Phoenix Awards
Honorable Mentions

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Nearly 100 Costco members sent in inspirational “Phoenix stories.” Here are some of their accounts.

• Dentist Nicklis Simpson of Gleneden Beach, Oregon, had to sell his clinic and his home in the early 1990s to help pay medical bills for his son, who was critically injured in a car accident. After nearly a decade of being out of business, he recently opened a new practice with three employees.

• Just as the busy spring season began, a mysterious malady wiped out all the baby lavender plants at Mountain Valley Growers, a mail-order supplier of organic herbs and perennials in Squaw Valley, California. Owners VJ and Keith Billings thought they would lose their 10-year-old business, but they wouldn’t let their dream die. Finding out that acid in the potting soil was the culprit, they formulated a new mix and have been successful since.

• In 1989, Jan and Alfred McCorry were driving in Sacramento, California, when they saw black smoke billowing from a large fire. The only thing left of their business, Capital DataCorp, was a mangled safe containing the business’s backup disks. But Alfred and five employees set up business in a rental building, phoned customers to report the fire and promised “business as usual.”

• Several other Costco businesses reported that fire can destroy a building, but it can’t destroy a business. On July 15, 2002, the building housing WildPackets, a high-tech company in Walnut Creek, California, burned to the ground. All 65 employees arrived at work to learn of the fire and set about rebuilding the business via cell phone and computer in borrowed conference rooms, employees’ homes, parks and restaurants.

• Likewise, owners and employees of the Mid-Cape Racquet and Health Club on Cape Cod salvaged equipment and operated out of a nearby vacant disco for a year after a fire destroyed their building.

• Often, it’s not a natural disaster that threatens a business, but the economic climate. In the late ’80s, graphic designer Catherine Bandoian of Ridgefield, Connecticut, lost her two biggest clients within a span of two weeks. She survived on credit cards and allowances from creditors and her landlord until joining a networking club.—TT

By T. Foster Jones As an adult (chronologically speaking, anyway), one of the things I look forward to in a cruise vacation is having nothing to do. Just lazing away in the sun, the book I’ve been pretending to read lying beside my deck chair—this is bliss.

Royal Caribbean and Fisher-Price form a partnership for children and parents

ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL

^{For a child, however, nothing could be} A is for Atlantic, B is for boat, C is for more agonizing. As parents know, the cry _{cruise ... Kids get educated as well as} “There’s nothing to do!” ranks second only to _{entertained on today’s cruises.}

“Are we there yet?” in Webster’s Whining

Lexicon. types of skills and activities to enhance devel-
Children are an essential part of the fam- opment in a particular area,” says Lauren
ily vacation package and the number of chil- Anderson, cruise product manager for Costco
dren age 3 and under on cruises has shot up, Travel. Sessions incorporate toys, storytelling
so finding ways to keep them and their fami- and music.
lies happy and entertained makes good sense “Aqua Tots offers playful activities for
all around. toddlers age 18 to 36 months, incorporated
Royal Caribbean, for example, already into themes [such as] ABCs and 123s, shapes,
known for its kid-friendly atmosphere, has colors and phonics,” says Lauren.
brought on board an expert in the world of For those occasions when parents need to
toys and tots, Fisher-Price, to introduce a grab a little alone time, supervised activities
wave of programs aimed at the tot set. Now, for five age groups between 3 and 11 are
in addition to the extensive list of supervised offered nearly nonstop from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.,
programs the line has long offered for ages 3 and group and private baby-sitting is offered.
to 17, activities are offered for babies and tod- “Whether you want to spend as much
dlers between 6 and 36 months too. time [as possible] with your child, or you’d
“For 75 years, Fisher-Price Inc. has been like a break now and then, you can do stuff as
a leader, not just in toys, but in children’s a family, plus parents get a little free time to
learning and development,” says Adam themselves—and kids get some time to have
Goldstein, president of Royal Caribbean their kind of fun,” says Lauren.
International. “We are pleased to partner with “There is a strong desire among today’s
them and offer families with younger children parents to use vacation time to strengthen
enriching experiences of their own, designed family bonds and create lasting memories,”
to further enhance their cruise vacation.” says Chuck Scothon, senior vice president,
Sessions are held for two groups: Aqua marketing and brand development, for
Babies, geared to kids 6 to 18 months, and Fisher-Price. “These programs underscore
Aqua Tots, for children 18 to 36 months. The our mission to help families play, laugh and
sessions are free of charge and are hosted by grow together. Royal Caribbean is recognized
Royal Caribbean’s specially trained youth staff. as the leader in family cruise vacations, and
“Aqua Babies has six themed sessions, together we believe we can help families with
each designed to introduce babies to different young children truly experience the ultimate
family vacation.”

COSTCO CRUISE CONNECTION

This is one vacation that makes it impossible for kids to say, “There’s nothing to do!” C

To learn about cruises and other Costco Travel vacations, call 1-877-849-2730 or visit costco.com and click on “Travel.”