what`s happening

C R E AT I N G
M E M O R I E S
W O R T H
R E P E A T I N G®
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Volume 38; Number 4
March 28, 2014
To Our Dollywood Family
It’s unbelievable that another Dollywood season is under way. I want to thank everyone for the time you’ve devoted to preparing
our Park for its 29th season. Your efforts are visible throughout the Park, and I want to congratulate you on this amazing display of
teamwork and a job well done.
As the 2014 season begins, it’s important that we approach our jobs with our eyes wide open. We want to see every opportunity
to ensure the safety of our Guests and each other. Be diligent about picking up trash and disposing of it to keep our Park clean.
Make sure your work area is clean and orderly.
Just as you have your eyes wide open, I’d like to encourage you to approach this season with your hearts wide open, too. When
we do this, I think we allow ourselves to give more, and in return, we get so much more—not just as a business but as individuals.
Look for opportunities to make emotional connections with our Guests. Offer a kind word, a warm smile and say thank you. Start
each day with your heart wide open to all the joy, thrills, memories and special time together that we offer our Guests. Dollywood is
a one-of-a-kind experience for them because of one reason—and that reason is you!
I offer you my encouragement and support as we kick off this season. We have exactly what it takes to make our Guests Love
Every Moment of every day!
Sincerely,
Gene Scherrer
Vice President/General Manager
Firefighters from fire stations across Tennessee helped form a bucket brigade to assist Dolly in launching FireChaser Express.
Once the brigade filled the bucket and tipped the scale, FireChaser Express raced out of the station with its first riders!
Love every moment
March 28, 2014
1
Celebrating Our Success
We want each Guest to Love Every Moment of their visit to Dollywood. To make this happen, we must focus on keeping
our Guests safe, while also making them feel welcome. We must go the extra mile to make sure they have a great day. When
we do these things, we know we are Creating Memories Worth Repeating. Because these goals are such an important part
of what we do, we make sure to track our success. Hosts have a great opportunity to influence these scores, and we want to
share the measurements with everyone so we can celebrate success. Here are the three measures:
Host Safety - This measures how many injuries have occurred to our Hosts. To keep this number as low as possible, everyone
must be focused on safety. To improve this score, we must have a score lower than the 2013 score.
Friendliness - When Guests visit, we ask them to rate how friendly the service was that they received. In this category, we
look to see how many Guests give us the top rating. To create dedicated fans, we need to provide consistently friendly service.
This score tells us how we are doing, and we want to make sure it stays as high as possible!
NetPromoter - This score tells us how many Guests felt so strongly about their experience at Dollywood that they are willing
to tell others about it. We want to make sure our Guests’ experiences are so positive they want to recommend Dollywood as a
destination to others. We want this score to continue to increase!
Our goal is to keep our Hosts informed, and we look forward to celebrating our scores. Each month, if a 2014 score is better
than a 2013 score, we will give away a $50 prize for that measure. These scores apply to Dollywood, Dollywood’s Splash
Country and Dollywood Cabins. If there is a score improvement, every active Host at the appropriate property is entered in
the $50 drawing for that month. Hosts working in all areas are eligible. A Host is disqualified from winning the prize if he or
she has received a disciplinary action, Guest complaint, have a no call/no show or a preventable injury. We look forward to
celebrating our successes this season.
Dollywood Guests are greeted with a magnificent new entrance, including a beautiful new marquee on Showstreet Palace
Theater, as well as the Dollywood logo displayed prominently in the beautiful landscaping. The inlaid stainless steel butterfly logo
also is featured in the intricate concrete work. Thanks to everyone who played a role in creating this dazzling new entrance for
our Guests! To keep the inlaid butterfly in pristine condition, please do not drive on it at any time. We want to make sure it stays
in perfect shape for years to come!
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Love every moment
Opportunity
OUTLOOK
Welcome
Ashley Parker joins Marketing as
Group Sales Assistant. She most
recently worked at The Thomas
Group.
Congratulations
Sabrina Canter is Landscape Senior
Team Lead. Sabrina brings experience
from her work at the Norfolk
Botanical Gardens in Virginia and
Legoland in Carlsbad, Calif.
Ray Deskins was promoted to
House & Grounds Senior Team Lead
after seven seasons of experience
including Safety Trainer and Team
Lead for multiple attractions.
Tyler Haynes was promoted to
Supervisor of IT Operations. In his
new role, Tyler provides first-tier
leadership for IT.
Kathy Self brings 30 years of
experience with The Dollywood
Company to her new position as
Landscape Team Lead.
this ‘n’ that
Mobile Mammogram Unit Visits April 23
UT Medical Center’s Mobile Mammography Unit will be at Dollywood on
Wednesday, April 23, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments are required. Check the
Yellow Board for more details. To schedule an appointment, please call the UT
Breast Health Outreach Program at (865) 305-9753.
Inlaid Butterfly—Drive with Care
To avoid permanent damage, it is important that vehicles (including equipment
and golf carts) avoid driving across the new butterfly inlaid in the concrete in
front of Showstreet Palace Theater. This may require altering work routes to avoid
this area. Your diligence is much appreciated and will help preserve our new and
improved Park entrance for years to come.
Congratulations
To the LumberJack’s Pizza team for establishing record-breaking sales on
Monday, March 24.
Rehire Host Processing
Any returning Hosts who missed their scheduled Rehire Processing and Annual Update
must complete the steps listed below before you can begin working this season. To
ensure that you arrive at your work location on time on your first day, please complete
these three steps a few days before your work start date.
• Call (865) 428-9416 to schedule a wardrobe fitting appointment and visit Wardrobe
at your scheduled time.
• Visit Safety for interview and clearance to work. • Visit Human Resources to process-in for the 2014 season and
receive your hang tag, complimentary tickets, ID card and activation instructions. Once you have cleared Safety and Human Resources, you may begin work for the
2014 season.
Marie Widener, a 29-year Dollywood
Host, was promoted to Landscape
Team Lead.
David Williams is Team Lead and
responsible for Dollywood’s Splash
Country’s daily landscape needs.
Congratulations to the Foods Team! Jimmy Long, John (Noni) Guzzetta and the whole
Sweet Shoppe Ice Cream Team sold more than 500 mugs on Sneak Preview Day! Wow!
Our Season Passholders know that our mug deal is a great value, and this team did a
great job selling a record number of mugs!
March 28, 2014
3
With fireworks and much fanfare, FireChaser Express
launches from Fire Station No. 7 in Dollywood’s Wilderness
Pass during Media Day on Friday, March 21.
Dolly was decked out in her finest firefighting attire to help
launch FireChaser Express during Grand Opening on Friday,
March 21.
Dolly took to the stage of La Danza de Colombia during her
busy grand opening weekend at Dollywood! The audience was
delighted to see Dolly and gave her a fantastic ovation.
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Love every moment
Dolly joined the cast of Mother Africa on Saturday, March
22. The spectacular show features an amazing combination
of music, dance, rhythm and acrobatics in an amazing splash
of color!
Creating Winning Moments!
When we take care of our Guests and Create Memories
Worth Repeating, we all win! We feel good about the job
we have done, and our Guests have a better day because of
those moments. We love celebrating these winning moments
with you, our Hosts. If someone sees you doing a great job
taking care of our Guests by being extra friendly and helpful,
being proactive about safety or being a great team player,
you may receive a Red Ribbon! This is just one way we say
“thank you” and help celebrate your winning moment. Bring
your Red Ribbon to Human Resources, and you can enter a
monthly prize drawing.
There are some Hosts who leave an extra special impression
on our Guests and other Hosts. Every month, each team
selects the best Guest letter or Host nomination and
celebrates these special Hosts as Blue Ribbon winners. Blue
Ribbon winners are notified with an invitation to a special
Blue Ribbon Luncheon to celebrate. Winners receive a
delicious lunch, $100, a pin and certificate.
The most special Blue Ribbon winners are selected and
their stories are shared in What’s Happening as our Grand
Champions to demonstrate how our Hosts help our Guests
Love Every Moment.
We know all of our Hosts share great acts of kindness every
day. We also know our Hosts work hard to keep our Guests
safe, even if it means gently telling a Guest “no.” To celebrate
the friendliness and hard work of our Hosts, we have special
Host events throughout the season to deliver a smile and
thank you to our Hosts. Look for our first Host event on
Tuesday, April 22, to celebrate FireChaser Express.
Ways to Create Winning Moments:
Take photos
Give directions
Share suggestions
Replace spilled food and/or drinks for free
Be safe
Asks Guests about their day
Answer questions and help find assistance
Help keep the park clean- pick up trash
Helping Our Guests Love Every Moment
When we say March Madness at Dollywood, we think about the last-minute scramble to make sure the Park is ready to open
for the season. Each of us moves in high gear to make sure everything is in place and new systems are ready to operate. But
for everyone else, March Madness is all about the NCAA basketball tournament. College teams fiercely compete for the title
through a number of incredible basketball games. At the conclusion of the tournament, CBS produces a music video with the
song One Shining Moment. This video highlights many of the tournament’s best plays and most important moments. Players
hope their team can succeed and have their moments captured in the famous video. As our Guests play out their days at
Dollywood, we are the team to help them succeed. Our actions can make or break their experience. We may have to make a
miracle shot by answering a Guest’s question, or we may make the best defensive play by standing by our safety standards.
Let’s remember we want to give our best to help our Guests Love Every Moment of their visit, and when they go home and
replay their Memories Worth Repeating highlight reel, it is the fast, friendly and empowered service of our Hosts that will
make their cut. Every Guest should have a One Shining Moment highlight reel from their visit. We want it to be filled with
Memories Worth Repeating, and we hope it is full of great plays by our Hosts.
Letter of thanks to Share It Forward and all SIF Donors
It took me a while to submit this letter of gratitude. I guess I was a bit at a loss for words. When I initially did my training,
I was informed about Share It Forward. Although I knew I would not be making millions, I knew $10 would be enough
to share. I never thought I would be submitting an application for assistance for myself. Last year we had continuous rain
here in our area, and my home received some damage. I did everything I could to take care of it on my own. I am so use
to helping others and figuring this out on my own. This time someone asked me “Did you apply for Share It Forward?” I
responded with a simple “no.” I thought about it for a week and decided why not? It wouldn’t hurt to try. When I received
the call from our Share It Forward Coordinator, she surely put my mind at ease. Her pleasant and friendly demeanor made
me finally relax. After submission, she called back and gave me the good news. I was so overjoyed, I called my dad crying.
Thank you for taking the time out to assist my family and me in such a time of need.
Submitted by a thankful Share It Forward recipient
March 28, 2014
5
Get Your Guide On!
Our goal should always be to answer our Guests’ questions as quickly as possible.
Answering questions quickly helps our Guests Love Every Moment of their stay. Our
quick and informative answers show we care. With this in mind, we ask every Host
to please “Get Your Guide On!” Your Host Reference Guide should be carried with
you every day. This guide is packed with relevant and current information to help
you answer Guests’ questions. If you didn’t pick up your guide at the Annual Update,
extras are available in the Human Resources office.
With the “Get Your Guide On Challenge,” you could win a free meal! Each week
we’ll have the “Get Your Guide On” crew looking for knowledgeable Hosts ready to
answer questions. If you are caught with your Host Reference Guide and can answer
a random question within 30 seconds, you’ll win a free lunch certificate for a Host
Lounge meal.
SAFE Y
Matters
Ride
Accessibility
Center
Dollywood’s Ride Accessibility
Center (RAC) helps Guests with
disabilities determine the rides
and attractions in which they can
participate. The RAC is located in
Adventures in Imagination between
the Season Pass Exchange Center
and the entrance to Dreamsong
Theater. It is staffed one hour
before Park opening and closes one
hour before Park closing. Guests
with disabilities planning to access
any ride by using the ADA entrance
must first obtain a Ride Accessibility
card from the RAC. Any Guest
who has a partially or completely
amputated limb must visit the RAC
and obtain a card prior to riding
any ride. If you encounter a Guest
who has questions about ride
accessibility, please refer them to
the RAC.
Guests check out the International Food Map which displays the locations of the
Festival of Nations food items available throughout the Park. Thanks to the Foods
team for creating an amazing selection of international foods.
Healthy Living TIPS from
Be healthy, Be Happy Tips from Humana
Humana’s dream is to help people achieve lifelong
wellbeing, and we want Dollywood Hosts to live happily
and enjoy good health, so we offer these health tips. For
more healthy living tips, go to humana.com/resources/
healthy_living/wellness_tips.
Be Healthy
Keeping yourself healthy is a stepping-stone on your
road to happiness. Be healthy by:
• eating nutritious foods—make fruit a part of your
daily diet;
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Love every moment
• staying physically active—if you can’t get to the gym,
•
•
even walking for 10 minutes in the park, around the
neighborhood or at the mall is great for you;
keeping a healthy weight—watch your portion size
and stop eating when you feel full;
getting plenty of rest—try not to eat a big meal
too close to when you plan to sleep; it could keep
you up.
Corporate
Birthdays
March 29
March 30
March 31
April 1
April 2
April 3
April 4
April 5
April 6
April 7
April 8
April 9
April 10
April 11
Chantel Beckman
Dennis Fuller
Lauren McKinzey
Tammy Ledbetter
Ashley Cody
Brenda Austin
Elfriede Hart
Jamie Banks
Joseph McBrien
Remona Jumper
Stephanie Serago
Anita Pazourek
Bobbie Boyle
Charlene Masterson
Jeanne Kyker
Lea Girard
Matthew Whiteley
Angela Clark
Caitlin Jewell
Jada Andersen
Pat Harris
Tina Whaley
Chester McCollum
Crystal Hensley
Kirk Emert
Marie Grund
Richard Brumfield
Sharon Peffers
Charles Belcher
Joey Bird
Lindsey Hockenbury
Wendell Hilderman
Patrick Johnson
Jordan Huff
Sharon Baker
Aaron Johnson
Andrea Carver
Bob Rundell
Cole Burns
Daryl Edgerton
Joe Boise Jr
Johnnie Crawford
Kathy Vance
Al Cunningham III
Brian Simerly
Curtis Munsey
Ellen Ramsey
Erin Ramsey
Gillis Lambert
Kris Hull
Ronnie Darrow
Trey Chinn
Walter Bohanan
William Morrow
Daniel Dodson
Corporate
Anniversaries
Operations
HR
Operations
Foods
Operations
Foods
Merchandise
DWC
Operations
Operations
Operations
Operations
Operations
Finance
Safety
Marketing
Operations
Operations
Foods
Entertainment
Operations
Merchandise
Construction
Merchandise
Merchandise
Foods
Operations
Operations
M&C
M&C
Operations
Operations
M&C
Operations
Foods
Safety
Operations
M&C
Foods
Foods
Operations
Entertainment
Foods
M&C
Construction
HR
Marketing
Marketing
M&C
DSC
Construction
Operations
M&C
Operations
Operations
Years of
Department DateService
Carolyn Ladd
Foods
Mar 29 7
Frederick Wood Foods
Mar 29 3
Patricia Lyons
Foods
Mar 29 2
Dolly Yerger
Foods
Mar 29 11
Deborah Finn
Foods
Mar 29 3
James Post
Foods
Mar 29 3
Billy Buckner
Foods
Mar 29 6
Kathleen Hooker Operations
Mar 29 12
Jimmie Baity
Entertainment Mar 29 3
Nancy Johnson
Merchandise Mar 29 7
Priscilla Goode
Merchandise Mar 29 1
Charley LeClair
Merchandise Mar 29 7
Rachel Jones
Merchandise Mar 29 12
Barbara Baity
HR Mar 29 3
Kathie Cox
Operations
Mar 29 8
Laura Hurley
DWC
Mar 29 3
Darlene Ray
Security Mar 30 18
Caitlin Jewell
Foods
Mar 30 1
Daryl Edgerton
Foods
Mar 30 4
Robert Greene
Foods
Mar 30 4
Karen Guzzetta Foods
Mar 30 4
Jennifer Campbell Foods
Mar 30 1
Alisha Stiltner
Foods
Mar 30 2
Jessica Coffey
Foods
Mar 30 8
RuthAnn Williams Foods
Mar 30 8
Andrew Walker Foods
Mar 30 1
Ivan Tote
Foods
Mar 30 4
Renee Williams
Operations
Mar 30 6
Mary Gerow
Operations
Mar 30 3
Randy Parton
Entertainment Mar 30 1
Sylvia Gilliard
Merchandise Mar 30 8
John Fuller
Merchandise Mar 30 22
Steve Culmer
M&C
Mar 30 4
Nathaniel Hawk Operations
Mar 30 7
Eric Etherton
Safety Mar 31 16
Brent Shults
Safety Mar 31 5
Jamie Fordham
Foods
Mar 31 15
James Long
Foods
Mar 31 8
Karen Poisson
Foods
Mar 31 8
Patricia Chapman Foods
Mar 31 2
Claire Cowan
Foods
Mar 31 9
Stephanie Taylor Foods
Mar 31 2
Susan Suminski
Foods
Mar 31 5
Joseph Suminski Foods
Mar 31 5
Teresa Horens
Foods
Mar 31 8
Louis Horens Jr
Foods
Mar 31 8
Donna Long
Foods
Mar 31 8
Clarsie Ottinger Foods
Mar 31 3
Heather Morey
Operations
Mar 31 7
Mark Heatherly Entertainment Mar 31 28
Sylvia McCluney Merchandise Mar 31 22
Charlie Russell
Merchandise Mar 31 15
James Rucker
Merchandise Mar 31 3
Jimmy Spruill
Merchandise Mar 31 2
Terry Hayden
Operations
Mar 31 8
Lea Girard
Marketing Mar 31 11
Howard Rimmer DWC
Mar 31 4
Al Jenkins
Safety Apr 1
12
Tammy Ledbetter Foods
Apr 1
12
Art Putt
Foods
Janet Putt
Foods
Maxwell Maxwell Operations
Robert Likes
Operations
Michael Brooks
Operations
Lee Gray Jr
Administration
Carrie Scott
Foods
Mary Eddington Foods
Dennye Aden
Foods
Esther Ivy
Foods
Thomas Timmons Foods
Claude Galyon
Operations
Velma Culpepper Operations
Bonnie Francis
Entertainment Joan Taylor
Merchandise
Betty Rowe
HR
Dixie Busby
Finance John Federenko M&C
Joey Bird
M&C
Vicki Abbott
Marketing Brandon Coppock Foods
Tristen Canada
Foods
Matthew Patterson Foods
Diane Wright
Foods
Thomas Broadbent Operations
Victor Kutz
Operations
Kenneth Tracy
Merchandise
Slim Rester Jr
Merchandise
Barry Stiltner
M&C
Ed Ambro
Operations
Steven Michi
Operations
Andrea Fontana Operations
Danny McKinney Safety John Click
Foods
Patricia Dean
Foods
Ronald Sommerville Sr Foods
Jerry Brooks
Foods
Janet Eller
Foods
Kay Wilson
Foods
Ann White
Foods
Paul Ellenburg
Foods
Melba Hale
Foods
Ernest Rich Sr
Foods
Frances Robinson Operations
Lisa Rosenbalm
Operations
Phil Tipton
Entertainment Joyce Welsh
Merchandise
Susan Click
Merchandise
Mary Quirk
HR
Chester McCollum Construction Tammy Glissen
Marketing Danielle Ferrante Marketing Connie Prince
Foods
Shirley Lillard
Foods
Joe Lindsey
Foods
Fabi Bortolon Operations
Melinda Kilgore Operations
Crystal Hensley
Merchandise
Janice Trentham Construction Richard Wolf Jr
Foods
Katherine Broomhead Foods
David Wilson
Foods
Marvis Gonzalez Operations
Apr 1
Apr 1
Apr 1
Apr 1
Apr 1
Apr 2
Apr 2
Apr 2
Apr 2
Apr 2
Apr 2
Apr 2
Apr 2
Apr 2
Apr 2
Apr 2
Apr 2
Apr 2
Apr 2
Apr 2
Apr 3
Apr 3
Apr 3
Apr 3
Apr 3
Apr 3
Apr 3
Apr 3
Apr 3
Apr 3
Apr 3
Apr 3
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 4
Apr 5
Apr 5
Apr 5
Apr 5
Apr 5
Apr 5
Apr 5
Apr 6
Apr 6
Apr 6
Apr 6
6
6
9
2
6
8
10
10
3
1
2
7
7
21
2
11
7
7
24
11
1
1
1
1
8
1
6
8
17
6
1
25
14
2
7
7
2
7
2
2
7
2
2
7
2
13
11
2
14
30
20
11
11
8
20
4
3
8
32
1
5
1
9
Continued on page 8
March 28, 2014
7
Corporate
Anniversaries
Brenda Ray
Renata Beckwith
Joe Boise Jr
Darlene Russell
Jeanette Russell
Tyler Haynes
David Rafferty
Jack Anthony
Jana Farley
Nora Fussell
Cassie Hite
Gaylon Williams
Chris Enyart
Operations
Operations
Operations
Operations
Merchandise
Finance Operations
Construction Foods
Foods
Operations
Merchandise
M&C
Apr 6
Apr 6
Apr 6
Apr 6
Apr 6
Apr 6
Apr 6
Apr 6
Apr 7
Apr 7
Apr 7
Apr 7
Apr 7
1
9
4
22
20
13
9
32
10
10
2
10
5
Butch Fair
Security Barbara Geitner Foods
Teresa McGuire
Foods
Harold Pearson
Foods
Charlene Masterson Finance Debra Winterrowd Operations
Elizabeth Schnur Operations
Toni Nelson
Merchandise
David Haworth
Merchandise
Amberly Miller
Merchandise
Esmerenciana Myers Finance Mike Smiley
M&C
Michelle Dillon
Administration
Betty Hall
Foods
John Guzzetta
Foods
Charles Dawkins Foods
Kimberly Hill
Foods
Apr 8
Apr 8
Apr 8
Apr 8
Apr 8
Apr 9
Apr 9
Apr 9
Apr 9
Apr 9
Apr 9
Apr 9
Apr 10
Apr 10
Apr 10
Apr 10
Apr 10
6
15
6
9
15
11
7
24
2
2
2
23
21
6
4
1
1
Stephen Heisler
Alfreda Hooper
Steve Schettini
Eddie Wilson
Edward Conklin
Chipper Bird
Ray Thibault
James Carr
Judith Ziemianski
Carol Krol
Madison Stephenson
Marian Pruitt
Niccetta Monteleone
Ty Hodge
Jay O’Connell
Karen O’Connell
Foods
Operations
Operations
Entertainment Merchandise
HR
DSC
Security Foods
Foods
Foods
Operations
Merchandise
M&C
M&C
M&C
Apr 10
Apr 10
Apr 10
Apr 10
Apr 10
Apr 10
Apr 10
Apr 11
Apr 11
Apr 11
Apr 11
Apr 11
Apr 11
Apr 11
Apr 11
Apr 11
1
1
6
19
1
24
1
22
2
2
5
24
2
22
22
22
This list reflects the Host’s current team.
HealthJunction
by Dollywood Health Advocate Nurse
I’d like to invite you to join me for a focused and facinating look at the
historical and spiritual roots of our spring celebrations of Easter and Passover.
The common elements may surprise you. This presentation will provide a sight,
sound, touch, smell, taste and thought experience.
Come share in this special learning experience on Friday, April 11, at 7 p.m. in
the Legacy & Learning Center. You may register by e-mailing me at amurphy@
dollywood.com, calling (865) 429-9712, or using the sign-up sheet on the bulletin
board in the Health Advocate Nurse office.
Alisa Murphy
Health Advocate Nurse
Amusement Team Lead Jonathan Stokely assists season passholders as they enjoy Plinko during an exclusive passholder event at
FireChaser Express on Thursday, March 20.
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Love every moment