Kindermusik Convention comes to a close....

All,

It's been one heck of a week! We've made new friends -- renewed old friendships -- met educators from all over the word -- and we've learned a LOT. My favorite? Jill Molli at this morning's general session! Oh -- and Skip Ewing's concert on Thursday nite was pretty darn good as well! Check out his cd on iTunes -- Indian Elephant Tea -- he's a special guy who puts a special twist on B-I-N-G-O!!! I attended two FANTASTIC breakout sessions today -- one led by my friend Jeannie Castillo from the Philippines on Fundamentals and Mentoring and another led by Adrian Miller and Julee Kowallis on the loyalty survey and how to respond to promoters, passives, and detractors. As I type right now, our educators are finishing up their birthday banquet and then will go upstairs to Ballroom A to continue the celebrations. I hope that many more of you will share tidbits of information that you learned from the many, MANY breakouts that were offered during this year's convention -- share them here on the blog -- or share them on facebook (have you created YOUR facebook page yet?).

My feet were killing me (IMAGINE THAT!) -- so I took a break from the banquet -- came back to the room to put on some comfortable shoes -- and back I'll go very soon to continue the celebration! I'll probably be the ONLY one there in jeans but at least my FEET will be SMILING! Ahhhh.....

Kindermusik is THIRTY years YOUNG this year! Please join me from wherever you are right now and sing Happy Birthday to Kindermusik! You are what makes Kindermusik so very special. You are so very passionate about what you are doing -- and you know in your heart of hearts that you are touching the lives of children with the gift of music -- and this gift will be carried on for years to come.

Gotta get back to the birthday bash! More soon ---

Connie

KINDERMUSIK'S INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS ROCK!

I've been fortunate enough to be involved in the IP Days event yesterday and today. I've met our partners from South Africa, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, The United Kingdom, Canada, and Beijing. And -- one of our mentors from Australia! What a terrific group of partners! Kindermusik is indeed fortunate to be partering with these folks from all around the world who share the same mission of bringing the gift of music into the lives of ALL children.

I do hope you are attending convention and will have the opportunity to meet these folks:

Heidi Twilley (South Africa)
Chiat Goh (Singapore)
Vanessa Webb (UK)
Sarah Peel Li (Beijing)
Jeannie Castillo (The Philippines)
Ms. Kim, Mr. Lee, Jamie Yoo (South Korea)
Michelle Jacques (Canada)

And -- Michelle Spencer, a long time maestro and mentor from Australia also joined us and I had the pleasure of spending a bit of time driving from Greensboro to Raleigh with her just yesterday! I'm counting my lucky stars, indeed, for being included in this event. Thank you, Michael D -- that thanks to our partners for traveling from all over the world to attend and participate in this year's convention!

Driving to Raleigh? Here are some easy-breezy directions to the Marriott!

The folks at the Marriott City Center in Raleigh have been an absolute DREAM to deal with! And -- today -- they sent me directions which will help you to avoid construction on Fayetteville Street. Directions are listed below! See you soon!

Directions to the Marriott City Center in Raleigh, NC
From North -- Take State Highway 1 to Capital Boulevard. Proceed on Capital Boulevard which will become Dawson Street. Turn left onto West Lenoir and then left onto Fayetteville Street. The hotel is on the left.

From South -- Take State Highway 1 to Interstate 40 East. Proceed on I-40E and take Exit 298B (South Saunders Street). Keep right to McDowell Street. Turn right onto West South Street and then left onto South Wilmington Street. Turn Left onto East Lenoir and then Right onto Fayetteville Street. The hotel will be on the left.

From East -- Take Interstate 40 to Exit 298B (South Saunders Street). Keep right to McDowell Street. Turn right onto West South Street and then left onto South Wilmington Street. Turn Left onto East Lenoir and then Right onto Fayetteville Street. The hotel will be on the left.

From the West -- Take Interstate 40 West towards Raleigh and take Exit 298B (South Saunders Street). Keep right to McDowell Street. Turn right onto West South Street and then left onto South Wilmington Street. Turn Left onto East Lenoir and then Right onto Fayetteville Street. The hotel will be on your left.

From Raleigh-Durham International Airport -- Take Interstate 40 East towards Raleigh and take Exit 298B (South Saunders Street). Keep right to McDowell Street. Turn right onto West South Street and then left onto South Wilmington Street. Turn Left onto East Lenoir and then Right onto Fayetteville Street. The hotel will be on your left.

Parking pass winners and Angel reminder

The winners of the THREE additional parking passes are: Yvette Odell, Aimee Carter, and Cyndi Bohner! CONGRATULATIONS! Your parking pass is being mailed to you today!

On another note -- please read the blog posting regarding our Kindermusik Angels project and submit your story to me so that it can be included in our memory book. Talk about tugging on every last one of my heartstrings -- putting this book together is probably the toughest job I've ever had.

Until then,

"Convention Connie"

THREE MORE PARKING PASSES FOR DRAWING -- AND --

Hi all -- as you know we had a drawing for five parking passes (winners were: Marshal Neal, Candy Banks, Cathy Siebert, Donna Metler, and Sandy Yagel). I have THREE MORE parking passes to give away -- drawing to be held on MONDAY, October 27th! If you're interested in one of these passes, email me (cschor@kindermusik.com) by EOD on Monday, October 27th -- winners will be announced on Tuesday morning via the blog.

And -- what questions do you need to be answered on the blog regarding convention? I've tried to keep you all updated -- but what have I missed? Let me know, as this is the perfect resource to keep everyone updated!

Until then,

"Convention Connie"

Don't forget airport transportation -- the more who reserve in advance, the lower the price!!!

As posted previously, Whitehorse Transportation (www.ridewhitehorse.com) has agreed to provide transportation for our educators who are flying into and out of RDU International Airport. And, you will received their PREFERRED VIP rate. Note that if you are planning to take a "typical cab" at the airport, you will most likely be charged $39 each way (or more) and it is just that -- a "typical cab" -- WHITEHORSE IS DIFFERENT! :-)

Here's the Whitehorse pricing schedule: $45 if picking up ONE passenger ONLY, $50 TOTAL if picking up 2 passengers ($25pp), or $55 TOTAL for 3 passengers ($18.50pp). For four passengers, the charge is $15 per person. For FIVE or MORE passengers, the rate is $12 per person. Complicated? Yup -- but this is still a REAL DEAL for our educators. Whitehorse will be combining reservations so that they can get as many folks into a vehicle (comfortably) to keep your prices down. Their vehicles are clean -- new -- many have leather seats -- and are SAFE and comfortable -- you won't be disappointed. So, email reservations@ridewhitehorse.com today and reserve your spot. They will require a credit card to hold your reservation, but your credit card will NOT be charged until you are picked up (or dropped off). If questions, let me know at cschor@kindermusik.com.

REMINDER: you'll need to reserve your transportation ahead of time. So -- again -- here's what you need to do:
1) Call Whitehorse Transportation at 888.62-HORSE (888.624.6773) ... or email Whitehorse Transportation at reservations@ridewhitehorse.com
2) Request the KINDERMUSIK CONVENTION rate
3) Advise Whitehorse of your date and time of arrival and your date and time of departure (along with your airline information)
4) Whitehorse will include this information in your transportation reservation and will send you a confirmation via email
5) Whitehorse will require a credit card to guarantee service, so please have that available when making your reservation
6) Whitehorse will pick you up just outside of baggage claim -- where you will find a PURPLE Pre-arranged Services station (pictured above) -- you can't miss it -- there's one outside of both terminals at RDU.

This is an extraordinarily LOW rate as Whitehorse has a contract with the Marriott to provide ONE WAY service at $45.00 each way (that’s what I had to pay when Lee gave me a ride from the Marriott back to RDU last Friday – it was money well spent by KI, though, as I was able to find this deal to pass on to you!!!).Please be sure to share this information with all educators who will be flying into RDU. This is much less expensive than renting a car and paying for parking in downtown Raleigh.
Of course, if you have questions, let me know -- I can be reached at cschor@kindermusik.com.

Until then,

"Convention Connie"

CHEAP FLIGHTS ARE STILL AVAILABLE TO RDU

Did you know that if you live in the Chicago, IL area, you can STILL book flights to Raleigh for convention at $148.00 ROUND TRIP? This includes ALL taxes and fees -- and is based on a schedule departing Chicago on Wednesday, November 5 -- and returning to Chicago O'hare on Sunday, November 9.

AND -- did you know that we're accepting registrations for convention THROUGH October 31? Though -- if you're planning to attend any of the "reservation-only" meals, we need to have your registration by October 28th.

So -- it's NOT TOO LATE. Go to www.expedia.com to see if you can find a DEAL on airfare! We can find you a room that's convenient to the Convention Center -- I promise -- it may not be at the Marriott -- but it'll be affordable and convenient!

What's that NIKE slogan? "Just do it!" Do it today!

Until then,

"Convention Connie"