Hi ho! Hi ho! It's off to the Pocono's!

I just realized that I have been remiss in posting a very important blog post. I’ve been planning this post for sometime but I keep getting really good things in my e-mail that I just have to share. So, today I’ve made time for the post and to share some exciting news.

I’ve tried to be as open and transparent as possible when it comes to the Convention planning and execution process. We learned a lot from Convention 2010, much of which we are going to apply in 2011. Recently, “Dad” Berry and myself took a trip up to the north eastern tier of Pennsylvania to visit the Mountain Laurel Resort, located in White Haven, PA.

Convention has been hosted at the Mountain Laurel before, back in the mid 90’s, and was a candidate for Convention in the early 2000’s. The hotel went through some management changes, however, and wasn’t available when we wanted it. I was contacted by the sales manager, Linda, before Convention 2010 but never really gave it any consideration as I was intending to take Convention back to the Chateau for 2011. One of the pieces of feedback I received was that some people didn’t enjoy the Chateau, for a variety of reasons. When I couple that with Linda’s persistent sales calls, I decided to take a shot and see if it would be a good site – and I’m glad I did!

The Mountain Laurel Resort is now owned and operated by the same management group that operates Split Rock Resort and H2ooooooooh! water park (just a few short miles down the road.) Therefore, by staying at the Mountain Laurel we gain access to the same amenities as those who stay at the much more expensive Split Rock Resort. This sounded like a win / win situation to me. So, “Dad” Berry and I made that trip.

We were generally happy with the facility. It had an activity room, arcade, indoor and outdoor pools, a small pond, and mini-golf right off the property. The meeting space was plentiful and they offered to cater to our tastes when it came to food menus. They even set up transportation for us (which is normally my biggest headache as director.) The only down side was the hotel still used real keys for the room doors (no plastic swipe cards here!) Other than that, though, the rooms were large and comfortable with some fantastic views of the mountains.

“Dad” Berry and I were also able to visit Split Rock Resort and see the other amenities that we could indulge in. Split Rock offers a full movie theatre, a four lane bowling alley, another arcade, indoor sports areas, plus a full recreation department. They also have a lake front beach, with a specially treated area for swimming (no yucky lake water) and plenty of space to hold a beach side BBQ complete with outdoor activities. Oh, and don’t forget the indoor water park, complete with several slides, and a flow rider (an attraction that lets you surf indoors!) It also helps that I know the General Manager of the water park, as I worked with him when I was the HR guy for Splash Lagoon in Erie.

After this positive experience, “Dad” Berry and I felt comfortable making the call, and we are officially having Convention 2011 at the Mountain Laurel Resort. I’m awaiting contracts as I type this. As soon as I have more information, I’ll share it with you! I just hope you are as excited about Convention 2011 as I am!