A good friend of mine, recently divorced, decided she would like, but did not necessarily need, a relationship. Consequently, she decided to explore a number of dating services, both on and off line.

During her most recent adventure, she ended up at a dinner for eight men and eight women between the ages of 50 and 60. Although not an especially well organized event, she enjoyed the conversations with both the men and the women.  It was especially important for her to learn that the majority found her work to be fascinating – especially the men. I’m guessing that… More Posted on 12-11-10

Four Priorities for Coaches

My sister Nicki did something none of her older, and supposedly wiser, four siblings managed to do the first time round. She found her ideal spouse.

Dan is a fabulous husband and father who is kind, thoughtful, artistic, and hardworking. Oh and did I mention he is six foot four and good looking to boot? An involved father who not only serves as their two sons’ Scout leader, he has also recently taken on the role of coaching their hockey team.

Prior to the hitting the ice for their first scheduled practice this year, Dan decided the kids… More Posted on 11-28-10

Want Tourists? Take Your Cue from What the Locals are Already Doing

What do old cars, scuba diving, and a recreational canal have in common?

In my hometown of Welland, Ontario, they’re being combined to attract tourists. And, according to the experts, it might just be the way to go.

A number of years ago, I served as a volunteer appointed by City Council to the Welland Recreational Canal Corporation. Our job was to serve as “stewards” of the waterway, and to improve, develop, and protect the waterway and its surrounding lands. It was there that I first learned about the potential attraction of the canal to scuba divers as we… More Posted on 11-07-10

Integrity is a Choice Not an Obligation

The negativity of the television commercials for the US midterm elections is depressing. All they seem to be doing is attacking each other’s credibility. If I were an American I’m not sure I’d even want to vote. But, it has reminded me about an amazing woman, named Dr. Betty Siegel, who I met about five years ago while attending a Niagara College management retreat. 

Siegel taught and served in a variety of leadership positions at the university level, including serving as president of Kennesaw State in Atlanta from 1981 until July 2006. Although supposedly retired, she still serves as… More Posted on 10-31-10

Conversations, Connections, and Community Building

I’ve just returned from an exciting conference where I sat through three days of sessions delivered by great presenters, heard two fabulous keynote speakers, and collected piles of reports and brochures providing terrific resources. As enjoyable as it was, if I were to be really honest, the most useful information was collected from my colleagues during the coffee breaks. 

Something like this happened to American management consultant Harrison Owen back in 1983. He spent a year of his life immersed in the details of organizing a large, international symposium. The day finally came and went, hailed as a triumph.

I sure do feel crummy. My throat hurts, my head aches, and I’m craving chicken soup.

I don’t do sick. In fact, I can‘t remember the last time I was ill as it’s been years. While I often credit my good health with my strong, Ukrainian peasant genes, it is probably due just as much to the fact that I’m pretty happy, don’t like being sick, and enjoy my quality of life. 

I’m blessed and grateful to have an excellent quality of life. If I was pressed to explain exactly what that means, I’m not sure I could do… More Posted on 10-17-10

Can Pajamas Increase Productivity?

I swear I heard a collective sigh of relief this past Friday as people geared up for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Everyone seemed to be anticipating the extra time away from work that would allow them to unwind and focus on fun, family, and giving thanks. At least, that seemed to be the ideal.

However, somewhere along the line, I realized that my long weekends weren’t as relaxing and fun as they used to be. When I stopped to reflect, it occurred to me that it was because, for the most part, I telecommute and work from a home office.… More Posted on 10-11-10

Shifting Our Thinking About Shaping Up

It happened quite gradually so I’m not exactly sure when things changed. What I do know is that over the last few months I’ve actually found myself looking forward to exercise.  Never thought I’d see the day, but most weeks I find myself planning, anticipating, and enjoying my workouts.  It is somewhat surprising for me because while I have always known fitness fanatics, I have never been one of them. For me, exercise has always been a necessary evil for keeping the creeping pounds and the effects of gravity at bay.

Six months ago I made a decision to… More Posted on 10-03-10

Alpha, Beta or Both?

It’s hard not to notice the alpha males among us or, in some cases, the alpha females. By that I mean those who are attractive, confident, assertive, and usually holding the highest ranking position of authority.

As one who typically hasn’t had those qualities, I used to envy their swagger as well as their ability to get things done by wielding their power and control.

Today, I’m not as convinced being an alpha is a good thing, or even something I aspire to be. It seems to me that an alpha persona might just come with a lot of… More Posted on 09-26-10

Just Google It Daddy

It wasn’t a secret sauce but there was a secret in the sauce.

This past weekend a high school student from Warsaw, Ontario named Alyson Bell, won a prestigious Manning Young Canadian Innovation Award for her project called “Another Tale My Grandfather Told Me”.

Her water filter used oregano to clean bacteria from contaminated water. She came up with the idea of using oregano to filter water as the result of testing her Grandfather’s spaghetti sauce.  Bell always wondered how her Grandfather’s spaghetti sauce could last over three weeks in the fridge without spoiling. Thinking it might be due to… More Posted on 09-20-10

I Didn’t Really Want to Go

Even though I didn’t really want to go, I attended a full day session this week simply because I trusted and liked the woman who invited me as well as the facilitator who would be designing the process. The intent of the session was to bring together a number of organizations and individuals who were knowledgeable about board governance and have them help design a series of modules that would be made available for self-directed learning for board members of service and utility boards and community non-profit organizations.

While board governance is important, and I’ve been lucky to have… More Posted on 09-06-10

Recreation Vexations

It really hit me this week as I worked on yet another proposal. I am just so tired of having to explain and justify the field in which I’ve spent most of my career - recreation and parks. 

Yes, it is a field and a profession. To prove it, I have a degree in recreation and leisure studies from Brock University, and a resume that includes recreation jobs at a Boys and Girls Club, the city of Niagara Falls, a provincial non-profit association, self-employed consulting work, and teaching the subject at Niagara College.

Most of us in the… More Posted on 08-29-10

Kid Wrangling Involves Planning for Play

Our typically quiet household was turned somewhat upside down this week as the result of a visit from my sister, her husband, and my eleven and nine year old nephews. This was compounded by three days of additional visits from their eight and twelve year old cousins and friends of ours who visited with their eleven year old. All in all it made for a noisy, joyful, busy, and sometimes chaotic environment.

Undaunted, we put our collective kid-wrangling experience to work and managed to keep everyone busy with activities that included visits to a museum, wave pool, concert, and the… More Posted on 08-22-10

We are enough…just the way we are

My father recently found and gave me a photo I had thought long lost. As per our high school practice at the time, a professional portrait was taken when an athlete or team won a provincial championship. The photo was then framed and hung on the school wall of recognition. Since my gold medal was the result of being a 400 metre runner, the photographer had posed the 17 year old me in my track uniform - very brief shorts and a tank top -  crouching in a starting block. 

While one would think the photo would have surfaced… More Posted on 08-16-10

Simplifying Learning and Growth

Debra is part of a conference planning committee but is concerned because there doesn’t seem to be any way to prioritize the many potential sessions that have been submitted for consideration.
 
Susan is keen to continue her self-directed learning and growth but isn’t sure where she should be directing her efforts.

Tom’s organization has been contracted to develop training materials for a specific list of topics but he doesn’t have a clue as to where he should begin.

Sound familiar? My guess is the above scenarios might be fairly common given that every one of… More Posted on 08-02-10

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