Medjet Update: Fake Drugs and the International Traveler

Posted on January 23, 2012
Filed Under General, Travel Alerts -- From www.travel.state.gov | Comments Off

By: John Gobbels
MedjetAssist VP/COO

Travelers in need of medications while abroad can often fall into a common trap of paying for fake drugs, but some new technology should help curb the number of travelers who fall victim to these scams.

The new technology called Mobile Product Authentication was developed by Dr. Ashifi Cogo, a Ghanaian native working in the UK. His concept means drug manufacturers would embed a lottery style scratch off panel on the back of each of their products. After scratching off the panel, the purchaser keys its unique code into a mobile phone and it sends the code via a free text message to the manufacturer. The traveler receives an almost immediate response indicating whether the drug is real of fake.

Earlier this year, a report published by the United Nations Office of Drug and Crime showed that three in 10 pharmaceutical products found in Africa, Asia and Latin America were counterfeit, while 50 to 60 percent of medications tested in parts of Asia and Africa have too little or no active ingredients.

Hopefully this new technology will empower consumers to refuse fake drugs, putting the manufacturers out of business. It’s reported that 700,000 people die each year from fake medications associated with malaria and tuberculosis alone.

International Travel Insurance Journal: December 2011: Issue 131 pg16

Saying Hello to Jim Furyk. Saying Goodbye to Coach. – Letter from the President

Posted on January 23, 2012
Filed Under General, Letter From the President | Comments Off

By: Roy Berger, MedjetAssist President/CEO

Sometimes you just get lucky. It happened to us at MedjetAssist a few months ago!
As we began to formulate our 2012 marketing plans the idea of a national company spokesperson was brought to the front burner. The challenge was finding the right personality.

Our focus the past few years has been in the travel arena and we wanted to widen our reach. We thought sports, more particularly, leisure time sports, would be a natural venue for the Medjet product.

We began our venture into the golf world last September when we became a partner of the LPGA. The association enrolled all the ladies on tour as well as executives and officials into the Medjet program.

The golf demographic and the Medjet member profile compliment each other. Statistically we find our members to be upscale, affluent and on the go much like mature, leisure-time recreational golfers.

We also have multiple high end golf communities that have incorporated Medjet into their member benefits.

Having found the field we thought was a great fit with our member base, the next step was to try and find a person we thought would not only have product credibility but someone who is recognizable enough to become the face of the company.

Welcome to the MedjetAssist family PGA Tour pro, Jim Furyk!

The more we learned about Jim, the better fit he became.

Of course professional golf fans are very familiar with Mr. Furyk. He is a 16-time PGA Tour winner with one major, the 2003 U.S. Open, on his resume (so far~). Additionally, he won the 2010 FedEx Cup and was named 2010 Player of the Year by the PGA. Jim has also been a mainstay for the United States on both the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams.

Furyk is a gentleman both on and off the course. He is held in high esteem and receives overwhelming respect by anyone who comes into his company. Any organization would be proud to have Jim as a spokesperson.

Demographically Jim is in his early 40′s; he and wife Tabitha have two children. So when it comes to health and medical care he understands the importance of a Medjet membership. Jim is absolutely in tune with our typical Medjet member.

“The more I learned about the company, the more I not only saw the importance of a Medjet membership for me but certainly for my parents and in-laws who travel extensively,” Furyk said.

“Becoming a member of Medjet was a natural for me,” Furyk added. “As much time as I spend away from home, both on the Tour and with personal commitments, my Medjet membership takes away any worry about what would happen if I get sick or injured.”

We are proud to welcome Jim Furyk to the Medjet family and team and wish him not only good luck, but great health as he begins his 2012 competitive season!

*                                                                *                                                              *

And in a sadly ironic twist the day before the promotional shoot with Mr. Furyk, we lost our first Medjet spokesperson.

Hall of Fame basketball coach Gene Bartow, 81, lost a very gallant two-plus year fight with stomach cancer and passed away on January 3, leaving behind an unbelievable legion of friends and memories.

Bartow, or ‘Coach’ as he was universally known, was seen prominently in our home Birmingham, Alabama market during the years of 1998-2001 as this young company was trying to gain a local foothold.

Coach had all the credentials a company could want in a spokesperson. He was a phenomenal success in his chosen profession of coaching, winning 647 basketball games in a 35 year career. He was never terminated from a job which these days may be more impressive than the 647 wins.~

Despite his Hall of Fame credentials, Coach’s impact on his players was greater off the court.

In 1973 he took his Memphis State team to the NCAA Championship game losing to UCLA and John Wooden. Two years later, in a moment of insanity, he succeeded Mr. Wooden at UCLA.

In his two seasons at Westwood, Coach compiled a 52-9 record including the 1976 Final Four. However, he quickly found when you succeed the legend of all legends as was Mr. Wooden, the only way to make everyone happy was win every game. And, as Coach said, “I didn’t think I could do that.”

He then shook the college basketball world in 1977 by leaving UCLA after two years and agreeing to become Athletic Director and Head Basketball Coach at, then little known, University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB)- which didn’t even have a program!

Eighteen years later, in 1996, Coach retired from the UAB coaching chair with a record of 366 wins and 203 losses. He was succeeded by his son Murry.

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame induction and the naming of the UAB arena in his honor quickly amassed.

Coach remained as the UAB Athletics Director until 2000 and his name, likeness and reputation were so strong in the local Birmingham market that we put him to work as the Medjet spokesperson!

Instant credibility to our program followed. In fact, perhaps the one promotional message we received more feedback on over time was a Gene Bartow billboard holding a Medjet card that appeared at the convergence of two main arteries on the way to the BHM airport.

Over time a personal friendship with Coach and his wife, Ruth evolved and never did the conversation linger about him; he quickly wanted to know about you and what he could do to help.

After retiring from UAB, he was Athletic Director emeritus and shortly afterwards took a front office job with the NBA Memphis Grizzlies, commuting some five hours from his Birmingham home. Countless times Coach asked me to come to Memphis as his guest for a game. I never did. Now of course I wish I had.

Everyone knew time was running short for Coach. Nobody wanted to face it.

Coach Bartow was a winner on the basketball court. Gene Bartow was a champion in life.

Personally my life has been enriched by his friendship over the past 14 years.

I am simply one of thousands.

Andrew Harper Announces The Winners of His Annual Grand Awards

Posted on January 23, 2012
Filed Under Andrew Harper, Destinations, General | Comments Off

Andrew Harper is pleased to announce his 2012 Grand Award winners, a carefully vetted compilation of his favorite hotels, resorts, restaurants and travel experiences from the past calendar year.

Each of the properties reviewed possess exceptional character, a commitment to classic hospitality and a profound sense of place. Mr. Harper does not make his evaluation by means of a checklist, but uses his three decades of experience to distinguish the truly enchanting from the merely excellent.

View the full list of winners and their reviews, including Special Recognitions, Indelible Memories of 2011 and Disappointments of the Year, by downloading the complimentary January 2012 Grand Awards issue.

Restaurant Week in NYC

Posted on January 19, 2012
Filed Under General | Comments Off

I love food. I like cooking it and I like eating it. So you can imagine how excited I was when I learned that during a business trip to New York I was going to be arriving smack dab in the middle of Restaurant Week. And, not just any Restaurant Week but the 20th Anniversary NYC Restaurant Week. To celebrate the anniversary they have extended the event to a full 20 days. That means from the 16th of January to the 10th of February you can lunch or dine on price-fixed meals at an array of the best and hottest restaurants in the Big Apple.

I am so excited I cannot stop myself from reviewing the menus of the places where I have made reservations. I look at them nearly every day and salivate as I read delicious descriptions of the meals I will be noshing on soon. I went all across the board in making reservations, including some of my favorite places like NOBU, to hot new places like Gusto Ristorante e Bar Americano and the ever classic Le Cirque. By the way, these are just a few of the places on my list. I have every free-time lunch and dinner booked at a Restaurant Week establishment.

I will take you on a food tour of the experience after I return but for now check out the information below for details on this tasty event:

Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of NYC Restaurant Week January 16–February 10 (Monday–Friday) with 20 incredible days of three-course prix-fixe dining, featuring $24.00 lunch and $35.00 dinner at more than 300 restaurants.

NYC Restaurant Week is New York City’s original dining celebration and a pioneer in the dining industry. As the country’s first-ever restaurant week, it debuted in 1992 when it was developed as a one-time culinary event to welcome the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to the City. Though created to appeal to delegates and other DNC attendees, the program—with 95 participating restaurants—also found a strong following among residents excited to dine at some of the City’s top restaurants for a fraction of the usual cost—$19.92 for a three-course lunch—and who wanted NYC Restaurant Week to be a recurring event.

Over the past 20 years, NYC Restaurant Week has grown tremendously yet has remained committed to giving visitors and residents the opportunity to experience the quality, variety and hospitality that embody the NYC dining experience.

This year, in honor of the 20th Anniversary, NYC Restaurant Week is, for the first time ever, a 20-day event. Adding extra days to NYC Restaurant Week only underscores just how many reasons there are to celebrate this milestone for one of the City’s most exciting and anticipated events.

For more information and menu links visit www.nycgo.com/restaurantweek.