Welcome to my blog! I'm Dorothy and this is my first time posting so I thought I would start off with a bang by sharing my experience at my first Close To My Heart Convention held in Salt Lake City, Utah.
I traveled with some fellow consultants (Brandy & Kirsten) that I am fortunate to be a part of the same team with. We flew out Tuesday morning with a stop in Calgary, Canada. We met up with some consultants there and managed to grab a bite to eat before we had to take off again!
Considering Brandy was the only one that knew her seat # for the 2nd part of our flight ahead of time and we flew in a MUCH smaller plane that you could feel every little bump and hear all these loud grinding noises, I'd say we did pretty good! The view out the window was definitely different than what we are used to in Manitoba.
After landing safely (thank goodness!) and now feeling the heat hit us once we maneuvered the airport, we were off to eat at the Red Iguana. This was on my Bucket List-it was on one of the episodes on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives (Triple Ds) with Guy Fieri. I wanted to check out a restaurant that he featured on his show. The food was DELICIOUS! Quite the colorful restaurant. I would definitely suggest checking it out :)
Wednesday arrived and 3 out of 4 of my roommates had Leadership Day. My other roommate and I decided to tour Salt Lake City. We really lucked out because near the Salt Palace we came across a Double Decker Tour Bus that would take us on a 90 minute tour. We could hop off at anytime and hop back on when they arrived later. Here are only a few pics (I tend to take too many)
(Just wanted to throw in the beehive signs for fun)
We checked out the museum's dinosaur and Viking exhibit. Pretty cool!
In the afternoon, I had the Mix and Mingle event for first time attendees and we all received a free gift. Later that evening, we had a team meeting and Brandy's upline made everyone on her team a layout. (thank you!)
After that, we popped into Karen Morris' Dream Team as guests. This is a huge team. WOW!! I was able to swap some cards I made- really enjoyed seeing everyone's creations! It was great seeing everyone having a blast! This is what I made to swap.
Thursday was Opening Day. What a sight to see...all of us consultants gathered around the Grand Ballroom doors, just waiting to be let in. You could feel the excitement in the air and the noise level increased as you heard those doors being unlocked and opened!
There were 1000+ consultants in attendance. Team leaders were standing on chairs so their members could find them, music was pumping, Canadians and the Australians/ New Zealanders had their tables in a section.
Some highlights...
↝marching band, streamers, and videos.
↝founder and CEO of CTMH, Jeanette Lynton made an appearance with her family. She has been diagnosed (finally!) with Lyme Disease, so it was an incredibly, amazing occasion for her to be there.
↝ skit of how CTMH came to be
↝new annual catalog
↝new product reveal (basic color palette has been revamped)
↝new color of the year-bashful (which everyone kept calling it blush)
↝all cardstock is now two toned- that makes 84 colors to play around with!
↝foil paper and vellum paper
↝pearls!
↝new Cut Above Kits (boy and girl)
↝new Thin Cuts
↝new Cricut Cartridge called "You Are Here"
↝new mini cartridge for Canada, US, Australia/New Zealand (digital only)
↝new Hostess Rewards -includes a Cuttlebug and Cricut Explore
...and only for Convention attendees' eyes only- Holiday Expression catalog
Then we rushed to grab our boxed lunches before we had to climb aboard the bus that took us to where the magic happens-Head Office!! I found a sticky girl on the bus, I think she wanted to come with us for a tour.
We arrived at Head Office. Wow! Dream come true! We toured the warehouse, picked up our Convention bags, toured the lobby, the creative space and Jeanette's office! Oh my goodness!
Look at that view!
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Thank you to CTMH for allowing us inside. I was awestruck.Sadly, we had to leave...but onto the Creative Session!
We were given our new product to work with and I am proud to say that I was able to complete all the layouts & cards in time...with 5 mins to spare!
Friday was General Session Day again with some extremely inspirational speakers. I may have shed a tear or two. First up was Stacey Julian who shared her story. She reminded us that it's our story to tell and if we don't tell it, who will? Don't wait for those prefect moments, it's okay to tell it in a "story-ish" way.
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| Look at me listening and paying attention so well! |
Then plane crash/burn victim, Stephanie Nielson spoke about how she overcame obstacles and how hard it was but she did it, by just taking it one moment at a time.
The afternoon was a Business Class with Shari McAllister. The ideas she shared with us! Then came the session on how to get the most out of your pocket phone with the creator of Persnickety. I tell ya, I started trying this out right away, and what a difference!
Saturday was Canada Day and there were more reveals!
2018 Convention will be held in Las Vegas and the next Incentive Trip will be a Western Caribbean Cruise!
Jeannette Lynton came out and shared her personal journey dealing with Lyme Disease. There was the Operation Smile video and the auction where over $45,000 was raised throughout the weekend! That included the 5K walk in the early morning.
Pierre Gelinas had planned a special lunch for us Canadian consultants and some surprises planned. Canada 150 stamp and a Canadian bundle (July only). After that, we headed to the staircase for a group photo and impromptu singing of O'Canada. You can find a short video on the CTMH page. We also helped Kristina Livingston and Pierre do a FB Live video promoting July's specials!
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| O'Canada |
A sea of red & white →
In the afternoon, Karen Pederesen presented about social media. It was fabulous and also the reason I decided to dive in and attempt a blog!
After that, Kirsten (my fellow consultant and roommate) presented. She was a first time attendee as well as first time presenter. Amazing and inspiring! She had us all eating out of the palm of her hand! Way to go Kirsten! I unfortunately did not get to finish my projects this time.
Kirsten telling her story!
The evening was filled with bright lights, great food, free stamps, awards and entertainment at the Awards gala.
I just want to thank Close To My Heart for being the kind of company that you are. You include everyone and genuinely care about each and everyone of us. I am very proud to be part of something this big. You recognize the hard work that everyone puts in. And the moment Jeanette thanked Monica, brought me to tears. You two have been through it all and are still the great mentors and friends. I inspire to be just like you wonderful ladies!
I also would like to thank Brandy and Kirsten for being my traveling buddies and answering my questions. I am extremely grateful to have been able to take this journey with you gals. I am also glad to have met many wonderful consultants and hope to see you next year!
