Welcome Back Dinner

On Friday, to celebrate my return from Atlanta, Tony cooked dinner. He made Crab Au Gratin (cheesy crab casserole), green beans, and wild rice. Tony got a recipe from Paula Dean on the food network and bought fresh lump crab meat from the grocery store's sea food market. Even though seafood is cheap here, crab is still a little expensive. There is a local mom-and-pop seafood market that sells fresh seafood. It might be cheaper, so we might check there next time. We went there once to buy shrimp, but it was like WHOLE shrimp with the heads and legs and everything. It was really good! Tasted very crabby. Kind of tasted like macaroni and cheese (has cheese, milk, and butter sauce). However, it is really rich so we couldn't eat very much. We have LOTS of leftovers.

Thursday in Atlanta - Last Day of Training!!!

7 AM - 8 AM - Breakfast

8 AM - 9 AM - Overview of Sales & Marketing given by Steve Vande Loo, Vice President of Commercialization Strategy

9 AM - 12:15 PM - Market Tour - This was my favorite part of the entire week!!! In our teams, we visited a convenience store, a restaurant, a Target, a mall, a grocery store, and a Home Depot. At the convenience store, we saw how to market soda fountains, soda coolers, and bottles of coke. We learned how many signs, where to put the signs, etc. At the restaurant, we learned that we need the owner to have both a soda fountain and a cooler of bottles. If they have that, then they need combo meals, signs out front, signs on the menus, a trash can shaped like a Coca Cola bottle, a Coca Cola clock, etc. At Target we focused on getting all coke products at eye level, and on sale.

12:15 - 1 PM - Stuck in an elevator. After each event, all of us use the elevators at the same time, so there is usually a long line. My team decided to reduce the line by cramming our entire team (17 people) into the elevator. As the elevator went up, one guy said "have you guys ever heard to jump on an elevator?" He jumped, and the elevator got stuck between 2 floors. Many people were scared, and it was really hot in there. But we got out!

1 PM - 1:15 PM - Quick Lunch!!!

1 PM - 3:15 PM - Presentations - Our team was named "Team SmartWater." SmartWater is a bottled water, enhanced with electrolytes, made by Glaceau (recently acquired by Coca Cola). My team presented on the Operating Framework of the company. The Operating Framework is comprised of:

1. Coca Cola Values - accountability, team-driven, customer focused

2. Commitment to Excellence - Execute Excellence Everday by putting the Right product, in the Right Size, in the Right packaging, with the Right marketing, in the Right place, at the Right time, at the Right price

3. World Class Capabilities - Supply chain, sales & marketing, finance (specifically revenue growth)

4. CRS - Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability

5. Relationship with Coca Cola Company

6. Vision Statement: Be the best beverage sales and customer service company (#1 brands, diverse & inclusive culture, long term profitability, and #1 customer supplier)

Our presentation went really well!! We had a little funny skit to illustrate each point. My part involved communicating the value of "customer focused." In my part, I stalked and professed my love to a customer.

3:30 PM - 4:30 PM - Closing given by Pam Kimmet, VP of HR - we received 8 x 10 framed pictures of the group pictures that we took on Monday.

4:30 PM - 6 PM - Dress for dinner

6 PM - 11 PM - World of Coke Party - we went to the World of Coke, Coca Cola Museum. When we arrived, we had drinks and appetizers in the lobby for a while. Then Steve Cahilane, President of North American Coca Cola Enterprises, spoke with us. He talked about work-life balancing and keys to success. He was VERY inspiring. I almost cried. He talked about how jerks never succeed, and the importance of being kind to all people. After his speech, we went to the dinner reception. This was a global dinner buffet. There was a sushi buffet (all kinds of sushi including crab & lobster) , a mexican food buffet (quesadillas, tacos, quacamoles), an American burger buffet (burgers), a Spanish buffet (varios meats, polenta, vegetables), and a Dessert buffet (French crepes and creme brulee). This is the reception room where we ate:

After dinner we could go through the museum. In the tasting room, we sampled Coca Cola flavors from all over the world (different countries have different types of coke). There was a room that showed Coke commercials on a big screen, and a room that displayed all kinds of Coca Cola art. It was an amazing place!! Here is a picture of the Latin American soda fountain:

When I got back to the hotel, there was a little glass full of chocolates from the hotel. They left an apology note saying they were sorry that I got stuck in the elevator. Haha!!