EUROMOVERS had its own hospitality room in the Marriot Residence Inn, right across the street from the IAM convention hotel. The idea was to give partners the opportunity of meeting colleagues in a quieter environment than would have been possible in the main conference hotel.
It was a great success with around 90 people attending a reception on the afternoon of 11 October. The hospitality room also provided the perfect venue for Denis Zonneveld, EUROMOVERS Chairman, to award certificates as follows:
Certificates of Approved Agency were awarded to Walter Pereira, from Link India Mumbai; Kamar Bakker of Elite Shipping Dubai UAE; and Paul Defries from Move Management Australia in Sydney. Frank Koenig, of AW Transportation USA received a Certificate of Appreciation for the provision of excellent services and support to the EUROMOVERS International Network in 2011.
After the reception the EUROMOVERS partners all went out for dinner at a local restaurant. “The entire convention was a tremendous success,” said Thomas Juchum, EUROMOVERS Managing Director. “We were able to meet and chat with our selected contacts and we were able to spread our EUROMOVERS message to the industry. EUROMOVERS has a very good reputation and is well known in the industry as a strong, friendly and reliable organisation with valuable partners.”
Photos: Clockwise from top left: Walter Pereira, Link India Mumbai; Frank Koenig, AW Transportation USA; Kamar Bakker, Elite Shipping Dubai UAE; Paul Defries, Move Management Australia, Sydney.
Rebels rousing: fun on two wheels at the IAM convention
Following the success of its inaugural meeting at the IAM convention in Denver ‘The Rebels’, Harley enthusiasts, reconvened at the 50th anniversary IAM at the Gaylord convention centre in Washington. This year’s event was organised by Tom Vesperman of Trans International Moving and Shipping of Sydney who, to ensure perfect planning, went on a recce the day before ably accompanied by Stephen Gray of Anglo Pacific London, Tamara Reid of Guardian Overseas in Ottawa and her friend Tami Sharp. They returned from their 200 mile journey eulogising about the Shenandoah National Park and the amazing Skyline Drive.
The Rebels fully convened at 0900 on the Sunday of the convention, where the lovely sound of Harleys resonated across the hotel forecourt. Some of the group hired cars, Tony Oro of Whybirds and Graham Puddephatt of Reason Global followed the group in an enormous 4X4; while Paul McClusky of OPS International, hired an American soft-top sports car. Unbeknown to Paul it had limiter on the throttle so he struggled to keep pace with the group. After Anat Shrieber of Sea & Air International in New York had supplied the group with branded caps as a souvenir of the event, everyone was fit to leave.
Tom, having already reconnoitred the route, gave each of the bike riders directions, and the group set on their way destined for Front Royal at the bottom of the Shenandoah National Park where the group planned to refuel and check that everyone was still with the group. At the petrol station there was a diner and small store where everyone could grab a coffee to warm up as the drive was freezing and most riders had only brought essential clothing for the trip. Luckily the store also sold mechanics gloves which were snapped up.
Surprisingly, Tom Vesperman and Stephen Gray didn’t arrive so Tami picked up the role of tour leader as the group headed off to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia (for all you Laurel and Hardy fans). The Skyline Drive was simply magnificent rising to 4,000ft with views across the national park as it meandered up a winding road surrounded by Virginia forest in the fall: just beautiful.
The destination was the Skyland restaurant for a lunch, sponsored by Tom Vesperman - but where was Tom? He arrived 30 minutes later with Stephen Gray having got lost and enjoyed a 120-mile detour - all the satnavs fault apparently. Lunch and plenty of talk plus a gentle warm up was order of the day, before commencing the decent. On the way back the group stopped at various vantage points to fully appreciate the views, eagles and other large birds below plus miles of untamed wilderness. The drive back was much warmer as the watery sun did its work. Another petrol station was invated, surprising the owner with the influx of Harleys, before heading back to the Gaylord for drinks and a celebration of the day.
Tom Vesperman invites all those budding ‘Rebels’ to join the group at the Vancouver convention centre 7-10th October 2014, again during the IAM convention, where another amazing journey will begin. More information from tom.vesperman@transinternational.com.au.
Story courtesy of Graham Puddephatt from Reason Global.