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March 2004
ACHIEVERS INTERNATIONAL PROVIDES A SUPER TRAINING EXPERIENCE FOR SUPER BOWL XXXVIII
Louise Upshaw-McClenny, co-owner of Achievers International, was handpicked by the Houston Super Bowl XXXVIII Host Committee to provide customer service training to the 8000+ volunteers who helped orchestrate all aspects of the event which took place in Houston in February 2004. An active member of the Houston hospitality community for many years, Ms. Upshaw-McClenny, agreed to organize and train the 8000 volunteers on a pro-bono basis. The Super Bowl Host Committee could not have designated a better or more qualified person.
As co-owner of Achievers International, her hospitality training firm has clients including hotels, resorts, conference centers, and convention planning firms, along with other non-hospitality related businesses throughout the world. What they all agree upon is the benefit of partnering with Achievers -- an organization that specializes in providing “inspiring, sustainable learning” for customer-focused organizations.
Ms. Upshaw-McClenny, initially daunted by her “charge” (her training classes are generally no more than 15-25 people) organized her thoughts, outlined her critical path and took action. She trained volunteers who worked at airports, hotels, special events, communication command posts and even those who were assigned to exclusive NFL V.I.P. events. Training meetings began several weeks prior to the game; Coaches and Captains were appointed to oversee each sub-committee. Upshaw-McClenny provided a Train-the-Trainer workshop for these team leaders and ultimately organized a giant Volunteer Rally for all 8000 volunteers at Reliant Stadium. The volunteers were welcomed with a marching band and team mascots; uniforms were distributed, speakers spoke, cheerleaders cheered, banners flew, packets were distributed, prizes drawn, questions answered, and fun food consumed. Professional actors and comedians performed “Customer Service Vignettes” depicting the importance of being friendly, helpful, professional, knowledgeable and informative, in keeping with the key customer service skills that Achievers International champions. All in a day’s work for Upshaw-McClenny.
In her own view, this large volunteer undertaking was time well-spent. Her company, Achievers International garnered huge recognition as a firm that believes in giving back to the community. She was also able to do what Achievers International does best…consult, train, motivate and serve.
She described her proudest moment as being on the stage at Reliant Stadium during the Volunteer Rally and looking out onto a beautiful crowd of 8000 diverse Houstonians, all gathered together to make Super Bowl XXXVIII the great success it was for the City of Houston. Would she do it again? In a heartbeat!!
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