VOA meeting GeTogethers
As many/most of you know Wyndham’s annual VOA meeting in Orlando, FL will be held on Thursday, May 28 this year (2009). The VOA meeting has reached its limit of 600 owners and is now closed but you can ask to be put on stand-by if you are still interested in attending.
Plans are now being made for potlucks and GeTogethers for owners to meet each other at this time. This will be your opportunity to renew old acquaintances if you have attended before or to make new friends if this will be your first meeting. If you would like to join us and do not see your name on the list at the bottom, please post here or Better Yet email me at wyndhamrental@yahoo.com. Please include all names of people attending, email address, hometown/state, dates you will be in Orlando, where you will be staying, whether you have or will need transportation and a cell phone contact number (if available). I will follow-up with a list of meets up and will look forward to seeing you. Thanks – Kendra E Bowers
PAST
In the past there has been a VIP Platinum breakfast; morning workshops, computer labs, Owner Care representatives to discuss ownership issues, travel industry representatives (RCI, Extra Holidays, Trip Rewards, etc) to answer questions, freebies; sit-down luncheon; afternoon 2 hour VOA meeting that is live on the website (except for the Q &As); and cocktail reception afterwards to meet and greet Wyndham staff and have the opportunity to have owners mingle.
The afternoon prior to the annual VOA meeting Deanne Gabel (Senior VP, Owner Services and Club Wyndham Plan Manager), Barbara O’Donnell (Director, Owner Programs) and one or two Wyndham employees have met with +50 Fairfield/Wyndham owners who are members of the Yahoo, Wyndham Forum, TUG and/or timeshare forum. Prior to these meetings Deanne was provided with a list of questions that had been submitted by Wyndham owners. During these meeting Deanne and her assembled team would ‘answer’ the questions that she had selected.
This ‘tradition’ was long standing and started with Keith Halfpop doing the organizing and Deanne’s predecessors (Susan Clark primarily) answering the questions. Keith quit after the 2006 preVOA meeting in Las Vegas, NV (the first one Deanne attended) and since 2007 I have taken over arranging these preVOA meetings, organizing the questions and scheduling potlucks and GeTogethers for the various owners who are members on these websites.
PRESENT
Deanne Gabel has informed the Wyndham owners that the VOA this year is going ‘back to basics’ and that there will only be a two hour afternoon meeting. It is not clear if there will still be a Q &A session and/or a cocktail reception. But for sure NO preVOA meeting on Wed afternoon, NO VIP Platinum breakfast; NO morning workshops, NO computer labs, NO Owner Care representatives to discuss ownership issues, NO travel industry representatives (RCI, Extra Holidays, Trip Rewards, etc) to answer questions, NO freebies; NO sit-down luncheon and NO opportunity to express our discontent or have influence has to what will be included in the agenda. But, then again, why should we – it is only OUR meeting.
PS – I know that the cocktail reception (and I think maybe the breakfast and luncheon) was sponsored by various organizations and so little to no VOA funds were used for this/these events.
Below is a list of people that will be attending one or more of our GeTogethers. Please emails me (wyndhamrental@yahoo.com) if you would like to be added to the list. Thanks - Kendra
Alexander, Jim/Janet
Bowers, Kendra
Brouwer, Gerrit/Joanie (Gerrit Jr.)
Clausen, Fred/Sharon
Ely, Ralph/Nancy
Epstein, /Lita
Horn, Donald/Darlene
Jensen, Allen/Carla
Kelly, Sandy
Overgard, Dick/Jan
Rutledge, Tim/Maureen (Maurie)
Schwanbeck, Kevin/Marge
Spearman, Bill/Young-Rang
Squires, David
Tuggle, Debbie
Visca, Vicky
Ward, Rick/Louisa (Rachel-5; Ricky 1)
Watson, Jim/Jane
Wiard, Bill/Janette Wiard
Wiard, Tom/Sonia
Wyre, Mike/Cheryl
Zeiders, Glenn/Mary
Zingleman, Ed/Sue