GBTA 2011-Denver, CO

Topaz attended the annual GBTA conference in Denver, CO August 21st-24th. We set up a booth where current and potential clients could visit us to learn more about what we do and how we can help them. My favorite part about GBTA is getting to meet some of the clients I’ve been e-mailing with for months. It’s so nice to put a name to a face and connect in person. It really reminds me of the value of personal communication face to face and reminds me why I love visiting clients for client reviews.

One of the challenges we face at GBTA is that we are a very small fish in a very big pond. Our booth is much smaller than many of the other participants, mostly very large companies in the travel industry. This year we tried to fly blue balloons with our logo high above our booth to help people find us, but I think even those may have gotten lost in the mix.

Some of you know our CEO Brad Seitz; he is known for being outgoing and always being himself. He walked around the convention floor for much of the time we exhibited in a Loud Mouth Golf Sport coat. (See photos) This is probably the thing that attracted the most attention to our booth. Even the people who thought it was crazy still seemed to like it.

As we looked back and reflected on GBTA this past week we are thinking of some new ideas for next year. The convention is in Boston. Brad lives in Maine and I live in NH, so it’s kind of our “home turf.” We may not even do a booth next year. We love walking around and meeting people and thinking, “outside the box.” We hate to confine ourselves to a tiny space where you have to find us. We may just walk around as suppliers next year or maybe host a unique event. We’d love to hear from all of you and hear your opinions on where you’d like to see us or what you’d like to see us do.

I’d like to thank all of the clients who visited our booth. It was a great meeting with you and learning more about what you do and letting you know where Topaz fits in. I’d also like to thank our friends (Especially those at T&T) for all of your hospitality. Thank you everyone for your time and energy.

So, here’s to new opportunities, new beginnings and Bean town; where we hope you can find a place to Pawhk your renta Cawh and we show you a wicked good time.

PS: This is ahr yeahr, Red Sawx aull the wahy.

Cheers,

MySUPERMe

For those of you reading this 20 years old or older you remember the days of flashlight tag, red light/green light, pickup basketball games, wiffle ball, freeze tag, chalk, hula hooping, skate boarding, sledding, running through sprinklers, hide and seek, and capture the flag. You remember coming home from school and changing out of your “school clothes” as fast as possible so you could put on the clothes you didn’t mind getting “grass stained.” On Friday night all the neighborhood kids gathered to play one of the above mentioned games. We all begged our parents to stay out later and later. When it was time to come home our parents yelled our names or rang a cowbell. We walked back through the woods to where we all lived only to wake up to next morning to go swimming in someone’s pool.

So what’s happened? Ask someone 10 years old about the games above or what they do for fun nowadays and you’ll hear a much different synopsis. It’s 3pm and you’ve just gotten home from school. Your fingers hurt from texting all day, but you run right to the computer to sign onto Facebook. After an hour of browsing people’s statuses you decide to head to your room to play Xbox 360. That lasts a few hours before you decide you’ve had enough and you pick up your cell phone to chat with your friend who tells you she just tweeted something hysterical that you have to see. You log into Twitter and begin reading the latest tweet from Charlie Sheen. You look up, it’s dark out, and you head to bed; but not without bringing you computer and cell phone with you into bed; after all, you haven’t played Words With Friends yet today.

As many of you know, I am actually a big proponent of social media and technology, especially for business. I’m part of all of the social media sites I just mentioned. However, what most of you may not know is that I also see the negative affect it is having on young children all over the world. For all the good it brings, we can’t forget the bad. Children are no longer being active and staying healthy, they’re barely seeing sunlight! The affect this can have on them is disastrous.

Take for example, an article I read this week; “Playing Video Games Without a Break Can Kill You.” Chris Staniforth died this may after staying up all night playing Xbox 360.

"A coroner has discovered that Chris — who had studied to become a game designer — suffered from deep vein thrombosis (DVT). That is, a blood clot formed in his left calf and then moved to his lungs, which caused a pulmonary embolism. He was on his way to an IT job interview when he collapsed and died.
DVT is the same condition they warn you about when you're going to be stuck on a long-haul flight.
The man's father — David Staniforth — told BBC News that his son was an avid "Halo" fan who would often spend up to 12 hours straight playing games on Xbox Live.
"Sitting still is literally the danger zone," David Staniforth said. "Chris loved to play and would stay up all night. Millions of people worldwide are playing these games for hours, and there is a risk."

While this may seem like a far fetch the risk is there!! This is what not moving can do to our bodies!!

So what can we do about it? How can we encourage children to get away from technology and get active?

One thing we can do is what my friend and entrepreneur Caitlin Fenn has put her energy into! “Fenn” has decided enough is enough when it comes to children not being active. She is the founder and president of the startup company “My SUPER Me.” My SUPER Me is the next generation movement based video game that can be played anywhere. My SUPER Me is the first platform built for kids 6-10 years old which encourages, verifies, and rewards real world play! Caitlin has found a way to reach out to children in the technologically savvy environment they’re used to, while encouraging them to leave that environment, try something fun and active and get rewarded for it!

My SUPER Me is just getting underway so if you have kids or know kids who would benefit from trying it (which is like…umm…every kid) ask them to visit the website and give their parents e-mail address to sign up!

You can also visit the MySuperMe Facebook page and read all of the favorite childhood games and outdoor activities fans are posting. You may even be able to give your own kids some ideas of what they could do tonight!

Caitlin is making a difference and is contributing to making our next generation of children become active again. There’s nothing more important than our health. What can you do to help?