The Perfect Storm

by Nancy Turnage, VRPS Central Office

Lori Haislip is a very welcome and wonderful addition to Central Office.  She is managing the theme park ticket program and daily accounting processes for VRPS.  On the last day of her very first week at VRPS, she experienced "The Perfect Storm".  

* Friday, August 1 was the "early, online 2014 VRPS Annual Conference registration deadline".  And, since it was a Friday, in August, and since lots of folks were off-site, the task of registration was left to "many-an-admin" around the state to register Professionals in their Agencies.  Without their VRPS login id's.  And many of whom had expired or soon-to-expire memberships.

* Friday, August 1 was also, obviously, the first day of August, which means VRPS invoices consignment ticket agencies for their July EZTicket (Busch Gardens and Water Country) ticket sales.  This is of great importance because VRPS makes payment for those tickets to the vendor on August 11, just ten days later.

* Friday, August 1 is also the first day of the month in the calendar year when most, yes MOST, of the VRPS memberships are up for renewal.

* Friday, August 1 was the last business day before the weekend deadline for 2014 Kings Dominion Parks and Recreation Days discount tickets - use or lose for some customers, use or return for others.  Everybody wants tickets!

* Lo and behold, it is also the first day of the month in the calendar year when the Foundation memberships are also up for renewal.

* Oh, and the VRPS server was scheduled for maintenance (first Friday of every month), with a new tech this month, so we were offline for 20+ minutes.

After being understaffed for three months, I am happy to report that we very much survived, and Lori came back on Monday, so it will be (fingers crossed) smooth sailing for a bit.

To all our members:  Fair winds and following seas ....

52 Ways to Use Your VRPS Membership: Week 32, Sharp Teeth

It's SHARK WEEK.
by Nancy Turnage, VRPS Central Office

What is Shark Week you might ask?  Well ...

Animal Planet celebrates Shark Week every year - July/August-ish - and spends an entire week celebrating these "cartilaginous" fish.

National Geographic has its own "Shark Fest" programming as well.

But the thing is, the shark thing has caught on.  Obviously, Virginia sports an entire Atlantic coast of shark-friendly waters.  But it's more than that.

http://herndon.wusa9.com/news/community-spirit/117755-local-cupcake-shop-features-shark-week-treats

There's a Facebook page for Shark Week, with plenty of followers and plenty of dialogue.  (Viewers are disappointed in the focus on the carnivorous side of sharks.)

Aquariums and water-side museums around the country have jumped on board the shark frenzy.  Radio stations.  Discovery Channel.  SyFy Channel ("Sharknado").  Whatever works - to interest the general public in the prime summer months.  What would the public's response be to local, outdoor activities tied to the frenzy?  While the television programming is at least making some headway, it is a sedentary effort on the part of viewers.