Vol 19, Issue 5,   July 23, 2021

I think it’s probably pretty universal among our peers: we’ve all done things in the last 16 months that we never expected or even dreamed we’d be doing, whether for work or play. We found new ways to entertain ourselves, spend time, and even spend (or for some, save) money. 

Like frontiersmen, we dove into the mostly unknown, unexplored territory of virtual meetings, presentations, and conferences.  With both trepidation and chutzpa, we ventured out on the skinny branches, and for the most part, I think, succeeded. 

And when things didn’t go as smoothly as planned, it felt like there was a lot of forgiveness and patience on the part of everyone involved. We were all learning and inventing together

Today I’m sharing one of two stories about how one of our clients, Prairie Lakes Healthcare System in Watertown, SD, took the leap into the virtual world for their Oct. 2020 Celebrating Life event.

In our next issue, we’ll feature their spring 2021 Ladies’ Night Out event experience  — How to Be Happy When Your Life is a Mess — again virtual.

Celebrating Life – Virtually

When COVID interrupted life as we knew it, Prairie Lakes, like all health systems, had to cancel their educational programs and support groups —programs that they feel that they do really well and that are important to their community. They’ve been doing some programs for a dozen years, but their October event, Celebrating Life for breast cancer awareness, was still relatively new. The co-sponsor of the event was the Watertown Breast Cancer Support Group, and they were having to cancel events as well. About 2 months out from their Oct.15 date, they decided to produce the event virtually.

“Even though it couldn’t be in person, we felt it was important to go ahead and hold the event virtually,” Jessi Eidson, Business Development Specialist at Prairie Lakes, said. “That is with help and encouragement from Barbara and our speaker Nicole Phillips — you two gave us the confidence that we could really do this.

“Our Director, Jennifer Bender, did a lot of research into streaming options, and we decided that Streamyard made the most sense with what we were trying to accomplish.”

Ironically, Nicole Phillips , a breast cancer survivor, had just moved to South Dakota in 2019, and when I had told them about her, they had been thrilled to get a national speaker who was within driving distance of Watertown — and now they were planning to use their local speaker virtually!

As things turned out, Nicole graciously drove up to Watertown in early October anyway and did a book signing and a short book reading in a safe environment at a bookstore. That helped promote the virtual event for later in the month. The breast cancer support group did another fundraiser on the side, so combining Nicole’s reading and the virtual event turned it into a full month of promoting breast cancer awareness, instead of just one night.

Their typical evening, which is free of charge, would have included a soup supper and dessert. Instead, they encouraged participants to make their own soup at home. Other than that, they stuck with the standard parts of their format in addition to the keynote.

They had one technical snafu — the sound didn’t play on a pre-recorded video that had worked in their run-throughs. While people scrambled in the background to fix it, moderator Jennifer kept up the banter with a member of the breast cancer support group, and they moved right along seamlessly.

“It was refreshing that people attended who maybe hadn’t been to this event in the past,” Jessi said. “They really enjoyed Nicole’s message, and so we think our attendance might grow next year.

“We had wonderful responses to Nicole from the attendees that night. She really engaged the audience. In her keynote, she kept going back and forth between people’s comments, and she would see a comment and she would bring that into her conversation, or she would take that comment and kind of roll it into her next segment. And people were really engaging back and forth with her, which I thought was very exciting because you never know if people are going to respond or if people are going to comment. And that night, we had a ton of people commenting, which was awesome.

“Overall, we felt like it was a big success, and a bonus was that Nicole allowed us to post the recording on our website for a few weeks after the event, for even more exposure.”

I say, “BRAVO!!!” to Prairie Lakes’ marketing team for being brave and serving their community.  To learn more and bring Nicole to your community — live or virtually — call me at 503-699-5031 or send me an email at barbara@speakwellbeing.com.

 

THE HEAT WAS ON!

You probably heard on the evening news about the unprecedented heat we experienced in late June in the Northwest — 116 degrees in Portland, Oregon! Climate experts report that it was an unprecedented atmospheric phenomenon called a heat dome that did not move for several days.

All I can say is that it was brutal. It’s summertime when we usually glory in being outside, but as long as air conditioning was an option, there was no going outside for us – just staring through the window blinds at the wilted, and in some cases, burned plants. No amount of water could revive them, only cooler temperatures. While many plants, bushes, and trees are literally showing scorching, some perked right back up once the heat subsided.

That’s pretty much how we humans responded as well. A little scorched by life’s challenges, we’re now back to enjoying milder summer temperatures — eating outdoors on the deck, walking the dog on cool mornings, and staring into the sky through the trees at dusk.

Until next time, enjoy your summer days and nights and take care of yourself for your well being and those you love.

Barbara

For Your Well Being is published with the intention of bringing you insider speaker reports, exclusive stories about special events around the country, meeting planner tips, and fun stuff from the worlds of health and well being. Be well and be in the know!

The Speak Well Being Group is a specialized speakers bureau, focusing on health and wellness for all types of organizations that want to foster health and well being for their employees, members, clients, and in their communities.

We hand select our speakers, and they are not only experts in their fields; they inspire and motivate attendees. Our ultimate goal is to make a positive difference in their lives — a sense of well being, ease, and hope — and likely enjoy some laughter and levity along the way.

Finding the perfect keynote speaker for your special event or conference is my personal passion, not just once, but year after year. It brings me great joy to know that your audience was delighted and moved by the speaker we selected together. I’m committed to making the process easy, pleasant and fun.