My First Season

My guest today and I have never worked together, but I did meet him a few years back and was on guest on his radio show, the EXGO Radio Show. He was sent to Club Med Sandpiper for the 88-89 season as DJ and tells a very funny story about the guy in charge of Lighting & Sound Engineers for the North American Zone trying to tank the Cats show being put on one night to test him, but I’ll let him tell it. Everyone, give it up for Hiio “Joel” Kirby! Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

My guest this week and I worked together in Otranto, Italy in the summer of 1997. I was Landsports and he was the Chief of Animation. His first season, however, was in Club Med Sant’Ambroggio-Corsica in the summer of 1995 as Animator. Originally from Marseille, France but now resides in California, Laurent “Jova” Minnitti didn’t actually feel that he went to some exotic location for his first season, as Corsica is an island off the coast of France. Not only that, when he arrived in the village, he soon found out that the village was rented for two months by an elderly group called “50 and More”. But I’ll let Laurent tell that story and more. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

My guest today and I had never worked together before, but I kept hearing his name over and over, in the best way, from a good friend in Columbus Isle, Bahamas. We’ll get to that funny story later. Everyone, please help me give a warm welcome to LP! LP LeBlanc-Boucher shares his story of going to Club Med Playa Blanca as an au pair Animator in January 1992. When he arrived at the village, he happened to be on the same bus as the “Atlantis” group that had bought out the village that week. I’ll let him tell that story. He also brings up many names from the past who had a positive influence on him, including some you will recognize. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora, and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.  

Please check out LP's website. You can find an article there he wrote called "11 Reasons Why Being a Club Med G.O. Made Me a Better Person!"

http://blog.lplb.com/2016/02/22/11-reasons-why-being-a-club-med-gos-made-me-a-better-person/

My guest and I worked together at Club Med Cancun during the 2004 through 2005 season. His first season began at Club Med Cancun in November 2003, where he served as the entertainer and animator of the resort. He is none other than Bob Dougherty, also known as Bobby D! Bob worked for both Disney Cruises and Club Med, which makes him a double threat for this podcast. He offers candid insight on the differences between life on cruise ships versus resorts. Bob even shares a great story about working with Jennifer Hudson aboard Disney Cruises before she finished in seventh place on American Idol and before she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. I admired Bob’s work ethic, sense of humor, and commitment during my time in Cancun and I am excited for you to hear his story. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. (*Originally aired on March 29, 2021)  **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.  

To explore Bob’s music, please visit the link provided below:

https://sensaroundmusic.com/

My guest today had her first season as a Hostess in Club Med Turks & Caicos in November 1985, just one year after that resort opened. We had the pleasure of working together in Columbus Isle in Winter 1999/2000. She needs no introduction as you know her, love her, and cherish her. Everyone, my guest is none other than the amazing Angie Boucher! Listen as Angie recounts her interesting first interview, her ordeal with Hurricane Kate (and bar-beads) that passed over the island on November 18, 1985, and what it was like being a Hostess in the resort. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. **My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to. My First Season is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.

My guest today has the rare distinction of working in a Club Med in the town where he lives. We worked together in Club Med Coral Beach in 2005, which is in Eilat, Israel. His first season as a Windsurf G.O. happened to coincide with my last season. Listen to my good friend Raz tell us about his first season and a very funny story about a humorous, touching gesture to the choreographer one night after The Jungle Show that hilariously spiralled out of control that season (for us, but not for cool-headed and very creative Raz). Raz also reminds me of a post I made on Club Med Planet back in early 2008 that I had forgot about. I’ll let him tell the tale, but long story short, he was looking for apple tobacco for his hooka, which was hard or impossible to find on Turks & Caicos. I made a post on CMP asking if anyone was going down to Turks and to bring him some, only Raz had to do his Jean-Claude Van Damme impression from the movie Bloodsport, to get it. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

My guest for this podcast is none other than “7th” Evan Eichler, originally from Wasaga Beach, Ontario. Evan shares the story of how he stumbled into the world of Club Med after overhearing a group of people at the bar where he worked discussing an audition taking place in Toronto. Intrigued, he decided to give it a shot and absolutely nailed the audition. In January 2003, Evan packed his bags and headed to Club Med Sandpiper, Florida, where he joined the Landsports Team. From there, the adventures came quickly. Evan recounts a surfing trip with a buddy along the Florida coast on his day off that went spectacularly awry,  at least for Evan, as well as how he managed to land a dream resort for his second season, despite having spent only about three months at Sandpiper. It’s a great story of opportunity, adventure, and a little bit of Club Med magic. Sit back, relax, and enjoy! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to, and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora, and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.  

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Welcome everyone, my name is Greg Hannah and this is the first episode of the podcast, My First Season. In this series, I will be interviewing people who have worked for resorts, hotels, cruise ships, and airlines to talk specifically about their first season in the travel and tourism industry. My very first guest is James "Joker" Cradle from Boston! Joker and I worked together at Club Med Lindeman Island in 2000/2001, briefly at Club Med Punta Cana in 2003, and then again at Club Med Cancun in 2004/2005. In this episode, we dive into James's debut season in 1997 at Club Med Cancun, where he started his journey as a Village/Village G.O. Sit back and enjoy! You can listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Originally aired February 1, 2021. **My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to. My First Season is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.

My guest for this episode is James Martin. James and I worked together before in Club Med Cancun in 2004/2005. Originally from Minnesota, but now living in Florida, James shares his hilarious story about auditioning for Club Med in 2001 and is placed at Club Med Crested Butte, Colorado in December 2001 as a Bar G.O. He recounts one of the best stories (or only story) I’ve heard about someone meeting the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. Sit back, relax and enjoy! **My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to. My First Season is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.

My guest for this podcast is someone I had not worked with before, but our paths had crossed. She is originally from Montreal and currently resides in Newfoundland. She is also the co-founder and administrator of the largest EXGO site on Facebook with 8.1K members, The Official Club Med EXGO Facebook Group, everyone, Miss G.A! G.A. recounts one of the best of not THE best G.M. to G.O. stories I’ve ever heard that takes places in 1989 in Club Med Martinique. I don’t want to spoil a minute of this amazing story so you’ll really have to listen if you want to hear more and man, is it worth it! G. A. also co-founded Kitchen 4 Missions along with EXGO Katie McGowan and the description for K4M is below:

Kitchens 4 Missions (K4M) was sparked by Anthony's Bourdain's loss to his battle with depression. The suicide of this culinary hero drew attention to mental health challenges not just within the hospitality industry, but the world over. Knowing that 1 in 5 Canadians will be faced with a mental health crisis in any given year, yet stigma and limited access to care means many won't get the help they need, K4M emerged to help meet this need. Through our "food philanthropy" event, we work to raise funds for accessible counselling services and normalize conversations about mental wellness. If you’d like to know more, please visit the link below:

www.kitchens4missions.com