Published for the Travel Agents of Suffolk County

Our May 11th TASC dinner meeting is being held at
Shandon Court.

Our presenter this month is
SANDALS and BEACHES RESORTS

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TASC MAY MEETING - LIVE!!
LOCATION
SHANDON COURT, 115 EAST MAIN ST., EAST ISLIP, NY

DATE AND TIME
05/11/22 6:30pm - 05/11/22 8:30pm

SIGN IN: 6:00PM // MEETING & DINNER: 6:30PM MEMBERS: $25, NON-MEMBERS: $35 RSVP IS MANDATORY
YES I WILL BE ATTENDING

RSVP
RSVP’S for the general meeting should
now be made by using the RSVP button above.

At this time you will continue to be able to RSVP to:
Honey Pressgrove’s office 631-363-9522
or email to tascrsvp@gmail.com
RSVP's must be received no later than the MONDAY
before the meeting. If you are unable to attend the meeting after you have already responded PLEASE call to cancel.


PLEASE RSVP WITH THE "YES I WILL BE ATTENDING" BUTTON ONLY IF YOU DEFINITELY PLAN ON ATTENDING OUR MEETINGS

IMPORTANT INFORMATION IF YOU SHARE A SINGLE EMAIL ADDRESS WITH A COLLEAGUE
SINCE EACH EMAIL ADDRESS IS LINKED TO ONLY 1 PERSON, ONLY THAT 1 PERSON CAN BE COUNTED WHEN YOU RSVP ELECTRONICALLY, ADDITIONAL ATTENDEES MUST PHONE OR EMAIL IN THEIR RSVP.
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Our 2021 TASC Trade Show has a new date this year.
It will be held on Thursday, November 3rd from
5:30pm - 7:00pm at the Holiday Inn Airport East
located at Exit 63 off the Long Island Expressway.
Further details to be announced.
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PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
Dear Members,

It is so good to see some lovely Spring weather, with blooming trees and flowers showing up everywhere. Also hoping our members enjoyed their Easter and Passover Holidays last month.

After numerous postponements those in attendance were finally able to enjoy Stan Enden's presentation of his many suppliers at last month's meeting.

This month we will have Sandals and Beaches with Gavin Simmons and Kim Daino presenting. They will give us the many updates on their properties, hope to see you all there on May 11th.

Last month we made the first announcements of the 2022-24 Nominations for our Executive board (thank you to April Whymark). However, due to several of the new nominees who are unable to attend the July 13th meeting when Installation normally takes place, the board voted last month to move the installation to our September 14th meeting. (This also will allow more time for the Cruise night participants) The board members will serve in their current positions until that time.

TASC would like to wish all our Mothers and Grandmothers a very Happy Mother's Day. (Also to the Moms with fur kids!)

We also offer our heartfelt gratitude to all past and current Military personnel for their dedicated service to our country in recognition of Memorial Day. THANK YOU!

Respectfully,
Susan Bonesso

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.
           -- Bill Gates
TASC Executive Board Nominations for 2022 - 2024 term

President             Fran Raupp
Vice President     Liz Henn
Treasurer            Ginny De Feo
Secretary           Angela SanFelippo-Szemico
Director Owner    Honey Pressgrove
Director Agent     Jeffrey Austin   
Director Affiliate Kim Daino

Nominations will continue to be accepted from the floor at the May and June meetings.
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UPCOMING TASC MEETING/EVENT SCHEDULE

MAY 11 - SANDALS
JUNE 8 - BARBADOS TOURIST BOARD
JULY 13 - CRUISE NIGHT # 2

Attention suppliers! 2022 is booking up quickly, get your choice date booked now. You may contact our Programs Director, Fran Raupp at franr@baytravelandtours.com to book your program.
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Current Industry Affairs (CIA)
Norwegian Cruise Lines is no longer allowing travel agents to print out their customer's documents or luggage tags, only the customer has access to do so or has to give their agent access to their account. They claim this is due to the pandemic. This is a service most agents perform for their clients who now might question why they should use an agent to book their next cruise.
====================================================================Atlantis Paradise Island is embarking on a multi-million dollar renovation of the Royal Tower rooms and suites. They will also be reimagining the Royal Casino and adding several new restaurants. This should be completed sometime in mid-2023.
The latest upgrades come as Atlantis also prepares to open Somewhere Else, a new property that will replace the resort's Beach Tower. Targeted to open in 2024, the 400-room project is being developed in partnership with David Grutman of Groot Hospitality and musician Pharrell Williams
====================================================================
Mexican Caribbean beaches may see the worst sargassum since 2018. The Mexican Navy has 7 ships attempting to pick up the sargassum at sea but are only effecting a very small percentage.
====================================================================
For current travel restrictions for the Caribbean, go to: https://www.travelweekly.com/Caribbean-Travel/Caribbean-readies-for-a-wave-of-reopenings
====================================================================
For current travel restrictions for Europe:
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Subject: Flying can be funny
 
All too rarely, airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight "safety lecture" and their other announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported throughout the years.
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On a Continental Flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to
enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."
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On landing, the flight attendant said, "Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have."
*************************
There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane" 
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"Thank you for flying Delta Business Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride." 
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As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Ronald Reagan, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!" 
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After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Memphis, a flight attendant on a Northwest flight announced, "Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted." 
*************************
From a Southwest Airlines employee: "Welcome aboard Southwest Flight 245 to Tampa. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised." 
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"In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask
before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick your favorite." 
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Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Southwest Airlines." 
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"Your seat cushions can be used for flotation; and, in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments."
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MEMBERS CORNER:
TASC ANNUAL DUES
Your annual TASC membership renewals are now past due. They are still only $40 per year.
A Membership form is available at our website or from the sign in table at the TASC dinner.
Anyone who joins now will be paid up
for the 2022-2023 term
Your TASC board has a new email address: TASCEMAIL@OPTIMUM.NET
If you have any member news that you would like posted in this newsletter please send an email with information to: tascemail@optimum.net
In addition to the get wells and condolences, we can also list job postings
or pertinent industry news.
If we don't know about it, we can't post it!
WWW.LI-TASC.COM
This is our website. Visit us !!!
Also visit our TASC Facebook page and “like us”.
Only TASC members will be able to post on the Facebook page.
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POSITION AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY
VacationWiser is looking for an Administrative Assistant/Customer Service person. Start immediately.

  • Full-time, In-person position in our Woodbury office
  • Assist VacationWiser with operations and customer service
  • Update various spreadsheets on daily, weekly, monthly basis
  • Customer service duties, such as responding to customer inquiries, managing airline schedule changes, communicate travel information to customers
  • Prepare and send itineraries
  • Assist with accounting work
  • Answer phones and direct callers
  • Maintain customer files/folders
  • Must be proficient in Microsoft Office, especially Excel
  • Able to learn various computer software
  • Travel background not required but is a plus
  • Salary plus benefits (medical, dental, vision, 401k)
  • Contact Kathryn Meehan -- kmeehan@luthersales.com or 631-863-6771
Supplier Rep Updates

We would like to welcome several new supplier reps that have recently been assigned to the Suffolk County area.

American Cruise Lines - NEW
Sara Hamilton-Moran,
sara.hamilton-moran@americancruiselines.com

Antigua/Barbuda Tourism - NEW, JUST ANNOUNCED!
Rod Hinds, rhinds@visitaandb.com

Apple Leisure Group
Brian Ehlers, behlers@algvacations.com

Barbados Tourism - NEW
Deborah Millington, deborahm@visitbarbados.org

Homeric Tours - NEW
Nicole Tsakanikas, nicole@homerictours.com

Norwegian Cruise Lines
Lori Innamorata, linnamorata@ncl.com

Playa Resorts
Pedro Spignolio, pedro.spignolio@playaresorts.com

Star Clippers - NEW
June Muenzer, june.muenzer@starclippers.com

Windstar Cruises - NEW
Meg Daly, meg.daly@windstarcruises.com
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Executive Board
President
Susan Bonesso
(email) susanbtravel@optonline.net
Vice President
Fran Raupp
(email) franr@baytravelandtours.com
Secretary
Liz Henn
(email) lizLbac@gmail.com
Treasurer
Ginny DeFeo
(email) gindef@hotmail.com
Director Owner
Will Porrier
(email) willjohn39@aol.com
Director Affiliate
Gavin Simmons
(email) gsimmons@uvi.sandals.com
Director Agent
Jeffrey Austin
(email) jaustin@vacationwiser.com
Past President
Garrett Simulcik
(email) gsimulcik@cruiseplanners.com


Rogers Travel


Bay Travel & Tours


LBAC Travel


Empress Travel


Ginger Peachy Travel


Sandals


Vacation Wiser


Cruise Planners



631-289-5252


631-447-6440


631-648-8032


631-698-7767


631-563-2001


631-526-3301


631-499-4483


631-274-5490



Committee Chairpersons