Cadence Connects 2021: The Highlights

In November 2021, Cadence travel advisors, staff, and valued partners gathered from around the country for a weekend of education, celebration, and connection during our 6th annual Cadence Connects event. This year’s event was all about reconnecting and reuniting with our network of network partners, travel advisors, and staff. Many of us had not seen each other since Cadence Connects 2019, and we were able to finally meet in person some of the new advisors who joined in the last 1.5 years! We are grateful to be back into the swing of things and thankful for all those that attended. See below for a glimpse into our incredible event!

The Venue:

La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs was the perfect desert oasis for this year’s Cadence Connects. Situated on 45 beautifully manicured acres and nestling up to the Santa Rosa Mountains, this hacienda-style, the historic resort was picture-perfect destination.

Incredible speakers:

During our inspiring open session, we heard about the evolving landscape of the luxury travel industry from Cadence Founder and CEO, Wendy Burk, Chris Austin and Aimee Price told us all about the wow-worthy new Explora cruise line, Cindy Novotny inspired with an impassioned presentation on a “New Standard of Care” and Cheryl Cheney Bunker represented Virtuoso.

Welcome Reception + Dinner:

The first evening, everybody was all smiles, we met in the Frank Capra ballroom for an incredible evening of food, drinks (including a seafood paella), and networking.

Meetings with Valued Partners

Advisors met with 75 of our industry partners representing the world’s finest luxury hotels, cruises, tour operators, travel insurance providers and more. Cadence Connects looks to strengthen industry relationships so our advisors can provide their clients with exceptional experiences and VIP service.

Gala dinner and awards reception:

Cocktails, a red carpet welcome, delicious food, and our much-anticipated awards ceremony…what could be better? A huge congratulations to this year’s award winners: Steve Kuriga & Debbie Wiseman for Most Valued Advisors (voted by advisors), Bitsy Clayton & Diane Sherer for Most Valued Advisors (voted by our travel partners), and Barbara Hearn from Allianz for Most Valued Partner (voted by advisors)!

The afterparty

Just as much anticipated is the afterparty! Great music, dancing shoes, and plenty of fun, it is always one of the highlights of the weekend!

The Cadence Way:

Ask anyone, it’s hard to surprise Cadence Founder and CEO, Wendy Burk. But John Knob, Director of Brand and Communications, managed to do so with a special presentation of “The Cadence Way”. This book is a collection of the daily motivational emails and moving quotes sent by Wendy to the Cadence community of advisors and employees beginning during the lockdown in March 2020, and still, continue to be sent to this day. This beautiful hardbound book was also presented to all Cadence Connect 2021 participants.

Making a difference with Big Five Tours & Expeditions:

We always include give-back components at Cadence Connects, through gifting and collaborations with our travel partners. This year, in partnership with Big Five Tours & Expeditions, we were able to donate sixty EcoFiltro clay pots to rural schools in Guatemala so they can enjoy access to potable water. The EcoFiltro pots will provide potable water for 1200 children for 2 years. Made of local clay and pine sawdust, the EcoFiltro clay pots are coated in colloidal silver creating a powerful natural anti-bacterial environment. Each pot is placed inside a gravity-fed, heavy-duty bucket that removes bacteria, parasitic cysts, fecal residues, smell, and color. Polluted water emerges cool, clear, and pure at the rate of 2 liters per hour.

Thank You!

A huge thank you to our event sponsors Big Five Tours & Expeditions, Celebrity Cruises, Explora Journeys, Hello! California Destination Management, Kerzner International, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruise, Royal Caribbean International, Seabourn, Silversea, and La Quinta Resort. Thank you also to every Cadence staff member who played a role in making the event happen, with a huge shout out to our rockstar M&I division. Thank you also to Gary Musick Productions, and Paul Barnett Photography.