When I started my branch of Grand Dynamics International (GDI) in Middlebury, Vermont, I thought to myself, what resorts are in located less then 3-4 hours from NYC and Boston that could help me promote our corporate team building services. I made it a priority to connect with as many resorts as possible that had the following criteria; a spa, hiking or nature preserve on property or near by, a golf course, conference facilities, wireless internet throughout the hotel, AAA 4 diamond awards, a pond or water source and above and beyond guest services. The Equinox met and exceeded all of these expectation, so I sent them a packet of information about GDI and waited for a response. One week later I received a call from Janet Walsh telling me that she was interested in our services and thought it would be beneficial to bring me in and present to the sales team. This was the break I was looking for and the moment of truth of whether or not this entrepreneurial venture was going to fail or succeed.
When I first arrived on property I was overwhelmed with the beauty and the grand size of the hotel. It was exactly like what the pictures on the web displayed. So I took the first hour to walk around the property and while doing so I set a couple of way points with my hand held GPS unit to set up a mock Teaming With GPS event so that the sales team could get a taste of what we could provide for their clients. After my presentation on the events, activities and services I set the sales team loose to go and find as many way points as they could in 20 minutes. The experience was a success because when all the teams arrived at the finish line each sales rep was laughing and smiling about what they had just completed.
The Equinox Resort & Spa had everything that we were looking for when delivering events and now that we had created a strategic partnership as their preferred team building provider it allowed us to start creating customized events on property. These events include our Amazing Race Adventure which highlight the Land Rover off road driving school, Orvis fly fishing headquarters, the falconry and the 80 acres of hiking trails. Change of Perspective which is a photographic scavenger hunt around the property and our Team Expedition which takes participants up to the pond pavilion area to have kayak races and fly fishing contests.
So to all of you who work at The Equinox Resort & Spa we really value our partnership and thank you for the opportunity to provide a great experience for your hundreds of guest all year round. We look forward to the many years of successful programs a head of us.
Will Leggett & The Grand Dynamics International Team
ARNO ILGNER
ASHLEY CHAPMAN