Mixing Work and Play in Monterey

The world seems to get smaller as I get older.  I took two vacation days last week to visit a friend in Monterey. And because I have a "thing" about visitor information centers, I made sure to stop by a few while I was in California and see how they promote their communities.  I visited one in Monterey and one in Carmel and low and behold while I was there I ran into one of my peers, CEO of the Carmel by the Sea Chamber of Commerce, Monta Potter.  Monta and I have attended conferences together so it was great to see her organization in action.  Her mother lives here in Washington so I've invited her to stop by on her next trip here.  I also had an opportunity to meet Kelly Violini, CEO of the Monterey County Fair, while I was in California.  When I asked her if she knew Kent Hojem, CEO of the Washington State Fair, she said "Oh yeah, he's the President of our Western Fairs Association, I definitely know who he is".  Like I said, it's a small world but I get a kick out of these chance meetings and conversations.  And I always invite them to come visit Puyallup and Sumner.