My First Season

My guest today worked for Club Med from 2000 to 2002, beginning her very first season at Club Med Sandpiper as a Circus G.O. Her story before and after Club Med is just as fascinating. She holds a degree in Marketing and Finance from the University of Richmond and an MBA from Hofstra University. Before joining Club Med full-time, she was a Loan Officer in the Private Banking division at the Bank of New York. After visiting Club Med a few times as a G.M., she found herself completely hooked. After Club Med, her adventures became even more extraordinary. She performed flying trapeze at the White House Halloween party, where she met President Obama, and also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Most recently, in October 2025, she published her book Summer to Soar, which we will talk about in part two of her interview, along with so much more. From New York, please help me welcome Lizzy Heinrich Ellis! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora, and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

Mon invitée d'aujourd'hui a travaillé pour le Club Med de 1992 à 1995. Elle a passé sa première saison au Club Med Ixtapa, où elle a occupé le poste de secrétaire du chef du village, avant de rejoindre le Mini Club par la suite. Après son passage au Club Med, elle a obtenu un diplôme en éducation et travaille aujourd'hui comme enseignante dans une école primaire. Comme beaucoup d'autres anciens G.O., sa fille a suivi ses traces et est aujourd'hui G.O. à son tour. Nous parlerons de sa carrière, de son héritage familial et de bien d'autres choses encore. En direct de Montréal, merci d'accueillir Ginette Bisson! **Le podcast My First Season a toujours été gratuit et sans publicité et peut être téléchargé sur: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora et Listen Notes. Et si vous aimez ce que vous entendez, n'hésitez pas à laisser un commentaire sur les podcasts Apple.

My guest today and I met at an EXGO Reunion in Cancun in 2008. His first season was as a Mini Club G.O. in Club Med Huatulco in 1997, and his first contract season followed in Eleuthera in 1998/1999. Originally from Ottawa, please help me welcome Jason “Big Jay” Reid! Before joining Club Med, Big Jay was finishing a two-year diploma in Recreation and Facilities Management at Algonquin College in Ottawa. Part of his studies involved a three-week placement at Club Med, which set the stage for his future career. During his first season, his roommate was none other than the Chief of Circus, Darwin. That pairing sparked a determination in Big Jay to learn the craft, and he soon became heavily involved in the circus shows. He loved every aspect of the trapeze, from learning the boards and pulling safety lines to acting as a catcher during the comedy skits. He shares several funny stories with a recurring theme: wardrobe malfunctions. Whether it was almost losing his bathing suit on a picnic boat or losing his bloomers during a circus performance, Big Jay knows how to handle himself! You can listen to our conversation here or wherever you get your podcasts. (*Originally aired on October 11, 2021)**My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora, and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

Today’s guest trained at Club Med Copper Mountain, and her first season was at Club Med Sandpiper in 1989 as a Bank G.O., with Jean-Luc Olivero as her CDV. It is especially fitting to feature her on the Christmas episode because she now lives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, also known as Christmas City! Even better, she has performed in A Christmas Carol at the Civic Theatre in Allentown, as well as in two other holiday classics, White Christmas and Holiday Inn, at the Pennsylvania Playhouse in Bethlehem. We are going to talk about all of this, and so much more, so please help me welcome Cindi Greatsinger! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora, and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review at Apple Podcasts.

My guest today is a Canadian podcaster, writer, and traveler from Ontario who has spent much of her life exploring the world. She has trekked through the Alps, ridden a chicken bus across Central America, paraglided over the mountains of Nepal, and even lived in Australia as a child. In 2010, at the age of 35, she made the bold decision to leave her life in Toronto behind for several months to travel across Southeast Asia and China. That life-changing journey became the basis for her travel memoir, The People You Meet: Luxury, Leeches, Love, and Lao-Lao with a Host of Interesting Characters in Southeast Asia. We’ll be talking about that adventure and much more today. Please welcome Melissa Rodway! **My First Season podcast has always been ad-free and free to listen to and is available to download on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podbean App, Podchaser, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora, and Listen Notes. And if you like what you hear, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Please visit her website: The People You Meet: Luxury, Leeches, Love, and Lao-Lao Her Instagram Fly Travel Media: Instagram