The yes message of the launch was that we now offer our guests a great range of new dining options.

Breakfast.  Breakfast has always been good, now it’s great. We’ve added complimentary sparkling wine and a tasty selecitonn of cold cuts and cheese.

Platters. You’re had a big day out and beautiful lunch. Finish the day with one of our freshly prepared, delicious Schonegg platters, enjoy it in the guest lounge, on your deck or in the dining room.

Dinner Packages. Ready for some serious dining? We’ll send you to one of the region’s top restaurants in a stretch limo, we’ll even bring you home to Schonegg. And our restaurant partners will ensure you enjoy a great meal.

To view images of the event, click here.

Like many small businesses in Australia, we use MYOB accounting software. MYOB are running a competition asking business owners to share what they love about their work and to describe how they would spend $20,000 improving their business.

Take a moment to have a look at the competition details here.

I think the competition is a great idea, it’s very important for us all to take a moment and reflect on what it is that really excites us about our job, and maybe rekindle the ‘fire in the belly’. And how to spend $20K? Sounds like fun to me, but imagine if the exercise helped you identify some much needed marketing priorities, regardless of whether you win or not?

Obviously #1 on your list will be…

 ‘Give everyone a weekend away at Schonegg’

- guaranteed to send morale skyrocketing, cut down stress and gain life-long loyalty from the team. But it wouldn’t be fair to send the team somewhere that you haven’t ‘road tested’ yourself, so give us a call and make a date. For the sake of the team, of course!

Elise was raised in Murrumbateman.  She is currently studying for her Community Services Certifiacate IV and  building her acting career in Canberra. She contacted us to seek support for her ambitious plan to spend 7 months in Uganda as a student volunteer worker for Student Partnerships Worldwide next year.

We were impressed by her passion to make a difference and a her professional approach to this daunting project.

Find out more about Elise and her dream here. Elise Wilson SPW Brochure We’re sure that once you’ve had a look, you too will be keen to help. Here’s how…

Trivia Night – Saturday, 14 August 2010

Elise has organised a Trivia Night to be held at Majura Hall, Dickson at 7.30 PM, Saturday, 14th August. Elise is lining up some great prizes, including an accommodation voucher from Country Guesthosue Schonegg.

Everyday Hero Website

Even if you can’t make it to the Trivia Night, you can still support Elise by making a donation via her ‘Everyday Hero’ website.

Cheque

If you would prefer to make a donation by cheque, details are included in Elise’s brochure. Elise Wilson SPW Brochure

Elise, we wish you all the best and look forward to news of how your fundraising is progressing.

In the article, Kirsty Spraggon introduces the idea of combining FUn with woRK =FURK. She suggests that you should make an effort to get to know your clients a a level deeper than just business. As your relationships develop, spending time together is less about work and more about enjoying the relationship.

Her top tips include:

1. Combine a meeting with  walk or a game of tennis or golf.
2. Use you iPhone to keep your networks up to date via Twitter or Facebook.
3. Combine business meetings with a coffee or lunch at your local cafe.
4. Host an annual client function such as bowling, a movie night, a picnic or wine tasting.
5. Bored with the office?  Take your laptop to the beach, park or favourite cafe.
6. When working from home, play yur favourite music and rather than dressing in the corporate uniform, stay in your PJ’s and uggh boots.
7. Load the numbers of your top 100 clients in your mobile and give them a call just to say hi next time you have a spare moment, such as when your driving (use hands-free of curse).

Evelyn and I love what we do and so I guess we furk too. We enjoy the freedom our lifestyle allows us and love spending time with people who are here to make the most of every moment. See if you can squeeze a little furk into your day.

Each of the region’s wineries will be serving up a glass of their best vintage married with a perfect food match. Use the Feast brochure

2010 Moving Feast Brochure

to plan your trip. Just make sure you visit  all your favorites… there’s a huge menu to choose from – that’s why it’s called a Feast!

Clearly one day won’t be enough, that’s why we’ve created the Moving Feast accommodation package.

Following the ‘blockbuster’ success of last year’s event, we will again be hosting Murrumbateman’sChocolate Queen, Robyn Rowe. See her in action on YouTube. Our offer over the weekend includes a glass of Jeir Creek Muscat and a selection of Robyn Rowe chocolate truffles. Heaven on earth! (Of course you could always enjoy an espresso coffee, tea or hot chocolate instead).

We look forward to offering you our region at it’s best.

Here is the link to our Winter Newsletter. We are sure you will enjoy it. The upside-down banana puddings are selling like… hot cakes!

No, please no more pig jokes…

Be sure to find the pig jokes at the bottom of the newsletter… they are hilarious! (Just my opinion, you be the judge..) Here are a couple of new ones…

Q. How do you stop a pig?

A. Use a ham brake.

Q. What do you call a pig in an earthquake?

A. A ham shake.

We are guessing this is similar to a ’short break’, or ‘getaway’ – only shorter! Still sounds like fun though.  I guess the key to a successful mini break is to pick a destination that has a lot to offer in a short period of time – somewhere with a sense of place, somewhere unique, a destination that offers more than just a bed. Hmmm.. where can that place be?

Obviously, we think Schonegg is just perfect for almost any occasion, but clearly ideal for a mini break. Easy to get to, lots of choices for activities, plenty of pampering and a great sense of place.

Here’s a little of our mini break research…

Break Up Mini Breaks

Breaking up is hard to do, but this article explains how a mini break can ease the pain.

I was in Adelaide from Friday, 28 until Monday 31 May assisting the Australian Capital Tourism team at the Australian Tourism Exchange. The ATE is the largest inbound tourism trade show in Australia and the perfect way to showcase all that Canberra has to offer to the world.

Elizabeth Bomben lead the team. The image above gives you a glimpse of just how much work went into the event. The Canberra stand featured the largest video display of any stand attending and Elizabeth provided us with a state of the art kitchen to showcase our fantastic local produce, which was a very popular attraction.

I attended the first three days and Harry Stevenson from the Canberra Institute of Technology covered the last three. Our menus featured trout, Muscat, kangaroo proscuitto, mushrooms, gourmet vinegars and lots and lots of chocolate all sourced from the region.

It was a great honour and pleasure to be invited to join the team. I enjoyed the chance to spend some time with fellow tourism operators and the very talented team from Australian Capital Tourism. I am very confident the event was very successful selling the region – it’s not such a hard job when we have so much to offer! Click here for a reminder….

Richard’s Omelette Recipe

We have added this and another great breakfast recipe to our recipe folder. Enjoy.

We participated in a mini Expo showcasing our region for Sydney-based inbound tour operators – these people organise tours for groups and individuals from overseas. They liked what they saw and we hope to be seeing an increasing number of international tourists spending time in our region.

Tourism Australia is currently running a campaign called ‘There’s nothing like…’. Follow the link to share your favorite holiday moment with the world, and put the Canberra region on the world map. But please be quick.. entries close soon.

We look forward to hearing from you.