Affiliate Club awards affiliates with trip to Caribbean
Filed under: Entertainment and Sport, Internet and Technology, Travel and Tourism
AffiliateClub.com may be new to the industry, but the company certainly isn’t a novice when it comes to motivating its affiliates.
Just ask the nine men who were part of an all-expenses paid excursion to the Caribbean island of Curacao earlier this month as part of a promotion AffiliateClub.com ran for its affiliates.
“It was quite a trip,” reported AffiliateClub.com’s Claire Leighton, who hosted the trip along with fellow affiliate managers Nicole Sims and Katerina Milfaitova. “We’re a new brand. The affiliate managers all have experience in the business, but the program is new so this type of thing is very important for us to do. It helps us get the point across to our affiliates that we’re serious about the business and we’re here to stay.”
AffiliateClub.com offered a spot on the trip to any of its affiliates that could increase new traffic by 20% during a three-month span.
“We put the target out there and these guys went out and hit it,” Leighton added. “It’s just a nice way for us to reward them for putting their trust in us and sending traffic our way.”
The four-day journey began immediately following CAC Amsterdam, meaning the majority of the people on the trip flew directly from the conference to Curacao. But the nine-hour flight was simply used as a resting period as the party of 12 stepped off the plane at 4 p.m. and wasted no time beginning the festivities. Drinks at the Marriott Resort & Emerald Casino Hotel’s beach bar were followed by dinner at The Governour where the group was seated on a balcony overlooking the ocean.
Day 2 of the trip began with an exploration of the island atop 12 four-wheel quad motorbikes that weaved 25 miles through mountains, up a bat cave and along the coast. Muddied from their joy ride, the group washed off with an ocean swim and quenched their thirst with some ice cold beer at Mambo’s Beach Bar. Five hours later, the Dirty Dozen made its way back to the hotel to freshen up and sit down for dinner at another beachside locale called Hook’s Hut.
Dinner was followed by a trip to the casino (after all, these are “gambling” affiliates we’re talking about) and then the group headed back to Mambo’s for more drinks and some dancing into the wee hours of the morning.
“I think we spent almost 20 hours together that day,” laughed Leighton. “Believe me, you really get to know the people you are with when you spend that much time together in one day.”
Day 3 got off to an understandably later start, but was just as action-packed. The crew chartered a simulated pirate ship that took them for a tour around the island for some snorkeling and a treasure hunt. They had a barbecue on board (with cocktails in hand, of course) and headed back to the hotel where the hearty mates prepared for the grand finale dinner at the Marriott’s Portofino restaurant. With the time ticking down on the vacation, the group made sure to eat up every last minute by heading back to the beach bar after dinner for more drinks and dancing.
“You would think that by the fourth day we would all have been tired and ready to go home, but this trip was so much fun we could have stayed for another week,” Leighton said. “It was sad to leave, but we have plenty of memories and pictures to remember the trip.
“This was really a great trip for everyone involved. We had a lot of fun, but it was good from a business standpoint as well because we were able to talk about work, but without the pressure of a conference. And I think all the affiliates enjoyed meeting in person and hearing about each other’s businesses. So from that standpoint we accomplished a lot.”
Leighton added that she thinks these types of trips will become a regular part of AffiliateClub.com’s promotions.
“It worked out very well for everyone,” she added. “And it increased traffic. So it really was a win-win situation.”
By Gary Trask
garytrask.casinocitytimes.com
A Short History of Black Swimming: The 70′s: Enith Brigitha
MONTREAL, CANADA — No doubt the best Black swimmer of the 70′s was Enith Brigitha of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. She was the first Black female swimmer. And she was the first Black female swimmer to win two Olympic medals (in 1976), both bronze, one for the 100m and one for the 200m freestyle.
In 1970, she was swimming 1:05.0 for the 100-meter free, already a good regional time. In 1971, she moved to Holland, made the national team, and finished the year with 1:00.5, about the 10th best female time that year. So, even then, she was world-class.
Her breakout year was 1972. She qualified for the Olympic Games, won a medal on the relay, and was an individual Olympic finalist. That year, her freestyle times were 59.37, 2:09.8, and 4:40.0 for the 100m, 200m, and 400m, respectively. During that same year, she found out that she was also competitive in the backstroke (1:06.5 for 100m and 2:23.7 for 200m), a stroke she had tried out on a whim.
In 1973, she won the bronze at the inaugural world championships. This was also the year that East Germany really advanced, possibly eclipsing her achievements. In 1974, she improved to 57.68 for the 100m free, 2:03.73 for the 200m free, 1:05.0 for the 100m back, 2:20.27 for the 200m back, and 2:26.52 for the individual medley (im), all world-class times. In 1975, she improved, yet again, with 57.53 for the 100m and 2:03.34 for the 200m free, a remarkable 4:19.40 for the 400m free, and 1:06.5 for the 100m back. Again, she placed well at the Second World Championships.
1976 was the Olympic year, the year in which she won her individual medals. Although she may have been over-extending herself, she had times of 27.72 for the 50m, 56.61 for the 100m (Olympic bronze), 2:01.25 for the 200m (Olympic bronze), and 4:21.93 for the 400m free; 2:24.97 individual medley (im); and 1:04.98 for the 100m back. In addition, she had world-best short-course (50m pool) times of 2:00.98, then 1:58.83 for the 200m free. In those days, short-course times were called world-best. Today, they are simply called world-records.
Still swimming in 1977, she was recording times of 56.7 (100m), 2:03.22 (200m), 4:15.06 (400m), and 8:55.4 (800m), all for the freestyle; 1:04.85 (100m back), 1:02.96 (100m fly), and 2:25 (200m fly). She set two more ‘SC (short course) world-best’ times: 55.30 (100m free) and 1:57.86 (200m free). Her final swimming year was 1978, in which she recorded 1:04.32 (100m back), 2:26.77(200m back), 57.67 (100m free), and 2:02.57 (200m free).
A little tidbit. In 1978 Enith had a conflict with her swim federation. Apparently, there was a dispute about her swimsuit. Since she preferred wearing a suit not officially worn by the team, she ended up getting in Dutch with the Dutch federation.
Enith was a woman of many sides. Outside the pool she was a talented dancer. And in the pool, she seemed to be good in all strokes and all distances. What a career!
by Christian Berger
Source: BlackAthlete