178: Hospitality That Makes Sun 'n Fun Soar With Gene Conrad

Customer Service Academy

In this high-flying episode, we sit down with Gene Conrad, President and CEO of the Aerospace Center for Excellence and Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo in Lakeland Florida. Sun 'n Fun is one of the largest aviation events in the country and welcomes over 200,000 visitors annually.

Key Takeaways:

• ✈️ Safety First – Safety is the primary focus for the airshow, and should be for your business as well.
• 👥 People Over Planes – The aircraft might draw a crowd, but it’s the human connection that creates return guests.
• 🏘️ Build Community – How Sun 'n Fun creates a sense of belonging that drives long-term success.
• 💪 Perfect Effort – Gene’s powerful philosophy: it’s not about being perfect, it's about putting in perfect effort.
• 📋 Debrief and Do Something – Why post-event reviews matter only when action follows based on what you learn.

Whether you're in the sky or on the ground, this episode is packed with insights on leadership, culture, and delivering remarkable experiences.

Subscribe, review, and share this episode to help more leaders bring passion and purpose to their organizations.

Links & Resources:

📌 Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-johnson-ccxp/

📌 Book hospitality training for your team today: https://www.igniteyourservice.com/summits

📌 Learn more about Sun 'n Fun: https://flysnf.org/

📌 Learn more about the Aerospace Center for Excellence: https://aceedu.org/

Tony Johnson is a Customer Experience Expert, Keynote Speaker, and Author with a wide background including decades in retail and restaurants. He regularly speaks and coaches organizations to IGNITE THEIR SERVICE using his common sense approach to Customer engagement. Tony has spoken to government agencies and Fortune 500 companies to unlock their amazing capacity for excellence.

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