We’re pleased to introduce guest blogger Barbara Barnard, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for CWT North America, to share some exciting news CWT recently received.

As a traveler, you’ve had the opportunity to visit new cities, meet new people, and maybe even get involved in different communities. As you’ve seen covered on this blog before, CWT in 2011 partnered with Habitat for Humanity to shift the focus of our annual client event toward a greater purpose than just getting together and having a good time.

The interactive event allowed participants to make their mark on a Habitat house CWT was supporting, including the chance to meet the local Denver family who would soon live there. (The family, Miriam and her children, were an inspiration to all of us at CWT. You can meet them too, by clicking here.) That house is now completed, and the family is enjoying a safe, healthy environment they can call home.

But while the house is complete, the celebration continues. We’re excited to announce that CWT’s “Impact on the Gridiron” event has been named as one of four finalists for PR News’ CSR Awards in the event category! We’ll find out in a few months whether we’ve won, but honestly, we’re just excited that the passion and hard work of our employees, event sponsors, and Habitat for Humanity have been recognized more broadly by CSR professionals. And, we’re honored to be among a truly amazing group of nominees which include renowned companies as Coca Cola, The Walt Disney Company, Best Buy, and many more. We’re proud of the focus CWT has put on corporate social responsibility, and we hope that at least one person who hears about our efforts might be inspired to become more active in their own community.

Of course, one of the greatest rewards for being a part of a socially responsible company is knowing that your organization cares about making a difference. Not just on our bottom line, but in our community, on our environment, and in the individual lives of our neighbors near and far.

What’s the most rewarding experience you’ve had while giving back to your community or a community to which you’ve traveled? We’d love to hear your stories in the comments below. And if you’re interested in getting involved with Habitat for Humanity in your local community, check out their website here.

Community service in a foreign country can be an enlightening experience. One of my most memorable moments abroad is a week that I spent volunteering in Honduras working to build gardens for the local indigenous community. We were in the city of Copan Ruinas and volunteered at the Guacamaya School which offers both local Spanish lessons and volunteer work (http://www.guacamaya.com/). For a nominal fee they provided room and board and 3 meals a day for one week.

Each morning we would get in the back of a truck and drive up the mountain for a 20-minute, bumpy ride on a barely passable road. When we got as far as the truck would go (local school), we hiked for another 20 minutes with our rakes and hoes up the mountain.  All over the mountain there are well defined trails that are essentially roads for the locals. We helped a man named Roberto clear an area of his land so that it was suitable for planting a garden. It was hard work, clearing the land of small trees, grass and rocks, but we completed it with his help.

During that week, we helped seven other families with their gardens too. It was a great experience getting to know the local community, while also helping them help themselves.  One of my great desires in life is to do a more long term project overseas. Closer to home, CWT works closely with Habitat for Humanity, which is a great volunteer opportunity to help local families either in your own community or during your travels. I would love to hear of your volunteer experiences.

As mentioned in recent blog posts, CWT is proud to sponsor a home build with Habitat for Humanity in Denver. The construction of the Alvarez home is nearing completion (drywall and exterior painting this week!), and I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you a short video capturing how CWT clients were able to make their mark on the home at CWT’s event at Sports Authority Field at Mile High during the recent Global Business Travel Association convention. I have to say, it was pretty fun to see the family and watch the kids take the field and meet the Broncos mascot. It was an exciting day for all—take a look here.

CWT is looking forward to a continued partnership with Habitat for Humanity, and our employees are excited about making their mark on homes in their local communities.

What are some of your best experiences volunteering in your community? What about during your travels? We’d love to hear them.

CWT celebrated its partnership with Habitat for Humanity last week during the Global Business Travel Association’s (GBTA) conference in Denver, Colo.  Valued sponsors, clients, suppliers, partners and employees were invited to Sports Authority Field at Mile High (formerly Invesco Field at Mile High) to commemorate a local Denver home build sponsored by CWT.

CWT is supporting a Habitat for Humanity home build in Denver as part of a larger corporate responsibility effort focused on creating an impact across North America in the communities in which CWT employees live and work. The Denver home is slated for completion in October. Carlson employees across the country will continue volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in their neighborhoods for the remainder of this year, and beyond.

A portion of the Habitat home was constructed on-site during the event, providing guests with an opportunity to leave lasting remarks on the newly framed walls for the family, who was also in attendance. In addition, guests enjoyed entertainment, food and beverage, photo opportunities and various field events that were put on by Denver Bronco Alumni. A local artist was also present to capture the scene of the evening on canvas, which was presented to the family at the conclusion of the event. 

I’ve been to many a football field, but I’ve never had the opportunity to take the field for an inspirational event quite like this.

Have you volunteered with Habitat for Humanity? Tell us about it.

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) held their annual conference last week in Denver, Colo., which was attended by approximately 6,000 travel industry professionals, including a number of CWT attendees. One attendee offered me the following recap of the conference.

There were numerous education sessions for attendees to choose from that proved of interest to the variety of travel managers and travel buyers in attendance. Some hot topics this year included expense management, financial modeling, direct connect, mobility, online booking tools, strategic meetings management, policy compliance, and safety and security.

Based on the topics covered during the conference, it seems that increasing attention is being given to travel policy: it will continue to be important for business travelers to pay close attention to their company’s travel policy and ensure that they are in compliance. The total cost of travel has increased as air and hotel rates have risen, and companies are looking to optimize their travel programs in an effort to realize cost savings and control spend. Safety and security continues to be a hot topic as well, and is something travelers should pay close attention to. Becoming familiar with your company’s safety and security policies will ensure that you are safe and prepared on the road, and compliance with the policies will help your company locate and assist you in case of emergency.

Finally, with a focus on mobility, travel managers are looking for traveler input as to what types of mobile applications would be of best use as they’re looking for ways to align the most useful applications with their company’s travel programs.

Numerous industry leaders presented at the conference, providing some good insight on the issues that are facing our industry today, which continue to evolve as economics in the United States also evolve. Many of the CWT attendees also presented education sessions during the conference, which included topics such as online booking in Asia Pacific, country-specific trends in Europe, air and hotel sourcing academies, and two sessions on strategic meetings management.

Outside of the education sessions, GBTA hosts a large trade show. Airlines, hotels, rental car companies and other vendors presented the latest products and services they’re making available for travelers and travel managers. At the CWT booth, travel buyers learned more about the services CWT provides to travelers and travel managers, and also heard about the company’s community partnership with Habitat for Humanity. CWT is supporting a Habitat for Humanity home build in Denver as part of a larger corporate responsibility effort focused on creating an impact across North America in the communities in which CWT employees live and work. Various Habitat volunteer projects are also being organized across the country as a part of CWT’s partnership with this great organization.

GBTA’s 2012 conference will take place in Boston. What do you think some of the popular topics will be next year?

Safe Travels!