My First Season

I never had the pleasure of working with my next guest, but I did hear his name throughout my career in Club Med and in the two years of this podcast, his name has come up quite frequently. His first season was in Club Med Marbella, Spain in 1979 as a Watersports trainee. He worked for Club Med from 1979 to 2004 (25 years!) in more than twenty different Club Med villages. Who am I talking about? W...

I never had the pleasure of working with my next guest but I did hear about him when I was working for Club Med. His name came up on Dean Barbour’s episode and a chance encounter at Red’s birthday party during the summer of 2022 clinched the deal, so to speak. He is from Montreal, Quebec and in Club Med he was known as…Fergy!! Please help me welcome to MFS, Mario “Fergy” Ferguson! Fergy’s first se...

Bonjour à tous, et bienvenue à nouveau au podcast sur le voyage et le tourisme, My First Season. J'ai rencontré mon invité aujourd'hui sur le groupe Facebook «Club Med Le Groupe des G.O.'s». Il a travaillé pour le Club Med de 1986 à 1988. Sa première saison a eu lieu en 1986 à Djerba la Douce, et il a travaillé dans des villages tels que Cap Skirring, Turquoise, Metaponto, Pompadour et Les Restanq...

Hello everyone, this is part 5 in the MFS series “Amazing Women Doing Amazing Things”. I came across my guest today by reading an article of hers published in “Outside” magazine in November 2022, entitled, “Let Me Tell You the Truth About Being an Adventure Guide”. From that article, I learned about a course that she had taken called “National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)”. The course lasted 8...

In two years of this podcast, today’s guest’s name has come up so often when I ask them which Chief of Village they liked working with, that I had to reach out and ask if he would like to come on. He has done 39 seasons in Club Med and 14 years in the Miami office where he currently holds the position of Senior Director UDT (University des Talents). In Club Med, he is known by only one name and in...

My guest today is the first guest invited back to the podcast. Why is that, you ask? Well, he was the first guest ever on My First Season just over two years ago, but back then, I stuck to the script. Meaning, we only talked about his first season and none of the other 10 seasons or more that he did. He was kind enough to be a test subject of sorts for my podcast, and like all things, My First Sea...

My guest today and I have never met but his name has come up quite a few times on this podcast. His first season was in Club Med St. Lucia during the winter of 1989 as a Bar G.O. Originally from Seattle, now living in Florida, please help me welcome, Terry Drummey!! Before Club Med, Terry was getting a Commercial Tourism and Business Management degree from Washington State. He was working in a bar...

Bonjour à tous, et bienvenue à nouveau dans le podcast sur le voyage et le tourisme, My First Season. J'ai rencontré mon invitée aujourd'hui sur le groupe Facebook «Club Med Le groupe des G.O.'s». Elle a travaillé pour le Club Med de 1981 à 1988. Sa première saison a eu lieu en 1981 à Cefalu, en Sicile, et elle a travaillé dans des villages tels que Pompadour, Agadir, Vittel, les Boucaniers, Santa...

Mon invité d'aujourd'hui et moi avons travaillé ensemble au Club Med Lindeman Island en Australie en 2000/2001. Sa première saison se déroule au Club Med d'Avoriaz durant l'hiver 1993 ou il occupe le poste d’animateur. Il a travaillé pour le Club Med de 1993 à 2015 dans des villages tels que Chamonix, Djerba La Douce, Cargèse, Valmeinier-Valloire, Phuket, Kamarina, Pompadour, La Plagne et Agadir....

My guest today was not a village G.O., but he was a Club Med New York office G.O. and was a HUGE part of why my first season in Club Med Turks and Caicos during the summer of 1994 was so amazing. He worked for Club Med from September 1987 to 1995 at the Club Med corporate offices in New York City. He was the Director of Advertising and Sales Promotion in the Marketing Department. Everyone, please...

My guest today and I worked together in Club Med Cancun in 2004/2005 with Hendel. His first season was in Club Med Sandpiper in 2004 as a Waterski G.O. Originally from Chicago and now living in Austin, Texas, please help me welcome, Parker Burke! Before Club Med, Parker obtained a degree in Business Management with a Minor in French. He even did a semester abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France in 2002...

My guest today and I worked together in Club Med Columbus Isle during the 1997/1998 season. Her first season was in Club Med Cancun in April of 1997 as a Sailing and Windsurfing G.O. A family trip to Club Med St. Lucia when she was 16 years old lit the spark and she wanted to be a G.O. from that moment on. She has a degree in Journalism, dance and Secondary Education and she hails from the Lone St...

Welcome to a very special 100th episode of My First Season! My Guest today and I met during my 1st season in Turks and Caicos during the summer of 1994. His first season was in Club Med St. Lucia in 1991/1992 as a Scuba G.O. Everyone, please help me welcome, the man, the myth, the legend…in his own mind, from the city that never sleeps, Cowboy!! Before Club Med, Cowboy worked for Associated Marine...

My guest today kept posting one amazing photo after another on the various EXGO Facebook sites, that I asked him if he would agree to come on and share his story. His first season was in 1979 in Club Med Martinique as a Snorkeling/Picnic G.O. From NYC but now living in beautiful Arizona, please help me welcome Gary Sirota!! Gary worked for Club Med from 1979 to 1989 with a few various stints here...

Today’s guest worked for Club Med from 1988 to 1991. His first season was in Club Med St. Lucia in 1988 as a Carpenter. From Potomac, Maryland, please help me welcome, Lee Siegel! Lee worked in the villages of St. Lucia, Copper Mountain, Eleuthera, Playa Blanca and Punta Cana. He may have started out as a carpenter, but he worked his way toward Bar G.O. and then Chef de Bar. Even though Lee had ne...

My guest today’s first season was in Club Med Punta Cana in 1998 as a Hostess and she has had some bad luck with hurricanes! From Ottawa, Canada, please help me welcome, Anna “Rubia” Ferdinand!! Anna has held many jobs within Club Med: Reception, Boutique, Excursions and Chief of Excursions. Anna worked for Club Med from 1998 to 2004 in the resorts of Paradise Island, Martinique, Turks and Caicos,...

My guest today is from beautiful San Diego, California and her first season was in Club Med St. Lucia in 1986 as a Snorkeling G.O. Please help me welcome to My First Season, the amazing and funny, Sharon Lee! Sharon had quite an interesting route to Club Med. She went as a G.M. with her mother to Club Med Ixtapa when she was sixteen years old in 1984 and loved that week so much, she knew that she...

My guest and I worked together in Club Med Columbus Isle during the 1999/2000 season, but his first season was in Club Med Turks and Caicos in September of 1995 as an Aide Econome. From Montreal, please help me welcome, William Connors! Before Club Med, William was studying Hospitality Management at Carleton University. He also taught English in Japan for two years, from 1991 to 1993. He then got...

My guest today hails from beautiful Montreal, Quebec and his first season was in 1996 at Club Med Punta Cana as a Boutique G.O. Please help me welcome to MFS, Steve Ouimet!! Before Club Med, Steve was a singer in a rock band and he also managed a clothing retail store (Neon) in Montreal. From 1996 to 2007 he worked in Club Med resorts such as Magic Isle, Haiti, Club Med 1, Varadero, Cuba, Cancun,...

My guest today went to Club Med Cancun for a two-week vacation in December of 1989. He started as a G.M. that week, but wound up as an au pair Snorkeling and Picnic G.O. We will get into that and more on this episode of My First Season. From Maple Ridge, British Columbia, I am pleased to welcome to the podcast, Dean Barbour! Dean was looking to relax for two weeks when he went to Club Med Cancun a...

My guest today and I just missed crossing paths in Club Med, but his first season was during the summer of 2003 in Club Med Cancun as a DJ/Animation G.O.  From New York City, please help give a warm welcome to DJ Wej!! Before Club Med, Wej was pursuing a Criminal Justice degree from Long Island University. Not really wanting to use his degree, he took a friend’s advice that he should check out Clu...

This is part four in the series, “Amazing Women doing Amazing Things”. In July 2019, my guest today accomplished her goal of visiting all forty-seven National Parks of Canada, making her the first-ever visitor to do so. She is an accomplished wilderness adventurer, Nordic skier, backpacker, kayaker, canoeist, cyclist and world traveler. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Socie...

My guest today who worked in Club Med in the early 1980s have never met, but he came to my attention when I saw him post the most excellent photos of his time in Club Med in the 80s on the Official Club Med EXGO Facebook Group. His first season was in December of 1980 in Club Med Magic Isle, Haiti as a stagiere Choreographer. Born in and raised in Alhambra, but now residing in beautiful San Diego,...

My guest today and I met and worked together during an amazing season in Club Med Playa Blanca in 1996/1997. His first season, however, was at the opening of Club Med Lindeman Island in Australia and he arrived on December 12, 1992, as a Musician/Animator. From Newcastle, Australia, please help me welcome former Chief of Village, Luke "Gus” Neale!! Before Club Med, Gus was studying Tourism Managem...

My guest today and I have never met or worked together before, but we do have a “Quebec” connection that we will talk about in this interview. His first season was in Club Med Martinique in May of 1987 as a Waterski G.O. From Napa Valley, please help me welcome to the podcast, Steve McClaine!! Before Club Med, Steve attended the University of California (Berkeley) and obtained a Political Economy...