Cadence Connects 2019: The Highlights

At the beginning of November, Cadence travel advisors, staff, and valued partners gathered from around the world for a weekend of education, celebration and connection during our 5th annual Cadence Connects event. This year focused on the theme of Envision, Explore, and Elevate. There were so many magical moments, take a look for yourself!

The Venue:

Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach was the perfect sophisticated seaside setting for this year’s Cadence Connects. Situated on 15 prime acres on the Balboa Bay, attendee rooms looked out over the beautiful water, with views of yachts and gorgeous sunsets.

Cocktail Reception + Dinner:

The first night, everyone met on the member’s lawn and beach for laid back evening filled with live music, incredible food (including risotto that was cooked inside a wheel of parmesan), networking, and s’mores on the beach.

Gifts with a Purpose:

Every gift given during the weekend had a giveback component that we were so excited about! The list included beautiful Tunisian throws that provide micro-loans to entrepreneurs in Africa & the Middle East, wines from Napa Valley that donate to nonprofits, sunglasses that provide reading glasses to individuals in need, socks that give to worthy causes, and drinking tumblers that fund projects focus on clean water and the environment. Click here to view each item, plus a few more we gave at other Cadence events - it might inspire your holiday shopping!

Making a difference with Big Five Tours & Expeditions:

President of Big Five Tours & Expeditions, Ashish Sanghrajka, and VP of Sales, Paul Dorgan, joined us to share about the inspiring campaign Cadence and Big Five have been working on together. Through our combined efforts, we were able to help The Ereto School outside of Arusha, Africa, donating windows, timber framing for the roof, and there are even more plans in the works! Click here to read details.

Incredible speakers:

During our General Sessions, we heard about the evolving landscape of the luxury travel industry from Cadence Founder and CEO, Wendy Burk + Seabourn’s Chris Austin. We polished our customer service skills with motivational speaker Laurie Guest. We elevated our technology skills with Virtuoso, and discovered the latest and greatest with Marriott International, Ritz-Carlton, and the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. Advisors also had the opportunity to discover their personal strengths with Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, Marsha Berkson.

Meetings with Valued Partners:

Think of it as speed dating for travel. Advisors met with 75 of our travel partners - representatives for the world’s best luxury hotel brands, cruise lines, tour operators, travel insurance, and more. It is through these meetings that your Cadence advisor continues to strengthen industry relationships so they can always provide you with the very best experiences and service. It also allows them to have their finger on the pulse for anything that is new within the world of travel!

Gala dinner and advisor awards:

At the gala dinner, we present our advisors with the coveted Crystal awards, sponsored by Crystal Cruises. Congratulations to Fred & Robin Robbins of Aspire Travel Advisors, Nina Miles of Miles 2 Travel, David and Carol Porter of The Roaming Boomers, Sarah Attaway of Sea to City Travels, Michelle Olsen of Global Travel Management, Karyn Farr, Sue Morley of Journeys Around the World, Julie-Ann Skalko, Bitsy Clayton of Clayton Vacations, and Jennifer Kutzner for their achievements! Other highlights of the night were a never-ending champagne wall, a live band, and plenty of dancing.

Cadence Connects 2019 was a huge success and we can’t wait for what 2020 brings! Click HERE to view all the photos from the event!