I chose Medieval Times for commercial leisure service because I enjoy this type of professional leisure services, and I think Medieval Times can provide an exciting and unique experience. Medieval Times is the one of the most popular dinner attractions in U.S. Medieval Times boasts enormous 11th-century-style castles. The environment brings the guests to the era of knights and princess as the thrilling competition between knights captures the imaginations of all ages. The exciting show is combined with scrumptious feast that a king would enjoy during the early years.
The first Medieval Times castle opened in Majorca, Spain, in 1973. Medieval Times is privately held and headquartered in Irving, Texas. Now, they currently have nine castles across U.S. and there is one in Schaumburg, IL. Every guest is seated in particular color-coded section to cheer for the knight that represents the same color. Each knight competes for the attention of the princess as they are tested for their ability to rescue the prince who is taken prisoner. The tournament includes horsemanship displays, contests, jousting, and intense hand-to-hand battles with various gruesome weapons such as axes, swords, and spears. In addition, the festival is joined with an appetizing four-course feast as royal families and guests would enjoy back in the 11th century.
In order to offer the best experience, the castles employ more than 2,000 full and part-time professionals to organize the Hollywood-like performances and to provide excellent service. Medieval Times is always looking to progress and welcomes any individual who is willing to contribute to improvement. Employment opportunities include knights/squires, show cast, servers, merchandising/retail and photographers. Individuals wanting to join the dynamic and fun atmosphere should contact for more information at 1-866-543-9637 or email at iljobs@medievaltimes.com.
Many cities focus on developing or improving the areas of commercial leisure because of all the possible benefits. Aside from the economic gain, it will greatly impact the quality of the environment that will satisfy both visitors and residents. Current statistics show that people enjoy outside activities a lot more than before, and many of them look for new ways to enjoy their leisure time. In accordance with the demands, it is necessary to provide more options for leisure activities. Medieval Times is able to fully meet these demands. Medieval Times also provide outstanding customer service to allow each guest to have a relaxing and exciting time. The entertainment can take everyone’s mind off of things that are bothering them and help to relieve stress.
Overall, my experience at Medieval Times was great. Medieval Times is a place for birthday parties or special outings. The place is for all ages and genders. They give very professional shows and have many staffs. I think there are many pros working at Medieval Times such as constructing a fun and energetic atmosphere. Also, the actors can get a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment after the show is over. However, the jobs can be stressful before and during the show since the show is live and it is presented in front of many people. In addition, there are some dangerous action scenes such as falling off the horse, racing on the horse, sword fighting and so on, which can bring the possibilities of injury. Therefore, the actors need to be well trained to do the parts. However, in my opinion, working at Medieval Times has more pros than cons. They have a wide variety of job opportunities that fits one’s personality. Overall, Medieval Times is a great leisure delivery service because it is a local attraction not only for the residents but also for the visitors of all ages, and it provides a unique leisure time which is one of the purposes for the leisure.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Nonprofit Organization (YMCA): By Quentin Ayukesong
The Campanelli YMCA of Schaumbrug is a nonprofit organization, based on the goal of improving the communities that surround the Campanelli location. In order to join the membership program for the YMCA, there is a fee to be paid, which sometimes can be expensive, but is mainly to maintain the health equipment and provide service to others not capable of afforiding such services. The Campanelli YMCA has been a very beneficial service and investment for individuals in the town of Schaumburg and surrounding communities. Not only do they take great emphasis on being healthy to live a long life, but they as well contribute much to providing a safe and nurturing environment for individuals and families.
The YMCA in Schaumburg officially began May 22, 1968, when the Elgin YMCA chartered the Twinbrook Branch YMCA offering programs out of rented office space in central Schaumburg. In 1975, a YMCA multipurpose program building opened on Wise Road.and remained the central point of YMCA programs until 1983 when the the Twinbrook branch broke away from Elgin and began an independent YMCA. Over the next several years, the Twinbrook YMCA Board of Diretors raised funds to build a full facility YMCA with 6-lane pool, gymnasium, weight room, and locker rooms. This new addition opened in 1987 and served the community until 2000 when Schaumburg developer, Alfred Campanelli, donated $3.85 million for a new field house. State legislators Terry Parke, Doris Karpiel, and Kay Wojcik were successful in providing $1.1 million for a senior/teen center and preschool. The Board renamed the Twinbrook YMCA, Alfred Campanelli YMCA. After months of construction, the Alfred Campanelli YMCA opened its new facilities in September 2002. Today, the YMCA serves over 5000 members and thousands of program members each year. The YMCA operates it programs in ten area schools, the Zurich Towers, and at the main campus on Wise Road (YMCA Campanelli cite).
For the Campanelli YMCA there are many opportunities for an individual to participate in when wanting to work. Whether you choose to be an athletic trainer, lifeguard, desk helper, or even to participate in day care programs many are beneficial and are highly looked upon. Personally, I chose to coach Basketball. I assisted before on the main floor, teaching individuals proper weight lifting skills, but later moved on to coaching. I can truly say that it was one of the best experiences of my life. I gained personal satisfaction knowing that I played a large role in children's lives. Two days a week for three hours a day I would help teach children my favorite game, basketball. Seeing the improvement they made in such a short time was more than I could have asked for. Everyday with a smiling face they came to me saying Coach Q, most definitely it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
Currently the trends for the nonprofit organizations have been quite stable, with the exception of new situations since the drop of the economy. Many people are now deciding to focus their extra curricular time on staying healthy and leading a new life. In some economies, which are primarily known for not having a developed economy rates of participation in the YMCA has decreased severeley. Besisdes from paying to be a member of the YMCA, the demand to work for the organiztation has increased quite a bit. Individuals are now aware of the good pay and benefits for working at the YMCA.
The Campanelli YMCA's mission is to to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind, and body for all. This includes improving the general concept of family and self. It encourages the belief that all are important and the value of maintaining a strong community.
The benefit of joining the YMCA is a great one. Helping improve the minds and bodies of other individuals should always be a great personal achievement. The time I spent with the YMCA was very valuable. The time spent helping kids grow was a great experience, once again. WIth a career in the YMCA organization you can branch to many other athletic and business organizations. It is a great stepping stone to achieving other professions. Even if you are not looking for an advancement to another organization, it is a great place to stay and grow into a better citizen.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Private Leisure Service: Country Club By Jennifer Kirk
Oak Park Country Club (OPCC) is located in Forest Park, Illinois. It is a private country club in which you have to apply to be a member. The membership process involves getting sponsors who are already members and then a committee reviews your application to see if you are the type of member the club is looking for.
Oak Park Country Club was established in 1914. It is in Forest Park, Illinois. There are two types of members that exist: social and regular members. Social members can only use the pool, the tennis courts, skeet shooting and the clubhouse amenities. Whereas regular members can use all of the social membership amenities as well as the golfing privileges. It was created since there were no golfing courses that were very close to the suburbs of Oak Park and River Forest. Since these are two very affluent communities the country club had lots of success in attracting members.
There are many employment opportunities at the OPCC. They range from being a hostess in the clubhouse to a working in the tennis pro shop setting up activities for the younger children in tennis lessons. Other employment opportunities include working in the golf bag room, golf pro shop and in the golf bag room. Also a nice accommodation that the club has for its employees is employee day. This is every Monday when the club is closed to members and all of the club accommodations are available for use by the employees. To apply for jobs you should go the clubhouse and go the front desk and fill out an application for whichever job you are interested in.
Privatization of leisure started to become more popular in the 1980s. However country clubs have been a popular form of private leisure since before colonization of America. Privatization became most popular when the government started cutting back on funding of leisure services. Now with the weak American economy, many members of private country clubs are realizing that they can no longer afford to remain members.
The OPCC's definition of leisure says that they want to try and accommodate the members to the best of their ability. They want the members to feel relaxed and at home. They also like providing events for the members so that they can be social with other members.
Overall I thought that my experience at the OPCC was a good one. It is place that treats its members and its employees well. Not only are the employees paid well but they also get to experience the benefits that the members have. Also since OPCC is such a large country club there are many opportunities to get a job there. Some cons are that some of the hours of some for some of the jobs are not that desirable. For instance the earliest tee time is at 6:00 am therefore caddies with the morning shift have to be there by 5:15am. However these are not their everyday hours, which is nice for the caddies. In conclusion working at the OPCC would be a wonderful opportunity.
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