Art History Alive

arthisto April 17th, 2009

In this time of financial crunch and belt tightening, we entrepreneurs have to get creative. This is why, when I learned that some 360 men and women would gather on April 16, 2009, for the Annual Women In Leadership Banquet, in San Jose, California, I put on my thinking cap. Hm m m m m?

This is a gathering of the most professional women in the area and they are coming to hear the former CEO of eBay and recent entrant into the California Gubernatorial race 2010, Meg Whitman. Meg is a powerhouse and, needless to say, highly respected for her leadership. This annual affair also honors a select few outstanding young women of the community for their accomplishments. I decided that I wanted to sponsor this event by donating one of the few raffle prizes to be presented at the end of the evening. This was an opportunity to market Art History Alive to my target audience, and the type of women I like to travel with, as well as support a positive and powerful event.

I decided to design a California itinerary especially for this event that I could give away. The WIL Gold Rush Wines and Yosemite tour is a four day getaway. The prize included a beautiful piece of Brightman luggage, leopard print and all, as well as a bottle of delicious Hatcher Grenache Rose from the Sierra Nevada Foothills. The tour itself includes wine tasting in the Sierra Foothills, a two hour spa treatment, and two days in Yosemite, staying at the historic Ahwahnee Hotel. A prize designed with professional women in mind, and a trip that will pamper the body and refresh the soul.

The marketing power was that the three raffle prizes would be introduced, described and presented by San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Pat Dando. Pat is a highly respected, dedicated leader and advocate in both the Silicon Valley business and political arenas. She went above and beyond in her suspense building description of the AHA prize, and I was so pleased to see and hear that the audience loved it.

I had hoped to make an impression, for AHA, through my donation, but it made much more of a splash than I’d imagined. As Pat Dando described the trip, a very noticeable cooing could be heard from the audience, then just before she read out the winning number you could have heard a pin drop. The lucky winner, Marty Wohlwend, of Lockheed Martin, jumped out of her chair with a shriek of joy. Later, after photos, still shaking, we met and chatted, and amazingly Marty was an Art History major! She was beyond excited and we talked of what fun we will have on our trip.

This will stimulate some fun travel! When these women, and their companies, think about travel, I know that they will recall Art History Alive, and that is the prize I am after.

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arthisto February 26th, 2009

Below is an article that was recently published in two California business newspapers describing Art History Alive. It affords the reader a succinct look at the small group AHA philosophy of valuable travel. The picture is funny, as I look like a cod fish, but that is really my passion showing. The photo was taken by my husband Jim, in the small hilltown of Pitigliano, after a delicious three course lunch with a fun group of clients.

ART HISTORY ALIVE IMMERSION: The New Travel Edge
San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce Advocate, February 2009, Vol. 81, No. 2 AND San Jose Business Journal, February 13, 2009, Vol. 26, No. 42.

Cynthia Quist, director of Art History Alive, may be a new member of the SJSV Chamber, but she actually grew up with it. Cynthia is the daughter of Ron James, the first directly-elected Mayor of San Jose who went on to serve as President and CEO of the San Jose Chamber of Commerce from 1974 through 1990. San Jose has always been a part of Cynthia’s life.

Over the past 25 years, Cynthia, with her husband Jim and their four children, have lived in Sydney, Australia, Hong Kong, and Connecticut, and have traveled extensively. Now, having returned home to California, Cynthia has taken her vast travel acumen and turned it into Art History Alive, a company devoted to cultural immersion travel. We asked Cynthia to define this type of travel. “It is the wrapping of clients in the art, history, and culture of a place. It is absolutely the most fulfilling way to travel.”

“First, group size is 4 to 8. Second, we stay in very historic hotels and castles. Third, our lodgings are typically located in the heart of the historic center of our destinations. Fourth, at a meandering pace, we visit the art and architecture of the locale, enriched by delicious traditional cuisine and local wines. Finally, the most valuable ingredient in cultural immersion is something that you cannot get in a larger group, and that is the gift of time. Time to think, digest, and just “be” in a place. Tight schedules do not exist for AHA.”

AHA travels to many beautiful and culturally rich places, but Italy is by far a favorite destination. “I have found that my clients are intellectually curious about Italy”, says Cynthia. “They want more than a survey tour, and their penetrating questions are proof.”

“Daily we challenge ourselves personally and professionally, and are able to absorb and learn new skills at an amazing rate. If we take that ability on a cultural immersion experience, you will be surprised at how enlightened you feel, and how this breathtaking art serves as a balance to our fast-paced lives.”

Here is the AHA recipe for cultural immersion:

1. Our groups are very small.
2. We move at our own pace.
3. AHA surrounds you daily with architecture and art that dates back hundreds and thousands of years. This puts our lives in immediate perspective.
4. Our meals are a social event, Italian style. Lunch and dinner with AHA are typically a slow-paced, multi-coursed affair, in warm and inviting family-run restaurants that we have enjoyed for years. Everything is prepared fresh and each course compliments the next. Around these tables we casually discuss what we have seen and experienced.

“It is so fulfilling for me to watch history become clear over a steaming plate of pasta and a glass of local red wine.”

For more information on Art History Alive and their destinations for 2009, visit www.arthistoryalive.com or call Cynthia Quist at 831.475.3807

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