Welcome!  It is a pleasure to spend a few minutes with you as you begin your first day with our company.

On my first day nearly 30 years ago, I remember being excited, nervous, and completely unsure of myself. I didn't have the right uniform. I didn't know where to park. I didn't know anyone. Maybe that's how some of you feel today. If it is, that's perfectly normal.

Since my first day, I've had opportunities I never imagined, worked with incredible people, and learned from outstanding leaders. But I'm still excited, I still get nervous, and I still make mistakes.

What I've learned is that success isn't about being perfect. It's about committing yourself to a process built around three questions: What? How? Why?

First, know what your job is. Second, know how to do it—with professionalism, teamwork, respect, and excellence. Our guests may forget what we did, but they'll always remember how we made them feel.

There is a beautiful, expensive candle sitting on our dining room table.

·        It looks perfect

·        It smells like almond

·        It has a pristine, unburnt wick

It has been sitting there for two years.

My wife and I are waiting for a "special occasion" to light it.

Has this happened to you?  Have you put off something or someone until the time is perfect?

Resilience is the ability to overcome obstacles by using them as stepping stones rather than accepting them as dead ends. It is the determination to stay the course despite setbacks involving people, resources, changing priorities, or other environmental factors.

In operating and managing resorts, plans rarely unfold exactly as expected. We face staffing shortages, equipment failures, financial constraints, dissatisfied guests, changing business demands, and decisions that do not produce the results we anticipated.

There are days, if not weeks, when we experience a loss.

Some losses happen at work.

·       A guest complaint

·       A project that fails

·       A wrong decision

·       A trusted team member resigns

·       A computer crashes moments before an important presentation.

Other losses happen outside of work

Just before sunrise on the Fourth of July, an old man and an army veteran walked into his front yard carrying a neatly folded American flag.

His granddaughter hurried beside him.

"Pop-Pop," she asked, "why do you always raise the flag before everyone else is awake?"

He smiled as he carefully attached it to the halyard.

"Because some things deserve our first thoughts, not our leftovers."

Together, they slowly raised the flag. As the first rays of sunlight touched the stars and stripes, it caught the morning breeze and began to wave.

This morning, I was searching frantically for my car keys.

• I checked the kitchen counter where I always leave my keys

• I checked my pockets

• I checked my backpack

• I even checked between the couch cushions in the living room.

“JoMaire (my wife), where are my keys?”

“Your keys are where you left them.” (said with a laugh)

I was sitting in my home office chair yesterday, trying to send a simple e-mail to a friend from my phone.

I hit "send."

I waited.

The little circle on the screen just kept spinning—round and round.

• no connection

• no service

• no "bars

Recently, I took my golf clubs out of the lower-level closet, found my golf shoes and golf glove, and headed to the golf course.

After convincing myself I only needed two sleeves of golf balls (it’s never enough), I teed up my favorite golf ball and took aim.

• The ball was perfectly placed on the tee

• My stance was perfect

• Visions of glory were firmly in place

• My swing felt smooth

• The contact was solid