As a kid, I tried every sport out there and my mom would tote me around the city, pack my snacks, pay my fees, and most of all, cheer me on.

Amway is doing the same thing as we sponsor teams and athletes around the world and around the world of sports.  These sponsorships include:

Badminton: In Indonesia, six badminton players wear the Nutrilite name including Men’s Double Champions Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan.

Basketball: The NBA’s Orlando Magic call the Amway Center home and their practice jerseys also sport our logo. Amway China and Amway Taiwan sponsor the Nutrilite Junior NBA tournament, a program which brings fun and healthy activities to hundreds of middle school students who compete against each other to travel to the United States to participate in NBA All-Star weekend.

Billiards: The World Pool Billiard’s Association Women’s 9-Ball Open has been sponsored by Amway Taiwan for 14 years.

Cricket: Adam Gilchrist is an Amway spokesperson for Australia.

Football: NFL MVP and quarterback Kurt Warner also works with Nutrilite and Amway North America to promote nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.

Gymnastics: Amway China sponsors the Chinese artistic gymnastics team, which recently brought home 13 gold medals from the 2010 Asian Games.

Hockey:  The NHL’s Detroit Red Wings wear the Amway logo on their practice jerseys and the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins will also wear the logo at home and away.

Ice Skating: Since 2007, Amway Canada and Artistry have sponsored Skate Canada, an event that features the world’s top skaters, and Amway China sponsored Artistry on Ice in 2010 and will repeat again this year.

Running:  Marathon runner Kara Goucher is a spokesperson for Nutrilite and Amway North America.

Soccer: Nutrilite is a premium sponsor of professional Italian team AC Milan. Amway Canada sponsors the Nutrilite Canadian Championship; that decides who will represent Canada in the World Cup, and Amway Korea sponsored the Korea Republic team in last summer’s World Cup.  North America is the presenting sponsor of Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes.

Swimming: Olympic Gold medalist Libby Trickett represents our brands in Australia

That’s a lot of cheering, in a lot of different languages, going on.

This past weekend the winning team from the Amway Nutrilite Junior NBA challenge, the Tigers, made their trip to Los Angeles to attend the NBA All-Star game.

Their journey began last spring when four cities in China and Taiwan held basketball skills challenges for thousands of kids between the ages of seven and twelve. Six lucky kids selected from each city were invited to a city camp where they worked one-on-one with Dwight Howard of the NBA’s Orlando Magic. The boys were then divided into two teams of twelve players each. They competed against each other in games in both Beijing and Taipei. And the winning team made the trip to the United States.

On Friday the team spent the day at the Nutrilite COH in Buena Park where they toured our facilities, enjoyed a fun-filled round of our “Color Yourself Healthy” beanbag game, and were put through the paces in a fitness session with Diane Paetz, Nutrilite’s fitness instructor.

On Saturday they played an exhibition game against the Junior NBA Clippers at the NBA Jam Session in the LA Convention Center.  Throughout their visit their biggest support came from Taiwanese celebrity, and former Asian basketball star Chen Chien-Chou, affectionately known as “Blackie” in Asia, who accompanied the team on their trip.  

The highlight of the trip was spent watching the Slam-Dunk competition and then the All-Star game Sunday night. You can see more photos from the trip on Amway Taiwan’s Junior NBA Facebook page and the Global Nutrilite Facebook page.

Today Amway’s parent company, Alticor, announced record sales of  US$9.2 billion for 2010.

This performance reflects a 9.5 percent increase over the $8.4 billion in sales posted in 2009, and is the 10th sales increase in the last 11 years.

Growth was fueled by strong performance in China, Amway’s biggest market, as well as gains in India, Korea and the Americas.

“We had a strong year across the map,” said chairman Steve Van Andel. “Amway was able to gain market share in the direct selling industry, and our key product lines improved their competitive position as well.”

Added president Doug DeVos, “Awareness of Amway’s business opportunity and product brands continues to grow as we invest in brand-building. We believe in the potential of this business, and so do our distributors.”

The current issue of Chief Executive magazine features a story about “Amway’s New Way.”

That “new way” is how Amway has successfully crossed borders, bridged cultural gaps and adapted to the needs of consumers in the more than 80 countries and territories in which we operate.

As Amway President Doug DeVos says,  ”What we’re trying to do now is become really good at being local in every market in which we operate. It’s not just a multinational effort, but really understanding what it means to be an Indian company in India, a Chinese company in China, a Brazilian or Mexican company in Latin America.”

Part of that, adds Chairman Steve Van Andel, is a commitment to understanding the different needs everywhere we operate, to ”take a look at all the markets we’re in and figure out how to better service those customers.”

Global success?  For Amway, it’s a matter of going local.

There’s a lot to celebrate in Australia’s Hunter Valley wine country this month, thanks to a group of 8,000 Chinese Amway distributors.

Amway China’s 2011 Leadership Seminar will become the biggest corporate gathering ever in the Hunter Valley region when the event kicks off January 14. 

Wineries are adding workers and translators to handle the needs of the group, who will sample local foods, hear indigenous music, and stomp the grapes used to make the region’s legendary wines.   One vintner is even creating a commemorative wine in the group’s honor.

So let’s raise a glass to the 8,000 Chinese distributors who earned the trip and to the Hunter Valley wineries, restaurants and other businesses that will open their doors – and more than a few bottles of wine - for our guests.

Everyday when we come to work at Amway World Headquarters we just might take some things for granted.

We work in a complex that stretches over 500 acres and we manufacture products that are shipped all over the world. We have over 13,000 employees across the globe focused on helping people succeed in their businesses.

This week over 200 distributors from China made their first trip to Ada. They’re part of Barry Chi & Holly Chen’s organization – the largest Amway business in the world. They were welcomed by Amway President Doug DeVos and greeted by a line of employees as they entered the Center of Free Enterprise.

This was a special trip for them, a validation of sorts. Something they achieved through their hard work, and something that they now see as very real. Because people, not just buildings and facilities, are an important part of this organization. 

As Doug explained to them: “Amway is defined by people. We’re all in this together as part of the Amway family — it reaches all over the world. And we’re honored you’ve worked so hard to get here.”

That is something never taken for granted.

Thanks to our colleague Sri Soekarmoen McCarthy for the photos for this and many other Amway Insider posts!

In 2010, Amway China staged a BIG incentive trip for their top distributors in the Amway Business. 13,000 distributors from the Chinese salesforce visited Southern California where they toured the Nutrilite Center for Optimal Health and took part in a gala event at the Anaheim Convention Center. They did some shopping, too!

This week BizBash magazine recognized Amway China in a Top Ten list – Best of 2010: Ambitious Events. No doubt this event was ambitious, and its one more accolade for Amway’s top market.

Next incentive trip up for Amway China  – Sydney. In January.

December 5 was International Volunteer Day in China and winners of the Eighth Excellent Chinese Young Volunteer awards were announced. Considering the incredible amount of work Amway China commits to improving conditions for the citizens of China, it was no surprise they were the largest winner in this nationwide contest. They won 10 awards altogether for notable contributions to promote volunteer service in China.

Two distributor volunteers from Tianjin and four staff volunteers from Shenyang, Shanghai, Jiangxi and Jiangsu won “Excellent Volunteer” awards. The Hainan and Ningxia Volunteer teams each won “Excellent Volunteer Organization” awards. And The Shanghai World Expo Volunteer Steering Team and The Ethnic Unity Promotion Program for Children in Xinjiang each won “Excellent Project” awards.

The Excellent Chinese Young Volunteer Award is the highest honor for volunteer services in China. It’s jointly issued by the Chinese Communist Youth League and the Chinese Young Volunteers Association.  Judging was done by a panel of representatives from government departments, social organizations, media, business and excellent young volunteer representatives. Amway China won six awards in the Seventh China Outstanding Volunteer Award in 2008, including recognition as a Top 100 Outstanding Volunteer Services Unit in China.

Definitely a job well done by our Amway China team. Congratulations to everyone involved in these wonderful efforts!

What do the Chinese artistic gymnastics team and Indonesian badminton  players Markis Kito and Hendra Setiawan have in common?

Gold medals and Nutrilite.

The Chinese gymnasts and the Indonesian badminton duo struck gold at the recent Asian Games in Guangzhou.  The Chinese gymnasts took gold in 13 events at the games and Markis and Hendra won the men’s doubles competition.

Amway China and Nutrilite are sponsors of the Chinese artistic gymnastics team and Amway Indonesia and Nutrilite sponsor six Indonesian badminton players, including Markis and Hendra.

It’s a champion connection we’re proud to be part of.

On November 18 a visit by the Chinese gymnastics team caused an unprecedented sensation at the Amway China plant in Guangzhou.  Fans packed a meeting area to see these sports stars, who have been spokespersons for our Nutrilite brand since 2009.

This was the first time the champions visited Amway China, where they were greeted by Amway employees, Amway sales representatives and middle school students sponsored by Amway China.

It’s quite understandable why the team was so warmly welcomed. In the 2010 Asian Games this month, they won 13 events in the artistic gymnastics competition and medaled in eight others.

After the meeting, the team visited the Amway and Nutrilite Experience Centers and the Nutrilite production lines, so they could better understand Amway’s history and culture and how our products are manufactured.