REPORT – IMEX 2007 – FRANKFURT: A community park refurbishment project in the state of Georgia, USA, has won Marriott International’s Global Incentives and Gift Card marketing team this year’s…
REPORT – IMEX 2007 – FRANKFURT: A community park refurbishment project in the state of Georgia, USA, has won Marriott International’s Global Incentives and Gift Card marketing team this year’s IMEX Commitment to the Community Award.
The Award was presented to a delighted Andreas Mueller, Head of Individual Incentives Continental Europe, Marriott Hotels International on behalf of Marriott Individual Incentives at IMEX Gala Dinner.
In the judges’ opinion the Marriott team had overcome substantial hurdles to make sure their project made a lasting impact. Despite pouring rain and high winds, the Marriott team worked tirelessly to landscape the local park in the town of Buckhead, which because it has just 200 residents, had always struggled to find both money and manpower to keep it maintained. In one day, with the support of local residents, the City Council and the Mayor’s office, the Marriott team set about replacing broken fixtures such as sinks, lights and ceiling fans, rebuilding picnic tables and park benches and also creating a barbecue area.
The team-building exercise, which was named “Community Giving for Community Gathering” followed a turbulent year in which the team had lost their much-respected leader, Vice President David Riddell, who died following serious illness. Due to the team’s instability and loss of leadership the 2006 project needed to be much stronger and more meaningful than previous efforts. Although past events had been both “interesting and delightful”, they had failed to create either emotional appeal or team-building spirit. The team was also keen to honour David’s memory by finding a project that would bring people together in the same spirit that he had during his career.
Integrity Incentives were tasked to scour the area of East Central Georgia to find a community in need of a helping hand and where a measurable difference could be made. Marriott set clear criteria for the project, which had to create a unique team-building experience while incorporating pride, local culture and character. It also had to ensure that the host community would be left in a far better state then when the team had arrived. After reviewing three suitable projects, the decision was made to refurbish the Buckhead Park as this would have a lasting impact on the largest number of people.
Commenting on what it means to win the award, Lucy Eisele of Integrity Incentives, said, “I felt this was a coveted award, very different from those given to those ‘Best in’ categories. Although describing the programme in a condensed fashion was hard to do, hopefully those who see or hear about this winning programme will be influenced to include such efforts within their own companies in the future. I started Integrity Incentives because of this very passion, and to be recognised by the industry at such a pre-eminent tradeshow as IMEX is an honour.”
Explaining why Marriott’s Global Incentive and Gift Card Marketing “Community Giving for Community Gathering” project triumphed this year, IMEX Operations and Marketing Director, Carina Bauer, said, “The unexpected challenges of the weather and the clear sense of satisfaction and warmth gained through working closely with the local community made this project stand out from the rest. The team’s feedback also showed how proud they felt about making a difference and how much they appreciated making new friends and acquaintances while also being generous with their time and energy.”
“This project genuinely changed some team mates’ perceptions of each other, and also successfully included local personalities, such as artist Eugene Swain, whose work was presented to each of them as a lasting memento of the day with a fitting inscription – ‘Here’s to Life, Imagination, and Positive Thinking.’”
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