The Lighter Side by Stormy Wall
Spring 2009

A particularly memorable year

Formerly a distinguished member of the hotel sales community, Stormy now serves as Operations Manager for the swanky new Sapphire South Padre, a luxury hi-rise condominium in South Padre Island, Texas.
stormywall@yahoo.com

ONCE UPON A TIME, in the days of the world famous TSAE Annual Convention and Trade Show, there was one particularly memorable year when we all gathered in Dallas at the Anatole Hotel.

I was living in Austin.  Dallas was a great town for meetings and TSAE was my favorite.  The Louis Vuitton would come out and only my best suits would do.  The seminars, speakers, themes, ladies, receptions, exhibits, Saturday night dinner extravaganzas, (did I say ladies?), hospitality suites, and planned nights on the town were simply the benchmark for all other association conventions.  TSAE and its legendary  president (now retired), Marilyn M. Monroe, knew how to hold a convention, but Marilyn was also known for running a very “tight ship.” 

One morning, after having breakfast and attending a few sessions, I had about an hour to kill before the luncheon.  Being an old college swimmer, I always tried to get in a couple of good workouts in during my trips so I hit my room, jumped into some trunks and headed toward the pool.  If you know the Anatole, it’s a hike to the pool. On the way into the pool area I ran into a fellow hotelier, let’s call him Rick, who was leaving with two companions, one male, one female.  Rick, who looked pretty toasty, wearing white sunglasses and carrying a boom box and a mysterious gym bag, was in no condition to run into any of the TSAE staff, especially Marilyn.  He had this very mellow, “cat who swallowed the canary,” smile. 

“Hey, Rick, are you leaving?” I asked.  “Yea, Stormy,” he said, “we’ve been out here partying all night.”  I couldn’t believe it.  Anyway, I told him that I had just seen Marilyn and that he had better use a different route to get back inside the hotel.  “Dude, if Marilyn sees you in this condition, you’re dead.” You see, when you misbehaved at TSAE and Marilyn saw it, you just might hear about it on Monday morning when you got back to work.  Some learned the hard way.  I guess Rick took my advice and found another way to sneak back into the hotel.  I saw him at the reception that evening.  He looked rested and happy so I guess he didn’t get caught and he still had that nice, mellow smile. 

TSAE gave me wonderful educational opportunities and showed me the professionalism that this industry demands.  Thank you, Marilyn and your staff, for setting such high standards for us all.

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