My First Season

My guest today was not a village G.O., but he was a Club Med New York office G.O. and was a HUGE part of why my first season in Club Med Turks and Caicos during the summer of 1994 was so amazing. He worked for Club Med from September 1987 to 1995 at the Club Med corporate offices in New York City. He was the Director of Advertising and Sales Promotion in the Marketing Department. Everyone, please help me welcome, Anthony Salerno!! A cousin of Anthony’s went to Club Med Paradise Island and raved about it so much that Anthony booked a vacation there in 1983, where he vividly remembers the very funny animator E.T.! After Paradise Island, he went on vacation at Club Med Martinique twice (1984 & 86) and Cancun (1985). Not wanting to leave his advertising job, but still enjoy a Club Med vacation, he applied and accepted Club Med’s offer of employment. He had four weeks of vacation a year and was allowed to visit any Club Med he wanted. We talk about his start working for Club Med in 1987 and where we wound up crossing paths in Turks in ’94. Anthony helped organize the INCREDIBLE “70s Celebration” in Turk and Caicos my first season and it was SO awesome!! Only the G.O.s, G.M.s and G.E.s that were there those 3 glorious weeks from September 2 to September 23, 1994, will understand how much fun it was to do the “YMCA” Crazy Sign with the actual Village People!! Anthony also brought in Ron Palillo (RIP), who played Horshack on “Welcome Back, Kotter”, Lyle Waggoner (RIP) from “Wonder Woman” and Barry Williams who played Greg Brady on “The Brady Bunch”, and many more. We talk about what it took to plan this massive event, but we also talk about what it was like filming a Club Med TV commercial in the various Club Med villages. Anthony also worked with French fashion photographer and former International Creative Director of Elle magazine, Gilles Bensimon. There were plenty of Club Med radio spots as well in the late 80s and Anthony worked with actors Frank Langella (Dracula/Frost/Nixon), Frances Sternhagen (Cliff Clavin’s mom!), and Joe Sirola (Hang ‘Em High), the long-time voice of Club Med. Anthony also approached Archie Comics for them to feature Club Med in one of their issues and we talk about that as well. Anthony discusses the evolution of Club Med’s famous taglines and the ad agencies that created them “The Antidote for Civilization” (Ammirati & Puris) and “Take Home A Club Med Vacation” (TBWA) and why these were replaced with, “Life as it should be” (Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer). Anthony also met his future wife at Turks that week, who was a G.M., and in March 2023, they will celebrate their 28th year anniversary! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

Please check out his LinkedIn below:

(1) Anthony Salerno | LinkedIn

My guest today and I worked together in Club Med Cancun in 2004/2005 with Hendel. His first season was in Club Med Sandpiper in 2004 as a Waterski G.O. Originally from Chicago and now living in Austin, Texas, please help me welcome, Parker Burke! Before Club Med, Parker obtained a degree in Business Management with a Minor in French. He even did a semester abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France in 2002 (and we never talked about this during our season in Cancun!). After Club Med, he got a Master’s degree in Hospitality & Tourism Management. You could say hospitality is in his blood because his maternal grandfather owned and operated the historic and opulent Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. Parker had his first meeting with Club Med in New Jersey and when it came to the talent portion of the audition, he did something so weird and wild at that interview, that people requested he do it at each different village he worked at (if you don’t know, then please listen!). Parker worked for Club Med from 2004 to 2007 and worked in the resorts of Sandpiper, Cancun and Ixtapa. It wouldn’t be a My First Season interview if we didn’t talk about hurricanes and Parker had quite his share of them. Ever the optimist, he acknowledges that if it were not for Hurricane Wilma, he never would have met his future wife in Sandpiper in 2005! Parker has always had an extreme personality so lately, he has gravitated towards trail and ultra running. I ask Parker why anyone would run a 50k for “fun” and he is kind enough to answer my many questions on that subject. We talk a lot about Parker being a Waterski G.O. and how rewarding it was for him to teach disabled water skiers, moments he will cherish and never forget. We end the interview with Parker telling us the three things he misses the most about Club Med. **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

Please check out his Instagram:

Parker Burke (@jparkerburke) | Instagram

And NatureQuant which we talk about in the interview:

NatureQuant

Please check her out on Instagram:

Jennifer Simonds (@jenn.diamondz) • Instagram photos and videos

And please check out her YouTube Channel:

Jenn.choreographer - YouTube

Welcome to a very special 100th episode of My First Season! My Guest today and I met during my 1st season in Turks and Caicos during the summer of 1994. His first season was in Club Med St. Lucia in 1991/1992 as a Scuba G.O. Everyone, please help me welcome, the man, the myth, the legend…in his own mind, from the city that never sleeps, Cowboy!! Before Club Med, Cowboy worked for Associated Marine Institutes and taught juvenile offenders how to sail and scuba. A guy he worked with named Buff Miller, told Cowboy all about Club Med. Buff Miller then told Cowboy to call "BooBoo" at the Club Med office in NYC to set up an interview (I could not make this story up if I tried). Cowboy worked in the villages of St. Lucia, Turks and Caicos, Sonora Bay and Cadaques, Spain. You would be right in thinking that a guy named Cowboy from New York City must have some wild stories and he does not disappoint!! From getting his nickname on the flight to his first season in St. Lucia (and giving Hollywood his nickname on the same flight!), from getting lost on the open seas from St. Lucia to Turks and Caicos (that is a hilarious story!, it’s all here, look no further! Cowboy was a big reason why my 1st season was so special, so it was nice to go down memory lane with him and also talk about a G.O. we miss the most, Yannie Nielsen. So as Cowboy would put it, “let’s kick the tires and light the fires and get at it, son!” I hope you laugh as much as we did recording it! Enjoy! **My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to and ad-free and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

Please check out Lee’s website below:

Sell Jewelry, Diamonds & Gold For The Best Value & Immediate Payment | Just Jewels USA

My guest today’s first season was in Club Med Punta Cana in 1998 as a Hostess and she has had some bad luck with hurricanes! From Ottawa, Canada, please help me welcome, Anna “Rubia” Ferdinand!! Anna has held many jobs within Club Med: Reception, Boutique, Excursions and Chief of Excursions. Anna worked for Club Med from 1998 to 2004 in the resorts of Paradise Island, Martinique, Turks and Caicos, Playa Blanca and Ixtapa. Before Club Med and right after high school, Anna was working in retail in downtown Ottawa but really wanted to travel. Anna discovered a local company that had all the addresses where to apply to work on cruise ships and at Club Med. Club Med called a few months later and set up an interview in Montreal. For her interview/audition, Anna did a cartwheel and then sang “Happy Birthday” standing on a chair! You think you have some Club Med hurricane stories?! Anna may have you beat! Anna was at Punta Cana for only one week when Hurricane Georges had his way with that resort (in terms of destruction of course) and the G.O.s were sent home (jealous!). Her second season (in Paradise Island) involved a hurricane as well (Floyd), but you will need to listen to this entire episode to find out what happened! Anna took a short break in between seasons to work on Sark Island, a small, royal fief island located in the southwestern English Channel. You must hear this story because it has all the markings of a romantic comedy about to happen (picture the 2010 movie Leap Year with Amy Adams). Did Anna meet a sexy, recently widowed farmer with two charming kids while she was there? You’ll have to tune in to find out! I hope you enjoy this interview with an extremely positive and upbeat person. If you are sad or feeling down, listen to this episode and you’ll forget about your worries for an hour, guaranteed! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

Please check out her website and Instagram below:

Home - Play! Joyful Fitness (playjoyful.com)

Play! Joyful Fitness (@play_joyful) | Instagram

Please check out Sharon’s Culture club website:

cultureclubshow.com - Real people, Real places, Real adventure

And her Instagram:

Sharon Lee (@therealsharonlee) | Instagram

My guest and I worked together in Club Med Columbus Isle during the 1999/2000 season, but his first season was in Club Med Turks and Caicos in September of 1995 as an Aide Econome. From Montreal, please help me welcome, William Connors! Before Club Med, William was studying Hospitality Management at Carleton University. He also taught English in Japan for two years, from 1991 to 1993. He then got a scholarship to Schiller International University in Florida and obtained a degree in Business Administration in Hotel Management. William met a guy in Montreal who had worked for Club Med as a Windsurfing G.O., and suggested he give it a try. William’s first season in Turks had quite the star-studded lineup of G.O.s: Ye was the CDV, Cookie at Animation, Hendel at Landsports, Steve Riely was Chief of Sports and TinTin was at Snorkeling. William worked in the Club Med resorts of Valbella, Switzerland (which was his second season), Cancun, St. Lucia, Columbus Isle and Paradise Island. We cover a lot of ground and stories in this interview, as William is one of the first EXGOs from the Food & Beverage team, specifically the restaurants, that I have had on, so he has many great and funny stories from an area of the village you might not be that familiar with. You must hear the “exotic dancer/The Little Mermaid” story from Cancun 1997 and the “pumpkin” story from St. Lucia 98/99! William has been living in London, England the last twenty years, so I ask him questions about that as well. William tells us who his favourite CDV was, his favourite Crazy Signs and the three things he misses the most about Club Med. Please enjoy! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and is free to listen to and is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

Please check out his social media links below:

William Connors | LinkedIn

POSDoctorCanada (@posdoctorcanada) | Instagram

My guest today hails from beautiful Montreal, Quebec and his first season was in 1996 at Club Med Punta Cana as a Boutique G.O. Please help me welcome to MFS, Steve Ouimet!! Before Club Med, Steve was a singer in a rock band and he also managed a clothing retail store (Neon) in Montreal. From 1996 to 2007 he worked in Club Med resorts such as Magic Isle, Haiti, Club Med 1, Varadero, Cuba, Cancun, Playa Blanca, Paradise Island, Crested Butte, Columbus Isle and Djerba la Douce. When Steve was eighteen years old, he went to Club Med Cancun as a G.M. in the late 80’s. During Steve’s first season, he actually thought he had to be at each activity (like beach volleyball for example) if he was not working at the Boutique! This went on for ten days until someone told him he did not have to do that! Steve may have started at the Boutique but went from there to Sailing, to Landsports, to Chief of Sailing, Chief of Sports to finally Leisure Manager. Do you want a ton of stories?! Steve has them!! From Skydiving with Aureo Stern in Club Med Varadero, to performing a G.M. Show number with Uncle Larry, to crossing the Atlantic Ocean twice with the Club Med 1 and actually witnessing the Club Med 1 and Club Med 2 pass each other on the open water, Steve had quite the adventure in Club Med! The interview ends with Steve telling us the three things he misses the most about Club Med and the names of some of the incredible people he met and became friends with. **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple podcasts.

Please check out the link below to see the 4-star hotel in Paris where Steve is currently the General Manager:

Boutique Hotel 4* | Maison Barbès | Montmartre, Paris (maison-barbes.com)

And his Instagram:

Steve Ouimet (@steve_ouimet.art) | Instagram