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Bob Guerriero |
Bob Guerriero Receives Lifetime Achievement AwardSITE Past President Robert J. Guerriero, CITE, was named the recipient of SITE's Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was announced during ceremonies at the Society's International Conference in Lisbon, Portugal. In announcing the award, SITE president Carolyn Dow noted "Bob Guerriero's vision laid the foundation that has allowed both SITE and the incentive travel industry to prosper." Guerriero was one of the founding members of the Society and served as its second president. He founded the Salem, Massachusetts-based incentive company The Journeymasters in 1968, when incentive travel was entering adolescence. His vision and insights into the impact of motivational travel has helped steer both the company and the industry in which it functions to a comfortable maturity. At the Society's formation meeting, Guerriero was selected to the "aims and objectives" committee. Educational programs were quickly identified as a critical need. Guerriero helped launch outreach efforts that many found perplexing -"teaching the competition." Why this approach? "Each time an incentive travel group was poorly managed," he noted, "it reflected on everyone in the industry." By teaching the basics to all those interested, he reasoned, the number of well-managed programs would increase and word would spread about the power of these programs. That educational approach has become a bedrock principle for the Society. Guerriero was well equipped to teach others about the ways of incentive travel. His programs have earned applause from clients and competitors alike. He is the recipient of five Crystal Awards (1983, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989); earning recognition for all facets of program design and delivery. In 1985, he earned the professional certification designation in the incentive industry and added "Certified Incentive Travel Executive" to his list of accomplishments. A graduate of Siena College, Guerriero first made his mark in retailing; with stints at Abraham & Strauss, Hecht Company, and Lit Brothers. In these positions he often dealt with salespeople "motivated" by sales incentive programs. Guerriero remembered this tool when he moved to the position of director of advertising for Shetland-Lewyt Corporation. There, he conceived and instituted one of the first large group incentive travel programs in the US for the top salesmen of the vacuum cleaner and floor polishing company. Guerriero's vision was broad enough to see that group travel was one solution to motivate performance ... but not the only one. He was well ahead of the industry in identifying the need and desire for individual incentive rewards. Once again he forged a path and the industry followed. Guerriero has spread the word about the impact of incentives around the globe. In 1969, Guerriero was named an "honorary citizen" of Venezuela for his efforts at bringing the first large tourist group to Caracas. In 1973 he was designated "Tourist Personality of the Year" in Rio de Janiero for this promotional efforts. He served as the first president of the SITE Foundation, the independent research arm of the Society. His advice is much sought after - he served for seven years on the advisory council of the IT&ME (now The Motivation Show) exhibition and for 10 years on the Las Vegas Corporate & Incentive Travel Council. Guerriero once noted that "Everything has to have a beginning and I believe the recognition of the incentive traveler began with SITE." In presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award to Robert Guerriero, Dow noted that "much of the recognition that the industry and SITE has received began with Bob Guerriero." The SITE Crystal AwardsThe SITE Crystal Awards were established in 1980 as a means to recognize the unique blending of objectives and imagination that enable motivational programs to be successful in achieving business objectives. Motivation programs that delivered their rewards between June 16, 2000 and June 15, 2001 were eligible. Entries were evaluated by an independent panel of judges in the areas of creativity, mechanics, and effectiveness. The judging panel for the 2001 SITE Crystal Awards was composed of individuals well-versed in the field of incentive/motivational travel. SITE members are precluded from serving as judges. Judges evaluating entries were: Barbara Alterman Jeanie Casison Betsy Cummings Andrea Graham Kathleen Moore Marianne Toldalagi |
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