Published on Friday, August 14, 2009 .
It’s not news that the economy has slowed meeting and convention bookings nationwide. Things are no different here in Grand Rapids.
But the Amway Hotel Collection (AHC)—the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, JW Marriott Grand Rapids, and Downtown Courtyard by Marriott—is generating some economic recovery of its own through meeting and travel stimulus packages. Through the end of the year, meeting planners booking events through 2012 can get incentives like free self-parking for overnight guests or special room rates and discounts on food and beverage. And AHC offers something not available any where else in Grand Rapids—1,100 rooms and a single host, making planning a meeting for 50 or 500 a breeze.
If your planning is more about a Labor Day getaway than a major meeting, Amway’s hotels are offering some sweet end-of-summer packages as well.
Grand Rapids is a swell place for a meeting or weekend trip. Even a Windy City reporter was wowed by Grand Rapids, calling our fair city an “ideal urban getaway” in a recent story.
And it’s a bargain, thanks to some economic stimulus plans.
Published on Tuesday, August 4, 2009 .
Competition for summer internships is tough. But that’s nothing compared to competition between interns.
Interns from six West Michigan companies faced off this week in the second annual West Michigan Intern Olympics. We developed the event last year with office furniture manufacturer Steelcase to foster some healthy competition and camaraderie between our summer interns.
More than 160 interns from six local companies competed in events like marshmallow dodgeball and a hula hoop race to have fun in the sun and do a little networking. Local FOX affiliate WXMI and The Grand Rapids Press were among the media covering the event.
This summer we’re hosting more than 90 interns in 20 divisions at our Ada, Mich., world headquarters. Interns also are on the job at our Nutrilite facility in California, at Amway de Mexico, and at Amway Hong Kong, among other locations.
It’s all part of grooming the next generation of talent at Amway. (Marshmallow dodging and hula hooping skills are optional.)
Few people know the halls of Amway World Headquarters quite like our unofficial “mayor”.
He makes the travel to our newly redesigned Welcome Center in Ada, Michigan all the more worthwhile. As for his thoughts on our 50th anniversary:
“The first 50 years? It was a good start. We have to keep moving forward. That’s what [we've] always done.”
That wins our vote.
Published on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 .
When a hotel gets mentioned in USA Today for offering special perks, it must be doing something right.
Our exclusive JW Marriott Grand Rapids offers manicures, pedicures, facials, mud wraps, massages and more—as do many high-end hotels. What makes ours so special is that the spa wheels right into your room.
Downstairs, the dining experience six.one.six (a play on the Grand Rapids area code) was recently featured in Michigan’s official tourism website, GreatFoodandTravel.com:
[six.one.six] espouses a farm-to-table philosophy and their menu is created around what can be obtained from area farms. They bring fresh vegetables, locally made cheeses, and other foods harvested from farms in the area to their sophisticated trendy dining room.
All of this, right here in Grand Rapids. We’re just happy to be of service.
Published on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 .
Turning 50 is more fun when there are lots of others around you sharing the same milestone.
This past weekend, members of our West Michigan media team—on the road for the holiday—were treated to Lansing-area radio station WFMK-FM’s special 50th anniversary programming. As we are busy preparing for our own 50th anniversary celebrations, it was a welcome diversion to hear how the station chose to honor their own birthday. Besides some clever contests with—you guessed it—50 winners, this particular weekend they took to the airwaves with random songs from 1959 to 2009, rather than their every day “lite rock” selection (with all due respect to fans of lite rock).
Happy birthday WFMK, from all of us here in Ada!
Published on Tuesday, March 3, 2009 .
For another outsider’s view of the changes afoot at Amway, take a peek at MiBiz’s Joe Boomgaard’s take on the transformation at the company. Joe, the weekly’s associate editor, has developed a keen interest in all things Amway over the last year. Previous stories delve into Amway’s research strengths, our employee wellness program and our new chief financial officer, Russ Evans.
Joe is among the growing circle of reporters tapping into the expertise of Amway’s employees and periodically gauging the progress of our ongoing transformation. And you know what? It feels good getting attention for the good things happening at Amway around the world.
Published on Friday, February 6, 2009 .
At least that’s how one media outlet described yesterday’s sales announcement. It’s credit to our distributors and their dedication to the business.
As you revisit our new media blog, we’ll be sure to recap coverage from other blogs and web sites that track news from our world headquarters in Ada, Michigan as well as our affiliate markets abroad.
Pertaining to our 2008 sales figures, we garnered coverage from our local television stations WZZM-13 ABC, WOOD-8 NBC and WXMI-17 FOX, as well as area radio and business pubs. The AP caught the early bird last week, as Tribune subscribers in the Windy City discovered.
Of special note, the Grand Rapids Press carried a general story as well as a rather lengthy Q&A with Steve Van Andel and Doug DeVos, our co-CEOs. We liken it to an “everything you wanted to know about the current state of Amway and then some” piece, and are curious to hear what you think in the comments below.
