Franchisee wins office makeover

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Franchisee wins office makeover

Tim Kangas of Cruise Planners in Sharpsburg will soon be getting a roof over his head (actually in his downstairs home office) thanks to Royal Caribbean International.

Kangas received a check from the line for $1,000 when he was chosen as one of six winners of an RCI Extreme Home Office Makeover. Cruise Planners, his host agency, added another $500 and made the presentation at the recent NASDAQ 100 tennis tournament.

Kangas said that RCI plans to roll out one makeover a month, starting in May. His turn is tentatively set for August. RCI flew the winners to Florida in late March to meet with its newbuild team.

"We all brought schematics. Everyone had different needs," said Kangas.

His were basic, he added.

"I'm a pretty organized person. Basically, there are just rafters in my home office and the floor isn't covered. So the office just needs some finishing touches to make it cosmetically correct," he said.

With over 10 years in retail management and sales, Kangas had no travel experience when he purchased a Cruise Planners franchise one month after 9/11. He and his wife Sherry had been exploring franchises in general for about a year and a half when Cruise Planners "fell into my radar."

"The more I looked at it, the more it seemed to fit," said Kangas. "Although the industry was in turmoil, we decided to go forward - and we're glad we did."

He received his Cruise Planners training in November 2001.