I like people I can relate to. Heck, who doesn’t? It’s hard even listen to someone who constantly talks down to you like they’re somehow better than you are. It’s my belief that people read this blog and subscribe to my newsletter because I’m an average guy. I can be very serious, but I also like to have fun. I’m also very thorough in documenting what’s written with third party sources to reference. 

I’m also human. I’ve made my share of mistakes. When I fall short, I admit it, fix it, and move on.

I’ve written about my good friend Candi May several times here and over the last few years we’ve become great friends. When you have your own ringtone on my iPhone, you know we talk quite a bit. (Actually, I wish she’d call me more, case I love that ringtone!)

Candi is also one of those down to earth individuals you can relate to. There’s no arrogance, false fronts, or an ounce of bitterness in this person to make you think that she’s somehow attempting to con anyone. Yet, she, like me, Coach, Scott, Kim, and some of the other better known names who have the guts to show up on the internet as real people are scorned and ridiculed on a daily basis by a very small group, with this illusion that we’re out to deceive and mislead the general public.

After this years Convention, there was a bizarre twist from a “professional travel agent” with this this idea that Candi stood in front of the Convention crowd and deceived everyone that she learned how to “travel like a pro” while in YTB. The anger and scorn it generated was incredible, especially when you see the the actual video and what was really said at this years Convention.

Which ironically, we now have.

Now, if you can stomach it, go read the emotional outbursts from the “traditional side” of the fence, and then watch the demeanor of one of our own. Compare her speech with the tangled mess that was trumped up from the other side and then ask yourself…”who would I rather work with?”

There’s really no question in my mind who I’d enjoy working with more. (And also learn more from.) There’s also no question who’s desperate and who’s secure in who they are and what they do. Mind you, Candi has never had any desire to lash out in an attempt to defend who she is and what she’s accomplished. No need when you compare the two sides.

However, I’m going to step to the side here, and let you be the judge. Make your own choice on your own who you’d pick to be mentored by in this industry. Afterward, if you’d like to find out more about this incredible lady, you can read more about her on her new blog.

Makes no difference to me, cause I’ve already made mine.

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I had originally scheduled a post on the new struggles of Royal Caribbean today, but one of the lesser known critics commented that I should write about them again. I decided that not only would it be a good idea, but a lot of fun to point out how they’ve completely botched another attempt to point the finger at YTB, but ended up pointing three back at themselves.

It never ceases to amaze me how low some people will stoop in an attempt to slander our fine company and our people. We’ve written at length about the lies, the misinformation, the false speculation, and how they love to distort and deceive in an attempt to tell the general public what’s wrong with YTB. Why they are so afraid of our company, I’ll never know. But even with all the evidence that proves them wrong, they continue to come back for more punishment.

As someone who has been calling a spade a spade for two years now, I make no apologies, nor do I feel the need to excuse how the lies, myths and false information goes against every fiber of my being. What I find most interesting is that instead of answering direct questions or accusations, I’m called names, they poke at my physical appearance, or try to tell me that I’m overreacting and being defensive. Reality is; that type of behavior is designed to get me off the subject at hand and put the focus on me instead of the real issue.

If you don’t like the heat, you should stay out of the kitchen. The hotter it gets, the more I know how much I irritate and frustrate our critics. That’s worth every slanderous comment, false accusation, and punch below the belt, which in turn reflects more on them than it ever will me. While they would love to have me join in the fun, they appear to be doing just fine without my participation. Besides, I would never want to distract them with actual documentation and facts that would highlight how clueless they are on their own turf. 

You may remember today’s subject from a battle won here just last year. While it frustrates our critics that Candi May has remained deaf and mute to any of the critics claims and false accusations, ignoring the jealous crowd of critics has enabled her to continue to build her business and remain quite happy with YTB. Like me, her self respect and self worth isn’t tied to a bunch of overzealous critics who can’t seem to get a life. Those who were at this years Convention probably remember Candi May and her “Travel Like a Rock Star” presentation. She has that same speech on her new blog and when the critics found it, they needed to mix things up, and I got to tell you…they botched it up.

If you either listened to her speak or take the time to read her post, Candi is abundantly clear about her experience in the traditional arena. She’s been travel agent for 24 years and gave examples of her experience as a traditional agent. For the traditionalist who want to keep these perks private however, they took issue with her stance and decided to attack her ethics, intelligence, and character to make it sound like she was deceiving everyone. (Much like they attempt to do with anyone else associated with YTB.

In her post, she states,

“I’ve been in the travel business for over 24 years now and for the 21 years before I was in YTB I was a traditional travel agent and eventually owned three travel agencies in Downtown Louisville. But, 24 years ago I was young, broke and inexperienced in the travel business. We took our first “agent rate” trip to a place called the Don Cesar in beautiful St. Petersburg Beach Florida.”

Sounds pretty clear to me…how ’bout you? Sorry to say, not everyone got that message. According to No Travel MLM’s Candi is called out for deceiving the general public. John writes:

This does sound wonderful, but there appears to be some serious sleight of hand going on here. Is anyone surprised? Well, John Travolta turned 50 in February 2004. And according to another post on Candy May’s blog:

I joined forces with YTB in June of 2006 and that is how this journey began.

John believes he has one of his infamous “gotchas” here with proof that one of our leaders is lying. He’s extracted one line from another post that is totally unrelated to her traditional agent journey and used it in an attempt to throw it back in the face of YTB. But take a look and read her first post in it’s entirety. You’ll find the following statement which can be found smack in the middle of her first blog post when she states:

“I started in the travel business a little over 24 years ago as a traditional travel agent.”

A statement that our critics hope you don’t find in the first post so they can pound their chest and slander someone so they can feel better about themselves and the traditionalist who got away. The only slight of hand here is by John. Either that or he has some sort of disorder that causes memory loss. (More evidence of THAT below.)

Candi also talks about a booking contest with a company that specialized in Mexico. She won that trip by booking lots of travel. She went completely free including round trip air to a beautiful resort called the Royal Hideaway in the beautiful Mayan Rivera.

According to John, Royal Hideaway will not accept a YTB agent on a FAM because YTB has lost their IATAN accreditation. The IATAN requirement for Royal Hideaway might be true…might not. I have to ask however why IATAN is relevant when you win a trip that’s provided by a company the specializes in Mexico? Small detail that again either escaped him or he was holding his breath in the hope that you’d miss that this was a contest provided by the supplier, not something she asked for as travel professional courtesy. But it just might work for the casual reader who is only interested in finding something negative, or a reason hate a company or poeple that are still sticking around after two years of pitching the same tired old line.

Remember the memory loss I eluded to earlier? I find it hilarious that John is trying this line again:

She claimed to have been flown to Minneapolis and wooed by Carlson who wanted her agency to join the conglomerate, yet no one at Carlson has any records of her name or her agency.

Are we to assume the this goof simply forgot that we’ve covered Candi’s affiliation with Carlson with two letters, one signed by Roger Block himself, and the other from Linda Fox that came with a Formal Agreement that was deemed by John as being authentic just last year? These two documents did convince him at one point, but he doesn’t remember that embarrassment now? I think it’s more accurate to speculate that we’re back to the denial phase now that it’s a year later and again crossing our fingers that nobody remembers how badly beaten and bruised he got the first time he pulled the same stunt.

If you say the same lie over and over, maybe it might come true? Maybe you can get someone to believe you this time. Or maybe you simply get caught for the same tired old story because you’re too thick headed to admit you’ve ever been wrong even once.

Not this group. They go on the attack and attempt to deflect in order to save face. We’re overreacting. I’m coming to Candi’s aid as her knight in shining armour to defend her. I’m wearing a man bra!

One of the other chums, who’s can deflect with the best of them attempted to turn the tables and put the burden of proof back on me. The pitch here is hat you actually need an IATAN in order to get an agent rate and since YTB does not have IATA accreditation, we’re not eligible for FAM’s.

Ainsworth tries this little line to intimidate and demand an answer:

Doug, you’re the once coming across as stupid. You’re right in stating that the first paragraph is speaking of Candy’s years being a TRADITIONAL travel agent. The whole blog post is about her years as a TRADITIONAL travel agent, and all the things she got to experience. None of the things she mentions here happened since she joined ytb! What has she gotten to experience like these things in the 3 years that she has been with ytb, hmmmmm? Answer that, Mr. Know It All.

Okay chump, since you asked, I do know of an offer Candi received from YTB THIS year:

Hey my special friends…I have an incredible opportunity for my distinct travel professionals: Check this out…

I am looking for a few of our Travel/Group specialist to join me on a FAM in Cancun late next week. The only cost is for the flight…THAT”S RIGHT!…ALL INCLUSIVE PACKAGE IS FREE!

Oasis Hotels and Resorts is one of my finalists for our Riviera Maya/Cancun and Dominican Republic destinations. They have a scheduled FAM to view 5-6 of their resorts…

If you know of others that focus on Groups, I could extend this to them…

And just how do I know that Candi got this special invite for being a Travel Pro with YTB? Because I got it too.

That’s right! Those of us who produce and book lots and lots of travel like the moral of Candi’s story still get offers.  And note, no magic IATAN is required, no calling the resort, no worries about if we could get in…YTB was invited and for those of us who work hard and book travel, the invitation was passed along to us.

That’s something that Traditional Travel Agents don’t want you to know. Suppliers actually invite YTB just like they do any other agency regardless of accreditation. What suppliers look for is productivity. Suppliers actually consider YTB a valuable source of revenue because we produce. While IATAN certainly provides proof of that with a minimum of $5K in commissions earned, it isn’t really required for the VAST majority of the trips that are offered.

And what would a post from these critics be without the personal insults that Candi couldn’t make it as a “real agent”. I suspect that before long the insult will be that Travel MLM has come up with a far superior product offer for those that are serious about staying in the travel business. (Which is what Candi saw years ago because she’s smart, not some dead beat.)

To prove my point, I have a challenge for the smarter than average critics out there that like spout off that a traditional host is a better alternative.

Provide me documentation of just one Host, one Agency, one single Brick and Mortar that:

• offers 80%-100% commission contracts.
  
• pays cash bonuses of up to $10K when you hit performance levels for travel commissions earned.
• AND completely covers the cost of your Medical Insurance and provides a $150,000 Life Insurance policy.
• Oh, and you need to give me that “hat trick” for less than $500 start up and $49.95 per monthly overhead.

Fact of the matter is that they can’t and that my friends scares the livin’ daylights out of some of the traditionalist who live in La La Land that these traditional host are a better deal. That’s why we have deceptive posts like John’s and the loyal band of thieves to keep up with the charade about YTB being a flawed business model and that Candi couldn’t make it in the traditional arena.

In this current economic climate, coupled with how badly beaten the traditionalist have been from suppliers the internet, and the change to self service, YTB has a safer, more profitable alternative for those who are serious about selling travel bar none.

Spout off all you want about me, Candi, Coach, Scott, Kim or anyone else associated with YTB folks. We already saw this model for what it is. We’re already in and enjoying the best compensation the industry has ever seen. If you want to come along, feel free.

But if you want to spout off, lie and slander based on jealousy…can it. Like so many times before, it’s only going to show that nose of yours is getting bigger by the day.

Oh and John, since you’re big on being the spelling ace…it’s Cand”i”, not Cand”y”. ;-P

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Last week, I had the pleasure of being interview by George Dooley in Travel Agent Central. What made this even more of an honor was finding out that George is an admitted fan of my blog and my perspective of YTB. I found him honest, fair, and genuinely interested in my side of the story.

George is also a reporter.

Part of the job of any good reporter is to provide both sides of a story. Think Fox News here…”Fare and Balanced”, right? I can’t knock George for providing an alternative view about YTB, but I have to ask why in the world did he have to pick one of the most narrow minded, self absorbed, and damaged critics in the industry to speak for the other side?

John Frenaye and I go back for almost two years now, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to correct, clean up, or otherwise call John out for not getting things right. Like most self professed “experts” John continues to take a singular quote or comment and attempt to dazzle the reader with what he feels are important facts and figures in order to distract everyone from what is really going on.

His current response to my article is no different.

John, among other critics, took exception to the fact that YTB grew from $414 million in travel sales, to $425 million in this years Travel Weekly Power list despite all the criticism, mud slinging, and various other issues totally unrelated to the travel industry. (Mind you, both interviews can be found in a “travel publication”.) But as we’ve seen so many times before, we have “travel agents” who can don the cap of Legal Counsel, Financial Auditor, Stock Broker, Travel Supplier, Business Consultant, and Better Business Bureau at a moments notice; all in an attempt to make you look away from the real story and guide you in a direction more in line with their own limiting beliefs.

You need to remember that this is the same guy that said Coach and Scott would call it quits – one who speculated that California could achieve it’s goal of shutting YTB down – that called the amended class action “powerful” – and an individual who forgot to check with Peter Jensen if he was in fact leaving YTB!

If you have this much egg on your face in one month’s time, wouldn’t “tough minded” begin to look more like “simple minded”? I mean good grief, what is it going to take to finally wise up and start living in the real world instead this fantasy land? If it weren’t for the constant reactions to what YTB is doing, he’d be a just some average John Doe without much else to do.

But John has provided some good comic relief through the years and this article is no exception. I don’t know if he’s aware of this, but one of the first points John attempts to make in the article actually links to the “ungainly monster of 39 pages containing 133 paragraphs” that didn’t pass muster under federal standards. We all know by this time how the Honorable Judge Murphy reprimanded Counsel concerning this case for being nothing more than redundant, immaterial, impertinent, and scandalous. But John, the BBB, and various other critics have decided to ignore the reprimand, and still use this failed class action in an attempt to provide a “powerful” message?

If it works for you John, be my guest. But the rest of us will more likely side with the Judge who actually knows the letter of the law in this case and called a spade a spade here.

Furthermore, the other link reports that Jerry Brown brought an end to an “elaborate pyramid scheme”, yet YTB just finished up one of the most meaningful conventions I’ve ever been a part of. We now have valuable tools that in years past have proven substantial and something the entire field has been asking for. While John wrote yesterday on his bog that the $6000 guarantee didn’t work, YTB’s RTA numbers soared from 20K to 122K during that program release. If it were me, I’d be more concerned about YTB regaining it dominance, rather than focusing on thinking that it’s over for YTB.

As we’ve heard so many times before the real phobia surrounding YTB is the “Recruiting”. John and others continue to pound this dead horse mixing the recruiting revenue with travel revenue.

“It does not take a rocket scientist to figure it out,” Frenaye said. “Their entire income is based on the sign up fees and the continuing monthly access fees to the cloned privately labeled Travelocity booking engine. For a stark look at the numbers, the TSOs have paid (sign-ups and monthly fees) a total of $283,513,046, or over a quarter billion dollars since 2006 and during that time have earned a total in travel commissions of $39,999,552. Not the greatest return on investment if you ask me.”

Rocket science?

After all this study – all this time, energy and focus on YTB he still can’t grasp that Hotels.com, Trav-Tech, Apple, Pleasant, Travel Impressions, Collette, TicketsNow, and RCI among a host of other suppliers isn’t offered through Travelocity. But he wants you to think that what YTB offers is nothing more than Travelocity to make him and his pals feel better. In addition it’s not YTB’s responsibility for the pour commission percentages producing only $40 million ($55 million to YTB) from over $1 billion in gross travel sales in a three year period. (Based on verified gross sales found in Travel Weekly in 2006, 2007, and 2008) More to the point, John’s upset the he missed out on his free Rep position with YTB, and cashing in on selling “replicated Travelocity booking engines” for a piece of a $200 million pie paid to other Reps just like him.

If you’re going to look at numbers, it’s wise to look at ALL the numbers. By placing $1 billion in gross travel sales in the “travel category”, and $200 million paid in the “Rep Category” those that have figure this out know that evens things out a bit. Or at least know that John’s concerns certainly don’t mix when it comes to pitching the sad, sad story of MLM’s and Travel.

For folks like John, it’s all about the model being flawed. “Very few” as he states make it in this industry, simply because it’s MLM.

One of the fist articles I ever wrote was about Roger Bannister breaking the 4 minute mile. Like Roger’s story, John is telling you it can’t be done. I’m here to tell you that it can. Because people like me, Candi May, Von Nickleberry, Nick Pagano, Rick Ricketts, Jeanie Sharpless, Tim Dominey, and hundreds of others have done it, what gives anyone the right (or the gall) to tell you that YOU can’t? If they’ve proven to be successful, wouldn’t it be wise to followed the same path we have, in order to obtain some level of the same success in this industry?

If you want John to protect you…that’s your choice. But I have to warn you, from experience, he’ll turn on you at a moments notice to slap you upside the head for not doing it exactly the way he wants you to.

John doesn’t see YTB competing favorably as a franchise because Royal Caribbean, NCL, and Perilo have decided not to utilize YTB’s massive sales force. John ignores that YTB is already is competing as a lowly MLM with year over year growth from #35 to #25 in just three years. The question isn’t if YTB’s going to compete, it’s when Royal and NCL decide they need to compete.

But because John and the others have never been able to accept any amount of actual Travel Sales, it perpetuates the myth that YTB is inferior. In order to prove his point he takes the TSO income disclosure statement stored on his own server to lay claim that only one person can make $25k. Maybe he should take the time to pull the PDF again to see that both an Associate at the 60% contract level has earned in excess of $25k, and an RTA at the 70% contract level has earned closed to $27K. Only one has exceed the $25K mark? Fact is, he doesn’t know how many have actually earned over $25K, but it sure sounded good for the purpose of his story. My question is how TSO’s are now encouraged to push from say $20k to $25K to earn the additional 10% contract, bonuses, and fully paid medical and life insurance that I can promise you the “other” hosts would not provide.

If you don’t think a travel professional might be swayed by fully paid medical and life insurance, for the same contract or better, with additional performance bonuses to boot…you’re dreamin.

But as we’ve seen John quoted so many times before “I just don’t get it”?

At least he got that right. But it again begs the question why George had to use this simple mind to react to a the articulate message brought forward during last weeks convention in St. Louis.

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The Travel Industry has been in turmoil for some time and the constant changes due to factors both inside and outside of the industry have forced many in the industry to scramble for market share and positioning. You may remember Candi May’s carousel with Travel Professionals, Bye Bye Now, and Carlson Wagonlit before she finally found a home with YTB.

Just this week I found two articles of more musical chairs.

I’ve mentioned Liberty Travel a time or two before and do recall earlier in the year when an Australian company (Flight Center) had purchased the Agency. This week they announced that they will be closing 15% of their retail locations, or 30 of its 197 stores across the country. The closings will occur in Florida, Illinois, Maryland, New England and Upstate New York. While an exact number of jobs lost in this move was not disclosed, since the Australian buyout by Flight Center there has already been a loss of some 180 jobs.

This move has been positioned as a “consolidation” of sorts and employees will be moved around to other stores. That is if they’re actually performing. Other “dead wood” will be let go entirely. Shannon O’Brien, the company’s acting CEO, said outlets in undesirable locations will be closed for “a stronger shop network as our platform for future growth.”

It also looks like this move is necessary since Liberty will be costing Flight Center some $10.2 Million just in the second half of 2008.

Liberty Travel is currently ranked #10 on the 2008 Power List.

In another move this week, Uniglobe Travel Center, the host agency division of Uniglobe Travel USA, has agreed to purchase Magellan360. The sale will bring annual sales to $85 million with some of 400 independent contractors and home-based agents. Sales of $100 million are required to make Travel Weekly’s Power List, thus Magellan360 was unranked in the Travel Weekly Power List.

Magellan 360 has already been thrown around a few time in years past as stated in the Travel Weekly article.

Scott Ahlsmith, the Travel Institute chairman and Virtuoso vice president of global technological solutions, previously owned the 21-year-old business but sold it in January 2007 to Red Branch Technologies, which in turn is selling to Uniglobe. The transaction is expected to close on Nov. 30.

Uniglobe Travel Partners may pick up the spots it lost in 2008, (currently ranked 43 after falling from 40 in the 2007 Power List) and move is certainly a plus for Magellan360 affiliates. They will gain access to Uniglobe programs, including assistance with business planning, marketing toolkits and the opportunity to network with more than 750 franchised Uniglobe agencies around the world.

It’s never ending when it comes to these types of closures, purchases, and takeovers. The flux of this industry, while not entirely isolated to this particular industry, it does appear to me at least to be far more than any industry I’ve ever been involved with in years past.

Change is never easy, especially when it comes to a work environment. Nor does it matter if the change is positive or negative; it upsets the status quo. We’ll have to wait and see how all this shakes out for the companies involved. It will also be interesting to see how long this move lasts. From what I’ve seen, there may be even more before it all shakes out and settles down.

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Every now and then, people really surprise me. I honestly don’t know what it is about our beliefs systems, but I’m sure that phrases like “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” or “the apple does not fall very far from the tree” has something to do with it. I for one know that anyone has it in them to change the direction of their beliefs, financial situation, and life in general if they sincerely want to.

I want to share this comment from Martha with everyone:

“I expected to come on here this evening and read some severe Martha bashing which didn’t happen, rather you people showed compassion. I appreciate that and don’t know if I would have reacted in kind under the circumstances. I appreciate your thoughts.

I would like to clear something up that was mentioned in the comments. I do read John’s blog almost every day and have for about a year. I just started commenting on his blog in the past month or around then. I am not easily influenced and I became aware of Candi through someone that sent me the link to her presentation on YouTube or one of those type, plus a link to her webpage. John had never mentioned Candi when I was introduced to her video or webpage, so John’s opinion or anything else was not an issue in this as it was not known to me that he was aware of Candi. I was very suspicious only because of Seligman and I started to check things out. That was my first mistake. I am not an investigative reporter or a private eye. I am a travel agent. That is what I will be sticking with since I failed so miserably in my attempt to discredit Candi. In that process, I also became a real bitch to Doug. Yes, you read that correctly, a Royal Bitch, a Queen Bitch even, maybe even a Master Bitch. I resorted to name calling and other childish behavior, something I always taught my kids was not acceptable.I will probably never agree with the method of operations of YTB, a lot of their practices, the recruiting, and the MLM ideas. I may still inject my opinions now and again, but I have also learned a great deal from this particular experience. There are certain areas that I have no business treading. This instance was one of them.

I commend Doug for printing most of my posts, but I respect him more for slapping the snot out of me with actual proof. I was without a doubt floored when I read today’s blog. As a matter of fact, deep remorse overcame me for being such a witch. It did not bother me to be proven wrong, it bothered me that I affected others in the process. That is something I’m not at all proud of.

I have no excuses, I was the one that made the assumptions and errors. I am responsible for what I posted. Barbequed crow does not taste like chicken either.

This is where I’m coming from and if you do decide to bash me, I can take it and I deserve it. I also promise to never again refer to RTAS as RATS. You just have to know I’m going to break that promise!”

~ Martha Burke

I’ve got to be honest; I’m blown away at what just transpired in the last 24 hours. I was ramping up for a real fight this week concerning Candi May. As much information as I shared, complete with e-mail addresses and phone numbers to contact Candi directly, it became increasingly apparent to me that I had to come up with some way of communicating that Candi was who she said she was and while I didn’t expect either John or Martha to accept what I posted on Wednesday concerning Carlson Wagonlit, or Thursday concerning Agent Credentials, but apparently it worked. (Finally)

Candi led a very simple, uncomplicated, and rather quiet life before I posted about her industry experience last month. So I felt responsible for some of harsh words and accusations that have been posted elsewhere on the internet. Because this blog gets the kind of visibility and readership it does, I brought her “out of the closet” so to speak.

While Candi and I did consider just letting the whole situation blow over, it became increasingly evident that the accusations and comments started to escalate instead of dying down. Within hours, all sorts or rumors and stories were floating around proclaiming that Candi was nothing more than some slick talking MLM recruiter whose 20 years of Travel Agent experience was nothing more than a fabrication, simply because she’s involved in MLM. Rumors and stories like this are nothing new. I’ve heard the same bogus comments about a former Minister who got involved with A.L. Williams some 30 years ago.

What I found most annoying were comments that Candi now had to document her experience FOR them, as if those making the accusations actually deserved to be spoon fed information at the drop of a hat. This small group simply couldn’t believe that a Traditional Travel Agent, especially one of her experience or success in the Traditional Arena, would even consider YTB as a viable alternative to “their way” of life. Candi found it silly and began to question just who these “posters” were and why it was so important to them. She also began to question why they were so lazy as to not even pick up the phone to call her directly, or come down to Louisville to see for themselves.

While it simply didn’t matter to her, I however was being bombarded with comment after comment, most nobody even saw because I had deleted them. I realize that I’ve been ridiculed and vilified for not allowing an open forum and that’s their right to believe that. After what happened this week however, I’m really glad I did what I do because all of the nasty, vicious, and unsubstantiated comments surrounding Candi May (among other topics) which everyone just knew were “fact” turned out to be nothing more than a limiting and false “belief”.

It certainly shed a new light on demands that you have a right to post “the truth” when you finally find out it was all a big misunderstanding doesn’t it?

So, the big mystery of Candi May has been solved, the Candi bashing has ended, and eve
ryone can get on with their lives. If anyone has any further questions I would simply ask that you do what I did, and that’s go to the source. Candi is an open book, and more than happy to answer any remaining questions you have, if any.

Thank you Martha for allowing me to slap you around. Wait…that didn’t sound right, but I also know she has a sense of humor.

Actually, thanks for seeing the light and thank you for the apology. It means more than you know.

With that said, I’m going to be on vacation with my family next week. Frankly, after a week like this on the blog, I need one. It’s time to revamp and re-energize for the summer and it’s a place we’ve enjoyed for years as a family.

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In keeping with The Beverly Hillbillies theme from yesterday concerning the documentation I received after actually picking up the phone and calling the one person who could settle this matter once and for all, I’ve decided to entitle the second installment “Texas Tea” as I write about the second and last person who just doesn’t seem to want to accept that Candi May is exactly who she says she is.

A note about yesterdays post: John Frenaye feels it’s worthy to note that yesterday’s post concerning Candi’s affiliation with Carlson Wagonlit with two letters addressed to Candi May, one signed by Roger Block himself, and the other from Linda Fox that came with a Formal Agreement is deemed by him as being authentic. These two documents did convince him that Candi was solicited by Carlson due to the fact she did own a Brick and Mortar Agency in 2001. Why he couldn’t find out and report this information on his own is still unknown. I find it interesting that I was able to come up with this information, and yet someone with all the contacts and resources he claims to have he could not.

All it took for me was a simple phone call to the one source that could provide the proper information, which of course was Candi May.

Who knew it could have been that easy.

So it seems that most agree that Candi May not only exists, but was in fact the owner of Brick and Mortar Agency at one time.

There is still one woman who is so wrapped up in denial that even after yesterday’s post, she isn’t willing to accept that Candi is anything even close to being a “Travel Agent”. Like John, she has made very bold and outlandish claims that she has uncovered “the truth” and even went as far as demanding that she have an opportunity to have me post her “truth” on my blog.

When given the opportunity to do so, all of the sudden it turned into nothing more than having me calling some restaurant, me checking with the Chamber of Commerce, me doing all the work, while she made excuse after excuse that the “proof” to make all these bogus claims legit, couldn’t be produced because all of the sudden, they didn’t exist.

Unfortunately for Ms. Martha, I was able to find documentation based on what I know about Candi on the internet such as a WorldSpan listing proving that there was in fact an “Agency” at this location. I also linked to a business license filing with the Kentucky Secretary of State that Candi May was a business owner at this very location.

It’s amusing to me how in the face of evidence such as this, there always seems to be some sort of twist. For example, the letters documented yesterday… well, they were just “form letters”. If they were looking for a hand written love letter to every TPI Agency that was up for grabs, sorry, it’s just not going to happen. Excuses such as these shows nothing more than an unwillingness to look at the truth, something they demand us to supply for them on a silver platter.

While we were told by Martha that she could “prove” that Candi May didn’t have an IATA under May & White, Inc., Candi May, or Travel Professionals in the last FIVE years, (she, like John, has “contacts”) not a single document was ever produced by Martha to support any of her claims. Like John’s contacts, she may have just told her what she wanted to hear so that associates she enlisted to help her, could actually get on with life. While I was somehow able to acquire a copy of Candi’s IATA from 2007. You may also note that she’s been a card holder since 1987. (And yes, I’ve taken the liberty to black out some of the numbers on the card, I’m not stupid.)

The only possible explanation I can think of is that Martha may have found a Certificate of Appointment filed in 2002 when the Agency was changed from ByeByeNow.com to Travel Professionals after decided to go independent just like John Frenaye claims to have done. That doesn’t explain Martha’s claims of no records of a business address, or the listings of a DBA in either case.

One last point I’d like to address here about documentation. It’s been posted that nobody can find the Pioneer News Article about Candi May closing her Brick and Mortar Agency. It’s been mentioned that the “Jury is Still Out” concerning posting a copy of this article for everyone to read. Well…the Jury just came back into the Court Room with the article.

Please note a couple of statements in this particular “News Article”. One, it’s mentioned that the Agency had 20 years of service in this community. The document was published on July 17, 2006, and mentioned that the doors will close on July 31, 2006. Oh, and it also documents other retail locations owned by this “Travel Pro” located in Kentucky Towers, and the Louisville Galleria.

Hmmmmm, yet another contradiction in to the mud thrown out by Martha.

So at this point I’ve got a couple of demands of my own. Just who is this Martha? If she can’t find simple documentation like this I have to wonder if she has any industry experience at all let alone what she’s telling us.

Why is it that I can come up with this and nobody else can? Is this spin about having proof all a big lie and a bunch of hype? How am I or anyone at this point able to verify “Martha” is who she says she is?

She better come up with something to substantiate who SHE is because what I’ve been able to uncover so far…as Ole would put it.

Doug – 12
Martha – 0

So before we move ANY further in the little charade of Martha’s, I need Martha to own up to some documentation of her own which substantiates she is who she claims to be, because even if a little ol’ YTB’er like myself can pull this information up, certainly a “Trained Professional” can.

Again, I have my doubts, but we shall see.

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I don’t know if any of you are old enough or maybe you’ve caught re-runs of The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-71, CBS) but after receiving a certain package, the term “Black Gold” kept running through my head. (For those of you who might not have any clue, it means that I struck oil. ;-P)

It came to my attention that I have two stragglers in my midst who just don’t want to admit that Candi May is who she says she is. Both of them have been extremely vocal about claims they have proven she isn’t who she says she is.

Now mind you, neither one of these stragglers have been able to provide a single shred of documentation to verify their claims. (We just need to take their word for it.) They claim to be “in the know” about all sorts of matters and they also have “insider information” that they hand out like it was candy with a little slip of the tongue.

I’m going to be dividing this information into two sections and I’m going to be asking some questions of these two people directly who I believe need to come up with some answers and documentation of their own. I’m getting really board with the words which have nothing backing them up.

Our first straggler, John Frenaye has been extremely public about reacting to news in one of his daily ramblings about YTB that a “Travel-Pro” has made the switch to YTB with his own spin and twist on things. John doesn’t limit his views to just his blog. Ohhh no, you can find him all over the internet and one of his favorite watering holes happens to be Scam.com and he was busy trashing Candi May there as well. (I don’t have the time to or energy to check the Travel Weekly Forum, Yahoo and Google Finance boards, or some of the other “holes” he posts on all day every day.)

Now the claim is that John has “insider information” and “contacts” at Carlson Wagonlit that disproves that Candi May was ever approached, invited, or for that matter even contacted by Carlson Wagonlit to be a part of their company. (He claims to know the CEO.) And from conversations he’s had the story is, “the only “Candi” they have in their system of prospects, was a “Candy” from Michigan.”

About the closest I got to any type of documentation from John was a copy and past from an e-mail from Roger Block which stated, “In the system, we have a Barbara May but she is from Memphis. Don’t have a clue who you could be referring to.”

Now I was told by John that “It doesn’t get any more credible than that.” but after viewing a signed document from Roger Block to Candi May I would have to respectfully disagree. I’d also have to wonder how Linda Fox obtained Candi’s information, complete with address, to Fed Ex a Formal Agreement to Candi if there was no record of a Candi May in the Carlson system.

One other strange piece of documentation I found was this Agenda concerning dinner at Bucca de Beppos after the “Advisory Board” took a tour of HQ up in Minneapolis. It’s my understanding that John seems to think they wouldn’t do something like this. (Carlson wouldn’t actually fly anyone up or take them to a restaurant they don’t own themselves according to him.)

But the real kicker that makes me scratch my head was this document that I’d like some answers to. (Doubt I’ll get…but…) As part of the “Franchise Advisory Board” that Candi was in fact a part of concerning the acquisition of Travel Professionals International, she was handed a document of Agencies that were “terminated” in 2001 by Carlson Wagonlit.

Now I don’t know about you, but the word “terminated” doesn’t sound very good. I have to wonder what the terminations were for. Did they do something wrong? Did they not make any money for Carlson? Or were they just fed up with the owners?

Maybe John can shed some light on the subject since Universal Travel owned by John happened to be on this list of terminations.

Come to think of it, maybe we need to change the channel from “The Beverly Hillbillies” to “I Love Lucy” just to hear Ricky tell Lucy, “You got some splanin to do…”

Now I know all this begs the question as to why Carlson Wagonlit ever tried to recruit Candi May to join their company. Based on all unsubstantiated claims, comments and posts by John and Martha to try to discredit her, one would think that she’s just another MLM’er who will do and say anything to pick your pockets.

I’ll be back either tomorrow or Friday with a little more documentation that I’ve acquired to answer some of “Maxine’s” questions and shed a little more light on just why you can’t trust a word she says either.

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Do You ZamZuu?