended up in the Intensive Care Unit with a fever of 108 degrees. Fortunately, expert medical care saved my life. The Interferon gave me severe flu-like symptoms for two to three days after each injection. I lost fifty pounds during my therapy, was constantly nauseous, fatigued, and chilled, my ability to taste food significantly diminished, and my body constantly ached. This misery went on for over 1,660 days! One thing I learned during all my pain and suffering is that you have two choices. You can succumb to the debilitating discomfort and misery, or you can learn to embrace it and use it to make you a stronger and better human being. I chose the latter.