WSI is an association of independent welcoming services. Each year an intensive workshop and training conference is hosted in the "hometown" of a different WSI member. The October '08 conference was held in beautiful Pismo Beach, CA—a lovely place to visit as most of the members will attest. Welcome Services from all over the country attend each year, sometimes coming from as far away as the UK. www.WelcomeServicesInternational.com
The managing partners of Welcome Express-- Orange County's premier welcome service since 1986 attended the
3-day event, where many ideas about welcoming new residents were shared.
Founded in the early fifties and originally named City Hostess International, the organization is a coalition of welcome services – whose sole purpose is to connect newcomers with their new surroundings. And what a valuable purpose they serve!
Moving is an unsettling time. Newcomers have a huge "to-do" list ranging from all the technicalities involved with changing utilities, school enrollments, & DMV records to replacing all the professional and personal services they have left behind. It is a bit unsettling to find yourself in the position of needing to locate new doctors, dentists, veterinarians, babysitters, pet groomers, auto mechanics hair stylists—and the list goes on. And somewhere along the way, you'd like to fix up and decorate the house you bought – turning it into your "Home Sweet Home." Where to start?
What a wonderful surprise to receive a valuable and timely Welcome Package full of civic & community information –exactly what you need. And the wonderful newcomer gifts – many valuable items to pick up from local merchants, including a friendly invitation extended by local business owners who want you to stop in for your own personal welcome. They extend the hand of old-fashioned friendship in the hopes that you will choose their business as one of your local favorites to return to time and again.
While retaining the personal feel of the old-fashioned welcoming committee, the owners of modern day welcome services are now able to offer numerous ONLINE resources to the busy 21st century family—as they rapidly learn to navigate their new surroundings in Orange County.
OCRG (Orange County Resource Guide) provides website links and phone numbers to just about everything a local would need. From jobs, weather, traffic, dining & shopping guides to information on over 160,000 local businesses – even where to buy the cheapest gas! It helps both newcomer and long-time residents alike save time and gas before they venture out. In this modern era, consumers love the Local Search options on the Orange County Resource Guide. It helps them become informed shoppers who "know before they go!"
