This year, Sunrider’s two-week cruise around the Mediterranean was a dream come true for many of our IBOs and for Dr. Chen himself. Over 800 IBOs from Canada, Western Europe, Hungary, Israel, Russia, and the United States went on this once-in-a-lifetime event. Prior to boarding, many IBOs took a tour of Rome’s incredible monuments—the Colisseum, the Circus Maximus, Vatican, and Sistine Chapel—and did some brand-name shopping near the Spanish Steps.
On Tuesday, May 18, Sunriders began a 12-day journey to some of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring places in the world. Ports of call included the following destinations:
- Sorrento, Italy, to enjoy the beautiful isle of Capri and the ancient ruins of Pompeii.
- Athens, Greece, home of the Parthenon, located atop the most famous Acropolis in the world.
- Rhodes, Greece, a Greek island with beautiful beaches and the acropolis of Lindos.
- Ephesus, Turkey, an important Biblical site with famous ruins such as the Library of Celsus.
- Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt—a fulfillment of Dr. Chen’s dream to see the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Giza, the only wonder of the ancient world still in existence.
- Messina (Sicily), Italy, to tour the lovely town of Taormina, also known for its delicious gelato.
Fun and business always go together with Sunrider, and the meetings during the days at sea were equally inspiring. For the opening general sessions, Dr. Chen, Mrs. Chen, and top Business Leaders discussed new products, how to promote products, and their success stories. IBOs were particularly motivated by the advice received from top business builders during the Leadership Meeting. At the compensation plan meetings, Dr. Chen, Mrs. Chen, and leaders discussed the incredible benefits of the new compensation plan and price list. IBOs really enjoyed having open access to the Chens and top leaders at the meetings and throughout the trip.
The second generation of Sunrider also presented informative workshops and were involved during the entire cruise. Wendy Teng held a workshop about the new marketing tools, and she gave every Independent Business Owner a copy of the new Sunrider Simply the Best® brochure. John Teng unveiled the new Opportunity Meeting Presentation during his meeting and gave tips on how to hold a product fair. In addition to speaking at the general sessions and discussing business and products with IBOs throughout the cruise, Sunny Beutler, Jonathan Beutler, Jonathan Chen (who recently started working in Sunrider’s IT department), and Chelsea Chen provided a lot of important behind-the-scenes support for the cruise. They took photographs for our SunWriter World Magazine, provided set-up and IT support for each meeting, and participated in the workshops.
The most fun workshops were the two Kandesn® workshops held by Julie McLewee, Kandesn® marketing manager. Participants learned how to make Kandesn® an important part of their Sunrider business and tested exciting, new Kandesn® Color Cosmetics.
But the most special meeting was Dr. Chen’s New Product Workshop, where Dr. Chen shared his passion for Sunrider® products and the future of Sunrider. “We have a gold mine with Sunrider, and we need to share, share, share!”
At the end of this exhilarating cruise, we heard many IBOs say, “I can’t wait to get home and start working!”
Wendy Teng
