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Recently Olga Fanjul, who has been connected to Casa de Campo (in a variety of different ways) since 1985 hosted a “Casa de Campo ex-employees” reunion at her Casa de Campo villa for both past and present members of the Casa de Campo sales department.
The group of friends and ex-colleagues; Olga, Ariel Perez, Giovanna Gomez, Andree Forment, Arleen Morales and Isabel Vasquez, the majority of whom have known each other for at least 20 years (and some even longer), gathered at Olga’s Casa de Campo home for a good old-fashioned catch-up and had a marvelous time reminiscing of times gone by! Also at the reunion was Jeanette Sanchez-Lopez, who is the Casa de Campo Vice-President of Sales and Marketing – and as the only current Casa de Campo employee was no doubt thrilled to see all her old friends and hear them talk with such love and passion about their old employer!
“I think that day was very special for all of us…..we all picked up were we left off and many stories were shared! The expresion, ‘Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold’ comes to mind and I know that we would all agree that our years at Casa de Campo were GOLD!!”
— Olga Fanjul
The following is a short interview we did with Ariel, Giovanna, Andree, Arleen and Isabel to find out a little more about this gathering and their shared history at Casa de Campo:
@cdcliving: When did you work at Casa de Campo?
Giovanna: Casa de Campo was my first job. I started on October 2nd 1991, shortly after I finished university and I stayed for 12 years.
Andree: I worked with Jeanette Sanchez-Lopez in the Sales Office back in the Gulf & Western days – ask her what the year was! I don’t want to go back that far! From 1985 to 1992 I worked at Premier World Marketing (the management company for Casa de Campo) as Group Coordinator then Sales Manager / Group Sales. My whole professional life has been connected somehow to Casa de Campo.
[Casa de Campo was sold to the Central Romana Corporation in the mid 1980’s, but before that was owned by Gulf & Western]
Arleen Morales: I worked in Casa de Campo from March 1985 through to June 15th 1987, then I went to work in the Casa de Campo corporate offices in Miami.
[During this time Arleen met and married her husband, Frank Cuello, who was also working for Casa de Campo at the time. The couple recently celebrated their 25th anniversary in Casa de Campo – to read about this beautiful love story, click here!]
Isabel: From 1990 to 2000.
Ariel: I worked for Casa de Campo from September 2000 until July 2007.
@cdcliving: What was your job whilst working at Casa de Campo?
Giovanna: I started as Sales Co-ordinator and later became the Sales Manager for the Dominican Republic.
Andree: At Casa de Campo I worked in the Sales Office, as Sales Secretary and for a short while as Concierge.
Arleen: Groups Co-ordinator.
Isabel: Sales Director for Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Latin America, among others.
Ariel: I had various positions: Sales Co-ordinator, Sales Manager, Front Office Co-ordinator, Sales Director, Rooms Manager and then finally Sales Director for groups and services.
@cdcliving: Did you enjoy working for Casa de Campo?
Giovanna: The experience working for Casa de Campo is invaulable. For me I learnt so much about the hotel business and it’s a very important reference on my CV.
Andree: Back in the Gulf & Western days it wasn’t easy…..we were 5 people in the hotel sales office, which included group coordination, (Jeannette Sanchez, Margaret Fox, Josie Nunez, Raysa Irrizary and I ) and we did everything…basically you had to do all, but it was a tremendous learning experience.
Arleen: I loved it, it was the best experience I have ever had, from there many doors opened to other opportunities.
Isabel: It was one of the most satisfying experiences of my life; as much in the professional sphere as in the personal. It was the school of my life.
Ariel: It was the best work experience I have ever had. It allowed me to get to know the many different aspects of sales, as well as operations in such a large and special resort. Thank you to Casa de Campo for giving me the opportunity to participate in many important tourism fairs and iniciatives in the United States and Canada. I’m especially grateful for the opportunity Casa de Campo gave me to visit 2 fabulous hotels in Italy; the Portofino and the Florencia.
@cdcliving: What do you do now?
Giovanna: Today I am the Senior Sales Manager for the “Be Live” hotels. I am responsible for the Canadian market, as well as Europe and the US.
Andree: I have been at Hotel Santo Domingo since September 1992, where I am presently the Director of Sales & Marketing, managing the Sales, Banquet and Reservations Departments.
Arleen: My husband and I, are the owners of our own business “SHIATSU MASAJEXPRESS”, chair massages.
Isabel: I am the Commercial Director for the “Be Live” hotels in the Dominican Republic.
Ariel: I am the co-owner of “Bugsy”, a pest control business. We serve clients in Santo Domingo, Juan Dolio, La Romana and Punta Cana.
@cdcliving: Tell us about the reunion
Giovanna: To work so many hours with the same people they become your friends. I am very fortunate to have maintained so many friendships. It was a lot of fun and we decided that we had to do it again – except next time include even more old friends!
Andree: We shared a lot, many stories and experiences, as well as a tremendous amount of laughter! We hope to do it again soon with more ex-Casa de Campo Sales staff. We are the Casa de Campo Sales Department Alumni Group!
Arleen: To get together after so long without seeing each other was excellent!
Isabel: We try to get together at least once every 2 months, but in this gathering we were more friends than ever before – and many family members joined us too!
Ariel: Casa de Campo has the peculiar ability to form great teams over the years. Many of the professionals that I shared my time with at Casa de Campo are my greatest friends and to have the opportunity to get together with them is a great way to re-live all the good moments we shared together. The anecdotes that came from this get-together could make a book!
COMING SOON!
“THANK YOU Casa de Campo for being such an important part of my life!” by Olga Fanjul – the life and times of Olga in Casa de Campo!