Grand Traverse Resort Village Memories

Today, I was mowing the yard, listening to my iPod Shuffle, and a song came on that made me think of my days working as a clean-up crew person in the banquet department at the Grand Traverse Resort.

The song, "I Love You," is a cool tune, but the first time I heard it was when I was helping clean-up a banquet room following an event. The song was piped through the sound system. This being 1988, I couldn't just run home and check out the song on the Internet, so it took me some effort to find out the song. It was a hit for the Climax Blues Band in the '70s.

Anyway, this post is not about the song, it's about great memories. I started working at "the Resort" in 1988 in the banquet department. After a year as a clean-up crew member, I became a banquet houseman, which means I set-up the events. It was a fun job, but after two years, I moved on. I became a banquet bar runner, which meant I would set up portable bars for the banquet bartenders and keep them stocked throughout the night's parties. We usually had anywhere from 10-15 banquet bars open, so it was a fun job. Eventually, that led to work as a bartender in both the banquet department and at the outdoor Pool Bar, which I actually managed for a couple of summers.

I really enjoyed my experiences there at the Resort -- as an employee.

As a professional, I've been to a few conferences at the Resort, as well. It's always really cool because I can "guide" people around the Resort pretty well and give them directions and all that kind of stuff. If they want a good meal, I can point them in the right direction.

More than just the Resort, I like the Traverse City area. It's a great place!