People & Culture

Aug 22, 2016
Trip of a Lifetime: Anette Gray's Parisian and Dutch Adventure

Years of Service"What an absolutely amazing 'Years of Service' trip! I got to rediscover part of my past and reconnect with family that I hadn’t seen for 17 years," shared Environmental Health & Safety Claims Coordinator Anette Gray about her five-year Arthrex anniversary trip.

"I was a two-week exchange student in France in high school and then became a French major in college. I spent a year in France after graduation and had not been back since. This time, I got to bring my husband and practice my French skills since I don’t get to use them very much in the states. We stayed on a houseboat on the Seine, visited the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacré Coeur, walked the Champs-Élysées, took a bike ride tour through all of Paris, went to the Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre, as well as Centre Pompidou and a small Salvador Dali museum. We walked, took the metro and ate more croissants than we should have! We traveled by high-speed train to the Champagne region and took tours of the chalk caves of Veuve Clicquot and Ruinart. If that wasn’t enough, we also took a side trip to Amsterdam!

My father was from the Netherlands and, unfortunately, we did not have as much family contact as one would hope. However, my husband and I got to celebrate our anniversary and our joint birthdays in Amsterdam with family that I had not seen in 17 years! From a private canal boat tour to the Van Gogh Museum and a bike tour (there are more bikes than people in Amsterdam), we experienced as much as we could in 2 ½ short days…I only wish we could have stayed longer. 

It is thanks to Arthrex that we were able to take this trip of a lifetime and enjoy new experiences as a couple and connect with relatives who live far away. I was so proud to explain to everyone I met what a fantastic company I work for that allowed us to realize this dream vacation! The pictures never do it justice. Thank you, Merci, Dank je!!"

One of Arthrex’s most distinctive and valued recognition programs is the Years of Service Awards and “Trip of a Lifetime” program. Employees who achieve five years of service with Arthrex are eligible for a company paid trip just like Anette’s to the destination of their choice and an extra 40 hours of Paid Time Off (PTO) in which to take the trip. This “Trip of a Lifetime” benefit is awarded for every additional five years of service at increasing reimbursement increments. Employees look forward to this generous benefit to create a lifetime of special memories.