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Show Inside: & Dtn.ng Lodging Gu.oe Thursday, December 19, 2002 A Christmas 5toiy of Support and Generosity 6pread it around, and everyone is happier By Suzanne Wanner Columnist for Catalyut magazine My uncle Phillip had a childrens clothing business in Russia when the USSR had just opened the country to foreign corporations, at the same time as the Bosnian War. He speaks Russian fluently and routinely traveled to Russia to bring childrens clothing and things that the store might need, such as uniforms for the workers and interesting things for the store w indows. On his return trips from Moscow, he regularly flew into Frankfurt, Germany. He w ould spend the night at his favorite hotel and leave, the next day for New York. He looked forward to a long hot shower and a robust meal in Frankfurt after dealing with the food shortages that plagued Russia at the time. On this particular trip, Phillip arrived in Frankfurt three days before Christmas and w ent to the hotel. The front desk told him they were having major plumbing problems and there was no water for showers. They apologized profusely and told him they were willing to transfer his reservation to another hotel, but if he stayed the food was on the house. My uncle hadnt had a bath for a week in Russia anyway, so whats one more day? He decided to stay. He had the bellman take his luggage to his room and bring 10 bottles of bottled water up so he could take a sponge bath that evening. Philip went into the dining room, and noticed an elderly man wearing an black suit sitting at a table, not eatHe looked at my uncle as he came in, ing. and my uncle smiled at him. The man seemed uncomfortable, not sure what to do. My uncle noticed twg ancient suitcases next to the wall, held closed with ill-fitti- tied-to-geth- er rags. From all his years of traveling, my uncle is a gregarious, personable person, willing to talk to everyone. Phillip approached the man and tried speaking to him in his broken German. The man didnt respond. Then he tried English. That didnt work either. Finally he tried Russian, and the mans face lit up in recognition. He could speak in heavily accented Russian. The man was from Bosnia, the last survivor from his entire family line. He watched his wife and children die, and all his neighbors were also dead. His home had been destroyed by fire. All he had left was in those two suitcases. He had sold everything else to buy a plane ticket to Argentina to go live with a distant cousin. He had made it as far as Frankfurt, only to discover the flight to Argentina was three weeks away. He was completely out of money and hadnt eaten in two days. The hotel w as nice enough to allow him to 6tay, because they didnt have any guests while the water was out. My uncle immediately asked the waiter to bring the man anything he wanted to eat. As the story came out of the man, my uncle was determined to find a way to get this man to Argentina sooner. After they had both eaten, My uncle took him to the Lufthansa Airlines counter at the airport. There he challenged the airline to get him an earlier flight. The agent looked at my uncle incredulously - three days before Christmas, it would be impossible to find a flight with Beats available. My uncle responded that what this man had lived through was truly impos sible, and changing a ticket w as easy in comparison. This man needed to get to his only remaining family as soon as possible. My uncle can be very forceful After three hours of negotiation, w ith airline higher-up- s trying to convince my uncle of the impossibility of granting w hat he asked, one manager decided, out of the goodness of his heart, to give this Bosnian man a first-clas- s ticket to Argentina on Christmas Day. My uncle was so happy. But then the manager asked my unde if this man from Bosnia had a visa to enter Argentina. My uncle turned and asked, only to find out that the Bosnian did not! New problem. So my uncle got the Argentinian consulate in Bonn on the phone with the airline. He explained what was happening, and they said that they could fax the information to Bonn from the airport. But the visa could only be issued from Argentina. Someone had to take the information to the Consulate in Argentina and then bring it back to Frankuirt. Now the airline came to the rescue. They offered one of their stewardesses to take the paperwork to the Argen- tinian Consulate and then return it to Frankfurt. She would fly out that day and return the following day The problem suddenly seemed to be handled. My uncle breathed a sigh of relief. Next, w here was this Bosnian man to stay while waiting for the visa? He didnt speak German; the Germans didnt speak much Russian. The Lufthansa agent smiled and gently told my uncle he could stay with her family. My uncle translated for the Bosnian man that he was fa stick to the agent like glue, that he was to go home with her and she would make sure he got on the plane. Everyone was all smiles and full of good cheer for the holidays with the good deed that was happening among all of them. It was as if the angels were helping all the pieces come together for this man to have a small miracle Christmas. My uncle and the Bosnian man hugged, and my uncle opened up his wallet and handed the man $1,000. The man was shocked and tried to refuse the money. But my uncle was insistent. The man had to totally start his life over, and he was going to need some money to get started. My uncle explained that his business in Russia had done well, and that the money was a gift to help turn his luck. In tears, the Bosnian man hugged Phillip again and they parted. My uncle returned to his hotel, and made his plane early the next day. As it rose to cruising altitude, a flight attendant came on the intercom and asked for Mr. Phillip Wagner to identify himself to the crew. My uncle thought, Now whats gone wrong?!He pressed the flight attendant button. An attendant came over as another on the intercom told the entire story of how Phillip had helped the Bosnian man, which evidently had been the talk of the entire Lufthansa group. They asked the planes passengers to give Mr. Phillip Wagner a round of applause and presented him with a for bottle of champagne. My uncle was surprised, but what made him even more grateful was that the airlines phoned him to let him know that the Bosnian man had made it to Argentina to his family on Christmas day. And everyone had a miracle Christmas helping made the impossible possible. Travel Council calling for new businesses interesed in Superhos In October of 2002 the Utah Travel Council unveiled the revamped Superhost program to the Moab Area Travel Council Train the Trainer program. The Utah Travel Council has been promising to revamp the program for a number of years and the task is now complete. At the time of the unveiling they found that there were still a few tilings that had to be addressed, but overall the new program worked well. The new program includes all of the elements as the old program, with each category condensed for easier application. Rachel Paxman, Will Chumrau, and Marian DeLay attended the Training session. Will Chumrau will now be able to use the material for his Hospitality and Careers classes at the High School. The Travel Council would like to arrange the next session of the Superhost program and would like to hear from businesses in the community that are interested in sending their employees, or themselves. When the Travel Council has a list of the people interested they will set up a date for the classes. The class is only 4 hours long and is very informative. The Travel Council rewards businesses that certify their entire staff with a SH logo in each of our guides. Any business or individual interested in the class should contact the Travel Council at 259-137- 0. On November 26, Synergy Company Mitchell May and John W. Groo met with Debra Dull, for Utah Power Sarah and (left), regional manager Wright from the Land and Water Fund of the Rockies. an the Together they completed Synergy Company will become a partner in Utah agreement whereby Powers Blue Sky program and purchase 1 00 percent of its electricity from wind generated sources. T co-own- Synergy goes for Blue Sky wind power 100 percent The Synergy Company1 of Moab has extended its environmental outreach by signing an agreement to buy 100 percent of its equivalent en- ergy use from Utah Powers Blue Sky wind power program, Synergy is a manufacturer of dietary and nutri- tional supplements, including certified organic and certified kosher products. The business first learned about Blue Sky wind power after reading about other business signups in The Mitchell Synergy May and John WT. Groo discussed the purchase with the companys other senior manMoab-base- d Times-Independen- t. agers. The decision was a for us, explained Groo. We believe supporting clean power is a natural fit. The increased cost wasnt much of an issue because it fits in with our belief that there are larger considerations. Were in the health products business and we make certified organic products, he said. Our name is made on er product punty-anmental care." d environ- Blue Sky is Utah Powers voluntary customer program to provide new, clean, renewable wind power generation. For an additional $2,95 per month, residential and business customers can purchase wind power in (kwh) block" incre- ments. Blue Sky gives customers the choice of how much of electricity they want generated from renewable energy sources. Not only is Blue Sky good for the environment, it helps encourage more renewable power development. Synergy is purchasing 167 blocks of Blue Sky each month and uses an average of 16,660 kilowatt hours of electricity. The average Utah household uses 700 kwh each month. Employee reaction has been overwhelmingly positive," Groo said. Several of our employees have now signed up for Blue Sky for their own homes." The Synergy Company operates a sales office and production facility in Spanish Valley, and employ s 24 people. A commitment to cm ironmen-ta- l health is literally a part its foundation: When Synergy built its new facility, it worked with the National Park Service to transplant the sites native plants for use in park restoration projects Synergys purchase of 167 blocks of Blue Sky each month has substantial environmental benefits, according to Sarah Wright, coordinator of the Utah Wind Power Campaign, a project of the Land and Water Fund of the Rockies. lTtah Wind Power Campaign helps market Blue Sky to area businesses. Synergys Blue Sky purchase means that 140 tons Of C02 emissions will be avoided each year or the equivalent of 300,000 miles will not be driven," she said. More busi- nesses understand the environmental impacts of their energy use, and they are choosing renewable energy to offset those impacts and reach their sustainability goals." For information or to sign up for Blue Sky, call Light Ordinance Task Force is reconvened , looking for input Janet by Lowe staff writer Following a consensus of the Moab City Planning Commission and a nudge from the city council, the light ordinance task force has been reconvened. Rodney Taylor, planning commission member who assembled the current task force said regarding a light ordinance, We may be fixing something that isnt broken, but if we dont fix it, it w ill be too late." Taylor further reported, It is going to happen. We are going to have a light ordinance in this community. We have an opportunity to determine what it looks like." The current committee is comprised of Bob Jones, David Everitt, Andy Nettell, Doug Stevens, and Tony Lema, Sr., although Mr. Lema was rep- resented at the first meeting by son Joe Lema. Robert Hugie, Moab city planner, will serve as the liaison and re- search Bource for the task force. Rodney Taylor Bits on the committee as facilitator. All members of the task force were selected by the planning commission. The first meeting allowed members to introduce themselves and give a statement of their concerns regarding lighting in Moab. Tag-A-Lon- g Expeditions owner, Bob Jones, served on the first light ordinance task force assembled in 2000 as an outgrow th of a group revising the sign ordinance. He said Main Street should be influenced toward commercial needs. The light ordinance in general should be weighted toward w hat makes good commerce. I think we can do that without upsetting those who are concerned about neighborhoods and starlight." I want to make sure the playing fields are level, continued Jones. What tends to happen is if there is no ordinance, one business will put in a big, bright new lighted sign and to compete, the next business will have to do the same. We need to avoid that kind of escalation." Jones ended his statement by adding, I dont know that people need to be able to see the stars from their porches." Doug Stevens, service station owner, echoed Jones sen- timent toward lighting. We need to be commercially oriented. We are not a dead-enstreet, he said. He continued by saying his primary concern is one of safety. The residential issue, well, thats a touchy d subject. We have an uphill battle in that regard. Andy Nettell, owner of Arches Book Company located on Main Street, also served on the task force which helped write the draft ordinance developed by the city approximately three years ago. We need to look and see what we did wrong last time, why the ordinance was not approved. Also, Im interested in what are the true issues of safety as opposed to the perception of w hat the safety issues are," Nettell said. I think we can make this a w m-- in proposition through the use of current, reasonable technology," he concluded. David Everitt, an east side resident who is actively involved in city and county issues, summarized his thoughts as well. I am coming into this with a very oen approach I am soluinterested in tions and looking at things that save money and save energy. And we dont have to re invent the wheel. All the information we need exists. There are many examples of light ordinances that work in other communities, he said The group will meet the first and third Tuesday of every month at city council chambers. The public is invited in to listen to the procivdings and the group will allow approximately 15 minutes at the end of each mfeting to hear public concerns and input. City planner Hugie recommended at least two public hearings, one early on in the process and one or more later. To that end, the task force announced the first public hearing on January 21 at 7:00 p.m. at council chambers Facilitator Rodney Taylor emphasized the importance of public input. We w ant as many people who are interested in this issue to come to every meeting and participate fully in the public hearings. cost-effectiv- e |