Ottawa On Stage 2016!

Being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is the BEST!  I hope after reading my blog today you will agree with me!

This past Friday I headed off to Ottawa to enjoy a Stampin' Up! event called On Stage.  Stampin' Up! hosted On Stage events all across the world.  The main live On Stage event was in Brisbane, Australia.  I couldn't take the time to go to Australia but I knew I would definitely head to one of the satellite locations.  The closest local event was in Ottawa Ontario.
There were about 28 Team S.T.I.C girls that registered to attend the event in Ottawa.  We travelled by plane train and automobile to get to the conference centre.

I was a driver and here's my happy crew!  We were very excited to head out on a girls road trip to see the new Stampin' Up! Catalogue.

We narrowly missed getting trapped in a huge traffic jam on the highway.  Fortunately we manged to avoid it and took some back roads to Kingston.
I went to Queen's University in Kingston so it was a slightly nostalgic pit stop for me.  I really wanted to head to a familiar watering hole called Copper Penny. My travelling companions were very agreeable.
Since I graduated more than 20 years ago, I didn't even know if the restaurant was still there.
I was happy to see it in exactly the same spot basically unchanged.
Copper Penny is known for their seasoned fries.
I tested them.  They taste just as awesome as they did 20 years ago.

We arrived in Ottawa with just enough time for me to check into the hotel and head out for the special Friday night recognition event called Centre Stage.  It is a training/dinner event just for demonstrators above a certain title.

In Stampin' Up! style, we were treated to a lovely dinner, cute decorations and generous gifts.

Stampin' Up! spared no expense for the On Stage event.  They even sent up to Canada several of their home office staff to help make sure the event ran smoothly. 

It was great to visit with Scott Nielsen the CFO of the company.  I don't usually get to see him often...  Maybe just on the incentive trip so having him come up to us in Canada for a visit was fun.  He likes to smile and joke around so it kept the evening entertaining. 

I felt very blessed because last year I was the only Team S.T.I.C girl qualified to attend Centre Stage but this year I had two Team S.T.I.C girls with me.  At the Ottawa location there were only about 35 of us who qualified to attend this special evening.

I received a beautiful handbag and they also gave us the new catalogue to look at that evening.  SQUEAL!!!

We woke up bright and early the next morning for a full day of training, swapping, stamping, socializing and recognition..  It was a full day! 

We tried to nab a team photo. I love the team photo because it is a small way to capture the diversity and community in our stamping group.  I love the Team S.T.I.C girls.  They are what make my experience so special and they bring amazing talents and skills and personality.  

and did I mention that a huge part of Stampin' Up! events is giving little gifts and treats and swapping?  Here's the gifts I gave to my team girls that attended the event. See how they match our shirts? LOL!  A huge thank you to Heather, a Team S.T.I.C girl that is so talented she doesn't only stamp...she makes cookies too! 

Stampin' Up! loves to be generous!  Throughout the day there was PRIZE PATROL!  The chance to win a stamp set.  Not a single person was left out from winning a prize patrol sometime throughout the day.
Check out these happy ladies!

During breaks throughout the day I tried to visit with friends, take photos and swap.  I had only brought a mere 30 swap cards with me so I tried to make the experience last by only swapping a few at a time.

I was very happy with my swap "loot". 

Another big part of the day was the recognition,
I feel very honoured to have been one of the 6 demonstrators in the world to be invited onto the Stampin' Up! Communication Council.  From what I understand, our role is to work together with the home office staff to improve and support communication in the company.

Funny Story...when you are at a conference with a lot of people and women, there is always a line up for the bathroom.  My bathroom strategy was to go near the end of the break time as I figured that's when the line would be gone.
So at the end of a break time I ran to the washroom and hoped to be back without missing too much.
When I walked back into the room after using the toilet, I see my name on the screen and the CFO scanning the crowd for me and inviting me to the stage so people could put a face to one of the incoming communication council members. One minute I was in bathroom mode, the next minute I'm standing on stage smiling mode.  Anyway, seemed funny to me!

Recognition later in the day was overwhelming.  There was recognition for earning the incentive trip, for leadership, for sales, for team growth(recruiting) and more. 

I absolutely loved walking the stage with my friend and Team S.T.I.C girl Zahra for earning the trip to Thailand.  She also reached a bonus for her team building (recruiting) so we were able to walk the stage together twice! ( I wish I had a photo to share but I don't right now) 

I was very humbled to learn that I placed in all the Top Performer categories for Canada: 

#2 in Sales

#3 in Recruiting

#2 in Leadership

and...

I was named #1 demonstrator overall for Canada. 

I'm not sure exactly what I should say but I knew I had to share this information because it is not just my achievement.  It represents the support and loyalty of amazing friends and customers and Team S.T.I.C. I am very blessed!  My heart is grateful for all of you!Here is a not very flattering photo of me being recognized as the #1 demonstrator in Canada. Mom, if you are reading this I am really really sorry about how I am dressed.  Normally at a live event there is an awards night where we get dressed up.  Since we were just at a satellite location, the recognition was just incorporated into the day and the best clothes for me when I am hanging out stamping is jeans!  (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!) 

There was also recognition for the top 100 demonstrators in the world. (I think there are about 48,000 demonstrators in the world).  I was very surprised to learn that I was #21!

I loved hearing the names of the top 100 in the world.  My friend Christi Beck was named in the list as well as my friend Jennifer Cotton and many more.  I cheered for them all even if they were not in Ottawa!

Stampin' Up! gave a beautiful handmade card with instructions on how to order a special coat that would be personalized in order to recognize my achievement.

I also received a charm for each of the top performer categories. Of course they were wrapped in pretty boxes.

Another big highlight of the event was the stamping with new product and just generally drooling over the beautiful things in the new catalogue.

If you want to be one of the very first to see the goodies in the new catalogue and be the first to order, you need to buy the starter kit and become a Team S.T.I.C member.   We get to order before anyone else!  The starter kit is a great deal at $135 no tax no shipping and you get to choose $165 of whatever you want!
A distant second best option is to come out to my FREE customer appreciation event on December 28th.  RSVP today!

The day finished off with a group dinner at Kelsey's (we celebrated that it was Jenny's birthday!)

The next day was good bye Ottawa!  We headed home full of excitement of all the friendships we enjoyed and the fun we had!

Thanks for letting me share this long blog post with you!  Thank you for having me as your Stampin' Up! demonstrator!