Successful end to a great tour! Attitude is everything! - (5 of 5)

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Author: George Ohan

Blog 5 of 5

Arriving:  Sharm El Sheik, Egypt via Cairo – 2:15 PM, November 23, 2014

Walking through security in Egypt was actually fun!  The Egyptians were generally happy-go-lucky and laid back at the airport security terminals.  We needed to buy our $25 “Visa” stamp for our passports to enter the country.  I had exchanged some US dollars for Egyptian Pounds in Jordan, but oddly enough the Egyptian place that sells Visa stamps only accepts US cash.  They didn’t even take their own government’s money to sell us a Visa to enter their country.  (I did NOT anticipate that.)

Two Lieutenants from the US Army came to escort us to our (undisclosed) next performance location.  We stopped at a McDonald’s on the way because everyone was starving and we weren’t feeling very adventurous with local food so soon after landing in country.  This place was a tourist trap for sure… People were trying to hustle camel rides (A man and his camel actually tipped over into the middle of the street), hand made jewelry was being sold, and the employees of McDonald’s offering food delivery on their beat up red and yellow scooters.

We had to pass a couple of really solid and thorough military security checkpoints on the way to our lodging.   We KNEW that we were definitely on an Army base!  This definitely was not Aviano Air Force Base Italy, Amman Marriot, Tel Aviv David Intercontinental; this was straight up US Army barracks style accommodations.  (We loved it!) I had to go buy shower shoes at the Force Exchange (FX) before taking a shower……..(Note: the day prior, I was taking a warm bath at a 4 star hotel, soaking in sea salt from the Dead Sea! Ok!?!)

“Oh yeah, this is Army right here….”, (Alabama accent) says Mr. Jody Fuller.  He is the king of hilarious one-liners, delivered at the right time.  Jody is a life-long stutterer and he has really turned one of his life’s biggest challenges into one of his life’s greatest advantages. This is probably why it is MORE funny when he nails the timing on his jokes!  Just take my word for it….. You’ll have to see it.  Jody is a comedian, speaker, and writer that performs gigs for military organizations and private corporations across the globe.  Once you get to know this guy, you can’t help but want to be his friend.  His love and passion for Auburn University and Opelika, Alabama is far beyond anything I could describe with words.  Anyone with that amount of love and passion for anything is worth being friends with!  Jody mentioned to us that his wife and step-daughter had won a horse riding or judging competition and he was really excited to get back to celebrate the victory with them.  Mr. Jody Fuller was a solid leader throughout this trip.  He would ask me specific questions to get me to think about our next move and he continuously gave me positive feedback about doing a good job.

(Jody….. U.S. Army, MAJ Fuller, is a Logistics Officer with three tours in Iraq, which was definitely helpful for my situation) 

Once we got settled in and we were given a mini tour of the military compound there was work to do: Contact was made with Los Angeles HQ, Armed Forces Entertainment had been updated with the latest show info, itineraries were verified with airlines, batteries purchased for my camera, bags properly pre-packed, and everything was ready for the evening show!  Sound check was at 1800 Hours, so we had some free time to hit the beach!  Jody and I were escorted down to the Red Sea with a US Army Staff Sergeant, while P.J., Benari, and Key were preparing to come down a little bit later.  We had heard some amazing stories about snorkeling in the Red Sea, but nothing could have prepared us for this!  (Google Search, Snorkeling in the Red Sea) We put some fins and goggles on, then our adventures started.  We saw: sting rays, eels, starfish, surgeonfish, yellow, blue, everything fish!  These fish are inquisitive and kept bumping into our snorkeling masks.  I have to admit I was shit*ing myself on a few occasions!  Jody was so damn excited.  When the other guys came down, he was the unofficial tour guide of the Red Sea.  He guided everyone to the stingray with the tail, and the stingray without the tail.  He was the first one to spot a 9-foot eel with a HUGE head.  Jody took Key Lewis and his GoPro to the best spots and he would not stop asking everyone if they had seen the BLUE and YELLOW STING RAY.  Awesome time!  The GIs of Comedy were floating around in Kayaks and snorkeling in the Red Sea.  Some of the Soldiers that had escorted us there warned me not to buy the CAMEL MILK from the Egyptian guys shop on the shoreline… Camel Milk….?  Why would I buy that!?!?

SUCCESS NOTE: Our host organizations usually had an itinerary or agenda ready for us upon arrival.  This is where I felt like things could have gone bad if I didn’t pay attention to timelines, general attitudes, and energy levels.  As a manager, my top priority was to keep the talent fresh and ready for peak performance at all times.  I was able to accomplish this by COMMUNICATION.  I would speak to the guys first and find out what they wanted, then I’d talk to our hosts to make something work for all of us.

That night the guys rocked the house!  Benari and Jody had audio issues again, but they muscled through it and kept the show moving.  US Army officer (Jody Fuller) and Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (Benari Poulten) were both faced with similar challenges on stage.  They were true professionals and stepped up to show the troops that they knew what to do when faced with adversity. 

The GIs of Comedy, Thom Tran, and Armed Forces Entertainment have really created a unique opportunity for our veterans to be true inspirations for our currently serving troops.  Traveling around the world, bringing joy to their brothers and sisters, these guys really are still serving.

Next stop: Los Angeles, Hollywood, California, U.S.A.

When we finally made it through U.S. Customs I felt GREAT!!  I did it!  I took four military veterans to Europe and the Middle East, did a bunch of good things, and got them home safely!  George Ohan, the TOUR MANAGER!  Loving life!  Thank you for reading this short 5 blog series to have an inside look at some of our adventures.

By the way….. Jody Fuller wrote a cool little story about his experiences for his hometown newspaper.  You can find the link below.  Enjoy!

http://opelikaobserver.com/2014/12/the-show-must-go-on/

Very Respectfully,

George Ohan

Senior Partner

Eight Delta Marketing Group

559-451-1370 cell

George@EightDeltaGlobal.com

Instagram - @GeorgeOhan

YouTube - /OhanGeorge

#EDMG #EightDeltaMarketingGroup #EightDeltaGlobal #GIsOfComedy #ArmedForcesEntertainment #LifeAtLAFS #AFE #VFT #GeorgeOhan #Ohan #EntertainmentBusiness #Military #Veteran

www.EightDeltaGlobal.com

*BLOG 5 of 5 series

*SUCCESS NOTE, might be one of the steps that I personally took to get to where I am.

www.GIsOfComedy.com - All purchases will help to support non-profits that benefit military families

GIs of Comedy at the U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv (4 of 5)

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Author: George Ohan

Blog 4 of 5

Arriving: 7:45 AM - Tel Aviv, Israel – November 21, 2014

I’m sure we’ve all heard that Syria and Israel have some problems between the two countries, right?  The reason I am saying this is because I was born in Syria, so even though I am an American citizen with a USA passport “Place of Birth” says Syria.  However, my ethnicity is ARMENIAN.  My last name is Ohan, instead of Ohanian because when my family fled through the desert to avoid being slaughtered by the Ottoman Turks during WW1 they changed their name and posed as Arabs to survive the ARMENIAN GENOCIDE.  (Turkish Government still denies killing 1.5 million people)  I hope you enjoyed the history lesson.  I have never seen a history book that is used in U.S. schools teach this.

CUSTOMS CHECK IN at Tel Aviv airport:

“Passports and papers please.  One moment please.  Mr. Ohan can you please come with us?”   Damn!  It happened in less than five minutes of me being in Israel.  I look over at the guys and the person that stuck out the most to me was P.J. Walsh, because he had a genuine look of concern on his face.  The four comedians all made it through customs and proceeded to the baggage check area.  I was held back for additional screening and luckily we had two escorts from the US Embassy there picking us up so they could help out with this situation.  Israeli security brought me into a room and asked me several questions dealing with: personal affairs overseas, family in foreign countries, addresses of known family members that do not live in the United States, business affairs, financial questions, and more.  I knew that I was not a terrorist and I would soon be free to go, so I kept a very positive attitude, I never lost my smile, and anyone that asked me how I was doing received a genuine response of, “Loving life!”  When it was all over, I came walking out to the baggage claim area and I was acting as if security gave me the full rubber glove “digital stimulation” (They did NOT) and the comedians were all laughing.  Ok, welcome to Israel!  Our escort, Adan started to explain how things work and we were off!

I’m not sure how many people have even stepped foot into a U.S. Embassy, but we were on our way to meet the Ambassador and General in Tel Aviv?  Israel is an amazingly beautiful country and I recommend anyone to visit when they have a chance.  We enjoyed a delicious traditional breakfast on the Mediterranean Sea and got our day started.  The hosts from the U.S. Embassy were very gracious and generous with their time.  The GIs of Comedy and Armed Forces Entertainment were in great hands. 

After extensive security briefings about the “Iron Curtain” with the Ambassador and top-ranking General at the embassy we had an opportunity to visit Jerusalem.  P.J. Walsh is a chill, laid back, mostly doesn’t say much if nothing is needed to be said type of person……. However, in Israel this guy lit up!  He seemed genuinely excited to be going places, taking pictures, and learning about the history of the Old City.  This was very cool for me to see because he is an Irish Catholic from New York, and they’re just usually angry for fun.  We had a chance to see things like:  Oskar Schindler’s grave, King David’s tomb, the Western Wall, and so many amazing places with historical significance.  Throughout the day I noticed P.J. taking some really great photos and the thing that stuck out to me was that he was really present in the moment and wanted to capture very specific images.  As a photographer, I can appreciate when a person wants to cherish a time and place in their life as it’s happening.  My inspiration comes from people being inspired about LIFE.  This is a guy that is usually very quiet until show-time, but on this day the entire world was his stage.  P.J. kept giving me little bits of humorous encouragement and words of wisdom throughout the day, as it related to being the SYRIAN guy in Israel.  I appreciated that very much and I started to notice that our team was really coming together.  (On our first day in Italy P.J. offered to shove my camera up my ass; now we were a little bit past that)

Our hotel was really great, David Intercontinental in Tel Aviv is an amazing place to stay.  That evening I went exploring the city on foot and really got to see how things came alive.  People walking around enjoying life, restaurants full of people, and different live events going on in certain venues.  Our next show was not until the next evening so I had the next morning to explore the city more.  This day was Shabbat and most of the stores were closed, the streets looked empty, and people were spending time with family and friends.  I finally found a cool place called Bugsy’s to get my traditional Israeli breakfast and keep it moving.  (Any city that I go to, I explore!)  I was looking for a cool piece of art to take home and I came across a shop that looked like it could be located in downtown Los Angeles.  When I walked into the shop the young lady that greeted me spoke English perfectly!  I took a look around the store and I found a piece that popped out to me and asked her about it.  She proceeded to tell me about the shop and how they keep all of their prices under $1,000 to keep art affordable and to inspire artists to bring their pieces to this shop to sell.  The art that I chose actually belonged to her!  This is a great gesture to an artist; choosing her work without being influenced to do so.  I ended up buying the piece and now I have a memory for ever!  Check out her stuff on

Etsy: www.SwordMeOut.etsy.com - @LisaEyes on Instagram

SHOWTIME!

As a tour manager one of my responsibilities is to gage the type of show to put on for our crowd.  I knew that our audience would be high ranking military officials, U.S. Embassy civilians, and Israeli locals so we had to adjust some of the comedians sets to match that crowd.  The GIs Of Comedy are true PROFESSIONALS in every sense of the word.  They really delivered when it counted and the whole crowd was pleased from the first minute until the last minute of the show.  P.J. Walsh really brought his “A game” on this one.  The reason I say this is because I had watched his previous sets and to see him make the adjustments to his jokes for this crowd and still maintain the comedic value was genius. ……A true artist and professional at work.

Next morning driving to the airport our taxi gets pulled over for a “random” search and here we go again!  I was detained by Israeli security again for many questions, baggage inspection, and further investigation about our trip in the country.  This time they even stopped us a second time inside of the airport and questioned all of the comedians that I was traveling with about my affiliation to Syria.  We all had our “Loving life” attitudes and it all worked out.

Next stop: Sharm el Sheik, Egypt

Very Respectfully,

George Ohan

George@EightDeltaGlobal.com

Instagram - @GeorgeOhan

YouTube - /OhanGeorge

#EDMG #EightDeltaMarketingGroup #EightDeltaGlobal #GIsOfComedy #ArmedForcesEntertainment #LifeAtLAFS #AFE #VFT #GeorgeOhan #Ohan #EntertainmentBusiness #Military #Veteran

www.EightDeltaGlobal.com

*BLOG 4 of 5 series

*SUCCESS NOTE, might be one of the steps that I personally took to get to where I am.

www.GIsOfComedy.com - All purchases will help to support non-profits that benefit military families

US Army Master Sergeant brings the funny! (3 of 5)

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Author: George Ohan

Arriving: Amman, Jordan – Sunday, November 16, 2014  - 6:20PM

Geography pop quiz! >  Do you which states, countries, or bodies of water BORDER the current location that you live in?

The Kingdom of Jordan shares many borders and maybe you’ve heard of some of the following places:  Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Israel, and the Dead Sea?

Before making it through customs in Amman, Jordan every foreigner must purchase a “Visa” stamp for the amount of 40 Jordanian Dinars, which equals $60.  It’s basically just like a nightclub cover charge to get into the country.  This is where I started to notice the US Army Master Sergeant Benari Poulten show some real discipline and leadership.  Remember, we just entered an Arab country and Benari is known as the “GI Jew”……affectionately, known as that.  He quietly pulled me to the side and gave me a quick safety briefing the way an Army senior Non-Commissioned Officer knows how to do.  The run down was to avoid using military terms, don’t speak about any military bases, and locations to shows were definitely off limits to talk about…….also all of our stories had to match.  Try explaining why five guys from the USA are traveling in the Middle East for a comedy tour….to the Royal Jordanian Police?  Now that’s comedy!

*SUCCESS NOTE:  I had to research which countries charge a VISA Stamp fee.  Do they take dollars or did we need Jordanian Dinars?  Maybe we had to buy Egyptian Pounds?  Was the exchange rate better at a foreign currency exchange kiosk or did the rate in the ATM beat the airport exchange rate?  Would our ATM cards work in that particular country?  Did our financial institutions know that we were traveling overseas?  TOUR MANAGER must know all things good and evil! 

Many times in life we do not manage our expectations.  We create an idea about something in our minds and when that exact thing doesn’t happen the way that we had expected it, we are left disappointed.  When in fact, we are the ones that created that expectation of something awesome to happen, without actually doing anything awesome to ensure our desired outcome. 

EXAMPLE:  I bought a gym membership 11 months ago.  I’m still fat and I’m mad about it!  I only went to the gym 4 times.  SEE!?!!?!  I expected to be a hot, buff guy that talks to hot chicks in tight yoga pants….  Instead, I was a hairy, chubby guy that talked to guys in tight biker shorts! YUCK!!!!!  I was mad at the person that signed me up at the gym, because after 11 months I was still fat! – Manage Expectations.

Mr. Benari Poulten!  Back to who I wanted to talk about.  As US military veterans we understand that sometimes our situation might be less than perfect.  This is where Mr. Benari Poulten SHINES!!  We were doing comedy shows in remote places that didn’t exactly have a comedy club feel, but we had to make the best of it.  I can honestly say that we had audio issues about five different times and it always happened during the opening set.  This guy never skipped a beat, he put the non-working microphone down and kept the show going.  We can tell that the crowd of Soldiers were upset about the audio issues, but Benari just raised the level of enthusiasm and spoke louder.  He walked into the middle of the crowd and delivered joke after joke.  Soon you could see him start to win the crowd over one by one, because he never gave up.  Soldiers love to see that!  When they see you refusing to quit, they respect that.  Armed Forces Entertainment had assembled the right team.

We had the privilege of meeting multi-national forces and working with people from his majesty’s military in Jordan.  It was awesome to see our guys learning about the local culture, current state of military affairs, and being great ambassadors for the United States while overseas.  The fact that everyone on this tour were prior service military members gave us a unique advantage in knowing how to respect where we were and to represent the United States in a respectable manner.

We were introduced to a man by the name of Osama, a former Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot.  Benari and Osama seemed to hit it off as “friends” immediately.  This was so cool because Osama was immediately calling Benari his cousin. The GI JEW is now the cousin of a Jordanian guy?!  How could this be?  This is through education, mutual respect, and a willingness to understand each other beyond what the media tells us to believe.  Osama ended up taking us to Mt. Nebo, where Moses saw the promise land, had a great lunch, and he showed us where he hires people with disabilities at his mosaic shop to make beautiful art.

 It was amazing to dip our feet in the Jordan River at the Jesus baptism site, film my buddy Mr. Jody Fuller float in the Dead Sea, dance in a taxi to Arabic music with Key Lewis and our driver Ashraf, finally to top off the night with watching a San Francisco 49ers football game in Amman because P.J. Walsh recommended a sports bar for dinner!   (I ate the Lamb Burger, it was the best burger I have ever eaten!)

The troops were very thankful that we came and performed.  The stories that they shared with us after the shows were very inspiring and motivating to The GIs of Comedy.  This is really what keeps us going show after show.  Right now, this very moment, there is a US military person sitting in a desert somewhere, doing things that we don’t have to do.  If we could bring a couple of hours of happiness to their lives, then we will!

I spent each day taking photographs, shooting video, and managing our next move for the GIs of Comedy: Land & Sea Tour.  Each evening I downloaded the data and loaded it up to Dropbox for Thom Tran to choose which assets he will use for daily promotions.  While all of this is going on, I finally completed my last class to graduate college!  Graduation date is December 5, 2014.  I have now earned my second degree, Bachelors of Science degree in Entertainment Business from The Los Angeles Film School in Hollywood, CA. 

Next stop:  Tel Aviv & Jerusalem – Israel – November 21, 2014

(I was born in Syria, we’ll see how this works out for me?)

Very Respectfully,

George Ohan

George@EightDeltaGlobal.com

Instagram - @GeorgeOhan

YouTube - /OhanGeorge

#EDMG #EightDeltaMarketingGroup #EightDeltaGlobal #GIsOfComedy #ArmedForcesEntertainment #LifeAtLAFS #AFE #VFT #GeorgeOhan #Ohan #EntertainmentBusiness #Military #Veteran

www.EightDeltaGlobal.com

*BLOG 3 of 5 series

*SUCCESS NOTE, might be one of the steps that I personally took to get to where I am.

www.GIsOfComedy.com - All purchases will help to support non-profits that benefit military families

Religion, Spirituality, and is there a Need for it?

Hello,

My name is George Ohan and I am currently producing a "Feature Documentary" about the Armenian church here in Southern California. (www.facebook.com/ArmenianChurchFilm) I would like to send an email to people in the Armenian community and give them this information.  It would be great to read feedback about their position on some of the topics we are bringing up.  This film is designed to bring up important topics like:

1. Determine why the faith, membership, and attendance practices of Armenians change so dramatically from 1st to 3rd generation for the Armenian Church?

2. Measure the success or failure of the ministry of the Armenian church in America.

3. Provide a groundwork of eveidence for any future study on the need for adjusting the method of ministry of the Armenian church.

4. Does the Armenian church belong at the root of the Armenian culture?

We have already filmed at seven different locations from the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church in Southern California.  At this point we would like to get feedback from the community and add depth to the story behind this interesting project.  Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Emails can be sent to ArmenianChurchFilm@yahoo.com

Very Respectfully,

George Ohan