FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 23, 2012 // PRNewswire // -- Just in time for Memorial Day, CruiseOne – one of the nation’s top travel retailers as part of World Travel Holdings (WTH) – today announced the launch of an innovative new contest honoring the nation’s military heroes. Dubbed ‘Operation Vetrepreneur: Become Your Own General,’ the campaign will award free franchises to former members of the U.S. military. The contest comes on the heels of CruiseOne’s ’Second Chance at Success’ initiative, which rolled out in 2010 and helped five unemployed educators launch new careers in the travel industry.
“Hundreds of thousands of veterans are in the process of returning home from deployments and searching for the right next step. The transition is not an easy one and comes with a unique set of challenges,” said Dwain Wall, Senior Vice President and General Manager of CruiseOne. “CruiseOne is proud to stand up and support veterans with this new contest, as well as our other ongoing veteran appreciation programs. We look forward to helping this group get a fresh start in an exciting business with tremendous future growth potential.”
The CruiseOne contest is open to former members of any of the five branches of the U.S. military (Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard) who are retired, off active duty and/or were honorably discharged prior to May 15, 2012. To participate, candidates must complete an online entry form by September 14, 2012. The form and all contest details can be found at www.OperationVetrepreneur.com.
There will be three rounds of judging as part of this contest. First, candidates will participate in a phone interview with a CruiseOne franchise development specialist. Semi-finalists will be required to submit a franchise application, business plan and resume, all of which will be scored by the CruiseOne executive team. Final candidates will be invited to participate in follow-up phone interviews before winners are selected.
“As an active member of the International Franchise Association and VetFran initiative, CruiseOne is passionate about helping veterans build their own businesses,” said Tim Courtney, CFE, Director of Franchise Development for CruiseOne. “By nature, people who join the military are service oriented, hard-working and results-oriented when given the right training. We have a terrific success rate amongst veterans and are excited to see what the winners of this contest are able to achieve as part of our family.”
Five Grand Prize Winners will be announced in November 2012. Each will receive a free CruiseOne franchise including a waived $9,800 initial start-up fee, as well as one year of waived monthly service fees. Additionally, CruiseOne will bring the winners to its new state-of-the-art corporate headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for six days of in-depth training from November 12-17. Winners will be reimbursed for their travel and provided with complimentary accommodations during the training program.
For more information, visit www.OperationVetrepreneur.com.
About CruiseOneCruiseOne, the nation’s leading home-based franchise travel agent network, is this year celebrating its 20th anniversary in business. The company is part of World Travel Holdings (WTH), the nation’s largest cruise retailer, and has relationships with every major cruise line and many tour operators. As a result, CruiseOne offers travel agents the highest commissions possible, while offering consumers the lowest possible pricing. CruiseOne is consistently recognized for its efforts, including being named Norwegian Cruise Line’s “Elite Travel Partner of the Year,” Royal Caribbean’s “Partner of the Year,“ Celebrity Cruises’ “National Account Partner of the Year“ and Carnival Cruise Line’s “Travel Partner of the Year.“
A proud member of the International Franchise Association (IFA), MinorityFRAN, and VetFRAN, CruiseOne is consistently ranked as a franchise leader, including being named to Entrepreneur magazine’s “Top 500“, Forbes magazine’s “Top 20 Franchises to Start,“ the Franchise Market’s “Top 100 Companies,” and FranchiseBusinessReview’s “Top Low-Cost Franchises.“ The company was the only travel industry company named to G.I. Jobs magazine’s 2012 Military Friendly Franchises® list, which represents the top 10 percent of the nation’s franchises that are doing the most to support military veterans.
*Contest begins 5/28/2012 at 12:01 a.m. ET and ends 9/14/2012 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Must be 18 or older, have computer and internet connection, be legal resident of the US or DC and former member in good standing of one of the five branches of the U.S. military who is retired, off active duty and/or was honorably discharged prior to the start date of the Contest. One (1) submission per contestant. Sponsored by CruiseOne, Inc., 1201 W. Cypress Creek Rd. Ste. 100, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309. See [www.OperationVetrepreneur.com] for complete Rules and details.
SOURCE CruiseOne
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