All Work and Lots of Play: Safeguard's Eric Lam

Eric Lam of Safeguard.ca knows how to make an entrance. The Associate Distributor of the promotional company went dressed as the Grim Reaper at the opening gala of The Travel Agent Next Door conference in Jamaica last week, which fell on Halloween.

"I think my DNA is still on the beach," he jokes about wearing such a sweat-inducing costume in the heat of Jamaica. "But it was great, because from there I started mingling with everybody else, it was great way to start a conversation."

Lam showed TravelPulse Canada a binder filled with "tons of notes, tons of projects, tons to follow up on" from the people he met during the week. "I was like, oh my God, look at all these opportunities. It was more than we expected. All TTAND vendors are fantastic. Just everyone's so friendly. And everyone wants to help each other out at the end of the day, and that was that was huge for me.

Now it's obviously follow up, follow up, follow up."

Safeguard provides everything your business needs to grow from branded apparel and printing to web design to office supplies and much more. It was Lam's first conference alongside colleague Distributor Peter Probst, and they sponsored TTAND bags and nametags for everyone. Promotional products can sometimes be hit and miss, whether in quality or in style, and that's something that Lam and Probst work to avoid.

"With Safeguard, we really try get to know the people better and get something that's going to represent them well."

While it can be said that Lam works hard, it could also be said he plays harder. He is a band member of The Doubts, and treated TTAND guests to intimate on-request piano performances at the Moon Palace's Piano Room. Not only did he blow the audience away, but so did his colleague Probst. The two performed for hours to a small audience limited in capacity to 14 under COVID protocols. To say there was a lot of "ok, you come out now and let me in" conversations among TTAND agents would be an understatement.

"The piano bar thing was a fun thing, too. People were realizing Peter and I were musicians and were fighting because they only allowed 14 people in per time. It was funny because it was constant. We thought oh my God, they're fighting to watch us," he laughs.

There isn't any "Doubt" why; the two play professionally though in different Bands. Lam in a former Globe and Mail Sr. Graphic Designer and a couple former colleagues are in his. They play mostly weddings, corporate events and gigs at bars that include the Niagara Fallsview Casino.

"The conference was a fantastic opportunity. I'd never been to one of these, I didn't know what to expect. It was so much more, so much more than I expected. And that's all thanks to Flemming and his team."

Agents and suppliers who would like to learn more about his offerings can reach out directly to him via [email protected]

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