Bob Barker VS Alex Trebek: Death Match

Hello my fellow Americans. What is more American than baseball and apple pie? Game shows! We love our game shows and over the years we have created the best in the world (the Japanese have come close but they ain’t no Mark Goodson and Bill Todman…Google it) In the spirit of America, City Beach has created The Show of Shows, the ultimate in game show competition where the old school meets the new school.

Lights, music, and a giant digital game board really transport you there. Questions come fast and furious, everything from Current Events to Rockin’ the 80’s, Audio questions, Video questions, and throwback audience participation from the greatest game shows of all time. Hands down, it’s the best show in town. And even though I just rhymed in that last sentence, our game show MCs are not cheesy guys in shiny gold jackets who sound and act ridiculous. You know, that’s the number one fear when I talk to people about the game show. They say “it looks so cool, but what about the MC, we had this goofy guy one time…” We’ve heard you! And our response is No More Cheese! Our Game show MCs are the best. They keep it moving, they’re hip and cool, and they’re quick with the nip of their wit, without being lame.

My opinion on The Show of Shows? It’s my favorite program here at the beach. Come by and give it a try. There’s the rhyming thing again, so sorry about that, I couldn’t resist. Seriously, the game show is the bomb. All ages dig it, from teens to seniors, and we can customize the game board to suit your group’s age, areas of interest, and even include questions about your company if it’s a corporate event. You can’t go wrong with The Show of Shows.

Until next time, we have some parting gifts for you. Tell them what they’ve won Johnny!

Mahalo-Gregg

High Ropes and More

Greetings earthlings. Let the blog train roll on. It’s now 2011 for those who didn’t realize. We had a banner year at City Beach in 2010 and we’re pretty much going to outdo ourselves in 2011. Big words…I know.

Let’s look back for a second though shall we? Here’s a quick year in Shmeam Quilting review: We launched three brand new Shmeam Quilting programs (remember, I don’t really dig the phrase Team Building so I’ve replaced it); The Extreme Chef, The RACE, and Ultimate Team Challenge. All three have been met with an awesome response from our clients. We also launched a new website and marketing campaign for our Team-Based Programs. We redesigned some of our event spaces in the facility and installed a brand new state of the art lighting system which is disco fabulous. All of this was done to provide you an even better event experience.

Those are just the high points! So many other great things happened in 2010 but it’s time to focus on 2011. On the Shmeam Quilting radar are brand new programs! Yes, we’ll be rolling out several new cutting edge and super fun Shmeam Quilting programs.

First and foremost we will launch the brand new High Ropes Adventure at City Beach.  Did you know we have the only indoor High Ropes Challenge course on the West Coast? Do you know what a High Ropes Course is? Google it and feel the love. We are going to open up a whole new world of adventure at City Beach, and it’s crazy exciting. I will be in the Midwest for a few days in February at the world’s largest Ropes Course Symposium. There I’ll immerse myself in ropes course culture and bring it all back for you to enjoy right here at the Beach. Who’s pumped?? I aaaaaaam.

I’ll get back on the blog train when I return from Minnesota yah. Check back to hear more on the development of the new High Ropes Adventure and listen for other new programs that will roll out this year. Happy New Year y’all and remember to water your plants and dust in all the corners in 2011.

Mahalo Yah! (You betcha that’s Minnesotan for Mahalo)

-Gregg

Madness Reloaded

I just realized that I never got back to you on how that big shmeam quilting event for 1500 people went over. I stink, so sorry about that. It was awe-soooooome! Everything went off splendidly and the group loved everything that we had to offer. It really was the perfect recipe to get everyone engaged in something that they could relate to. And I forgot to mention that we also had 10 massage chairs in the building for those that needed the chill time. It was killah! We received a ton of great feedback from the guests and I have actually seen many of them come back since that day bringing their families and friends to join in the daily festivities we offer.

So this blog entry will be short and sweet. Since we have the holiday season coming up, I am working feverishly to prepare for the thousands of people that will come through here in December. Next time, I’ll fill you in on what we have planned for the holidays. Good times! It’s our busiest time of the year and here’s a song till we meet again:

It’s the most wonderful time of the year
With tassels and bells
And hats full of shells
And plenty of beeeeeeer
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

I can never remember the words to songs but I think I nailed that one.

Mahalo

-Gregg (supporting the 3G Network)

Extreme Cuisine

Hello builders of teams. We hosted our most popular Team Program here at City Beach last week, The Extreme Chef. Teams competed against each other to create three original dishes in 45 minutes racing against each other and the giant time clock. Our top emcee, Jay Filicia led the group through a culinary competition that truly lived up to it’s name and the results were delicious. Of course, I had to sit in as a guest on the judging panel ( I think Jay introduced me as a wealthy entrepreneur, that guy is nuts). As the teams presented their wonderful creations, I couldn’t help but think “I’m actually getting paid to eat”, finally I have found my calling

The dishes created by the three teams in last weeks competition truly blew me away. That rag tag bunch of corporate heroes conjured up their inner Julia Child and threw down some creations that I would in all honesty not hesitate to put on our restaurant menu. The level of quality and presentation that I see in our Extreme Chef never ceases to amaze me. In fact, I’ve been thinking about adding a little more fun to the already killer cook off. Each month, the top Extreme Chef dish could be featured in our very own restaurant, and the actual “corporate chefs” who created it will get top billing on our menu. It’s a special little treat I think would be a really cool addition to an already really cool program.

Tell me what you think about that idea and in the meantime, check out our Extreme Chef and other ridiculously fun Team Programs for the holidays. Until next time.

Bon Apetit and Mahalo (That’s Italian and Hawaiian, it’s Italiwaiian).

~ Gregg

Madness

Howdy partners! It’s a big week at City Beach! We have a rather large event for 1500 employees from a local tech company coming in to celebrate and have a blast. This is their annual Company Picnic and there’s going to be a ton of fun stuff going on. How do you do Team Building for 1500 people at once? Good question. It can be challenging and we can’t expect that every single one of the 1500 people will get involved. That’s just not realistic, but we can offer activities and attractions that will appeal to a wide variety of personalities and cultural diversity. Here’s what’s on tap for this one.

We have our entire Rock Climbing Gym reserved for this group. Rock Climbing is a great way to bring people together whether you’re helping a friend or coworker overcome their fear or throwing down the moral support, you’ll walk away feeling a little closer to the people who did it with you (sometimes a lot closer).

We have live entertainment! How is that Team Building? Coming together to share these moments is powerful and provides lasting memories for employees to look back on in the future. “Remember when that guy on stage did the thing with the thing?” Reminiscing is good for the vibe and soul. This week, we have an authentic Caribbean Steel Drum Band performing as well as a Polynesian Dance Group with a Fire Dancer! So cool.

At the center of the event, we will be organizing and running multiple tournaments for this diverse group of people. We have Bocce, Volleyball, and Soccer (that’s a nice international balance). The City Beach team of facilitators will conduct sign ups, organize the teams and referee the tournaments. We’ll keep the day flowing and the activities happening. And to top it off, we will be putting on a Cricket Demonstartion with the employees participating in the game to have fun and show their peers what the sport is all about.

So this is just one way to provide a fun and interactive team building experience for a very large group. Check back next time to see how it all went. Until then…Mahalo.

Team Building Shmeam Quilting

Hello and welcome to the City Beach Team Building blog. My name is Gregg and I’ll be your guide throughout this blogging experience. I am the Director of Group Programs here at City Beach. It is my job to conceptualize and develop team building programs that are awesome and not lame. Some people around here call me the Ambassador of Fun. I don’t know the about Ambassador title…sounds a bit too regal for me, but if you remove the Amb and the ador from Ambassador that may be a little more appropriate! When I talk to people, what they can expect from me are heavy doses of reality wrapped in sarcasm and self deprecation. I like to laugh, especially at myself. I also like to have fun and help people get where they wanna go. My background consists of many experiences, some of which include my time as; a sailing guide in Southern Mexico, a performer in several theatre companies, a musician, an event manager, a Ropes Course facilitator, as well as an animal trainer and show performer at theme parks throughout the US. This diversity has allowed me to gain a unique perspective on people and what energizes and excites them. I’m a student of the human condition and my goal in life is to touch other people in a way that is enriching, engaging, and entertaining. City Beach is the perfect fit for me and I consider this place not just a company, it’s my home. Enough about me though, it’s time to get this thing going. Please remember to keep your heads, arms, legs, and all body parts inside the blog at all times and throughout the duration of this ride. Thank you and please sit back, relax, and enjoy.

Why shmeam building? Because when I say team building, it usually conjures up thoughts of contrived activities that are outdated, lame, and embarrassing to do. When many employees hear that their company will be holding a team building event, they immediately start pouring over their calendar and checking their PTO to arrange a vacation that will fall conveniently on the team building event day. In reality, they are planning their escape from a team building event that, in their minds, will inevitably be Laaaaaaaame-oooo. I’ve done some time in corporate America, I’ve been there! I think many of us have been there. We get it. That’s why at City Beach, we take a contemporary approach to team building with cool activities that are fresh and really fun to do. We don’t jam catch phrases down everyone’s throat and we know that each group is unique and dynamic, and requires us as team building facilitators to get to know who they are as human beings, as well as collectively as an organization, so we can deliver an experience that appeals to their personality, that fits their culture, and most of all, achieves the goals they set out to accomplish. I try to stay away from the words “team building” because it’s a cue for people to run for the hills. So I introduce to you the latest buzz word in the team building world…Shmeam Quilting.

Throughout this blog I’ll talk more about what we do at City Beach, I’ll keep you up to date on the newest programs we roll out as well as how companies and employees are digging them. I’ll also share some of our team building tips and things that you can do right now to start building a better team, make people around you happier, and to create a distinctive culture. I’ll share many of the experiences that make our lives extraordinary here at City Beach and hopefully we’ll get some great conversations going too. Sounds like a lot of fun. I’m stoked. I’ll be talking to you soon and until then, Mahalo!