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The annual Open House celebration at the Sports Leisure offices was a huge success last weekend, despite a rather strange visitor who insisted on interrupting each of the ten sessions.  A combined crowd of nearly 300 attended and were kind enough to bring along requested donations of toilet paper and Easter toys.  Nearly 1,000 rolls of TP were donated to Loaves and Fishes and 133 toys, mostly Easter bunnies, were given to Officer Zach Hatch of the Rancho Cordova Police Department, for delivery to low-income children as Easter presents.

Sports Leisure staff was on hand to share a lively presentation lasting a little over an hour.  Guests were treated to a continental breakfast or light lunch, depending on their arrival time.  Sessions were limited to a maximum of 40 to allow a more personalized experience for travelers.

A quick update of previously announced tours was given, with Scott, Ramona, Kevin, Clayton, Patricia and Mark giving one minute snippets on selected trips.  After a special interest feature presentation that varied from session to session, the schedule of short new summer and fall trips was unveiled.  All the trips will be listed in the upcoming Sports Leisure newsletter, which will begin arriving in members’ mailboxes at the end of this week.  Readers of this blog can access the new newsletter on line at www.sportsleisure.com, click on the new newsletter section in the middle of the home page.

As previously mentioned, the only obstacle to the otherwise perfect presentations was a visit from a character that insisted on referring to herself as “Honolulu Helen.”  Decked out in a grass skirt, coconut shells and a variety of cheap and tacky leis, she barged (and that is the only nice way to say it) into the room each time the program reached The Real Hawaii tour, regaling the audience with the virtues of the Sports Leisure package. We were only able to snap this quick, blurry photo of “Helen” before she darted out the door, but eye-witnesses report that the blurriness is actually an improvement over reality.

Vice-President Clayton Whitehead, when asked to comment on the carnage…I mean visitor, could only shake his head and say, “Why, why did she have to come here.  Ten times in three days.  It’s just a tragedy.  We should have hired security to prevent that type of thing”

Mr. Whitehead’s comments seemed to sum up the shocked reaction of others in attendance.  Helen was last seen boarding a Super Shuttle van headed for the airport.  Despite (Helped by?) her antics, the program was a success, with many of the new trips reporting heavy sales interest this past week.

Last spring on a scouting mission I developed one of the most unique tours, the Rich Man Poor Man Casino Mystery, March 21-25.

I’m not real good at keeping secrets and this has been a tough one as the posh Rich Man portion of the tour stays 2 nights at an incredible hotel set in magical scenery. The property boasts marvelous one of a kind shopping, a spa, and of course a casino. The Poor Man’s accommodations are not as fancy but there is endless entertainment, shopping, gaming and even golf courses close by. We will be motor coaching between the two destinations (it takes an airplane to get there), stopping at places of interest during our travels.

If you have never taken a mystery tour before but you enjoy testing Lady Luck or browsing the shops, take a chance on this one, you won’t be disappointed. Happy trails, Scott

You can checkout Rich Man, Poor Man by clicking here!

Just a quick note to let you all know that our Jan/Feb newsletter is now available online. This issue features new vacations, day trips, customer letters and more.  You can check it out by clicking here or heading to sportsleisure.com and clicking on it from the homepage.

We’re also pleased to announce that for the first time ever, you are free to register for this year’s Sports Leisure Open House online.  To register, simply head to sportsleisure.com and click on the post-it note in the top-left hand corner.  You will then be free to select your session and reserve your spot.  You can also register by giving us a call at (916) 361-2051 after Friday.  Remember, online reservations are available now, phone reservations cannot be made until Friday.  This event is open to all Sports Leisure Travel Club members and their friends.

We hope you all had a fantastic holiday season, and would like to welcome you to the new year with a contest here at sportsleisure.com!  We’re offering a $50.00 gift card to a local restaurant OF YOUR CHOICE to one lucky winner at the end of January.  All you need to do to enter your name in the contest is post a comment on any blog post we release this month.  Not sure how to do that? Don’t worry, we’ll explain it further below.

The rules are simple:  We’ll be posting various articles, travel discount opportunities, announcements and random musings here on our blog at various times throughout the month. To enter, all you need to do is:

1. Read the entire post
2. Think of a great comment
3. Write it into the comments section below the article on our site.

For those of you reading via email, you’ll first need to click on the title of the post to write your comment.  Replying to the email won’t work, to qualify for the contest you’ll need to post your comment on the actual site. Your name can only be entered into the drawing once per blog post, but you are free to comment on all the posts to increase your chances!

So there you have it, our first ever online contest here at Sports Leisure Vacations.  Remember, you can’t play if you don’t comment, so be sure to sign up for email announcements whenever a new blog post is released. Click here to sign up for email updates now. Let us know what you think in the comments

 From the Sports Leisure Newsroom – The brand new 60-page, four-color Dream Book, entitled “Imagine,” was dropped at the post office Wednesday morning, September 2^nd.  Travel Club Members should begin receiving their personal copies in the next few days.  Be sure to look for the special Day Trip insert, which also contains dozens of Early Registration Di$counts for tours, cruises and vacations in the catalog.  The book will be posted on the web and be available for distribution to non-members beginning Monday, September 7^th.  Copies are also available at the Sports Leisure office.