I am just back from Toronto and the Human Resources Professional Association annual conference where
I spoke on global HR strategy.
It was a great to be back in Toronto especially to hear the latest changes in Canadian HR legislation.
Of all the interesting activities at the conference, one that drew my attention was the work being done by the YMCA.
The Canadian Y’s around Toronto had as sophisticated a presentation as any global supplier. The Canadian Y’s offered
all sorts of self help classes and groups, job preparation seminars for example. They offered challenging team building
courses and weekend retreats. I was impressed by how this organization provided mental and physical wellness
programs and at how well they translated that into business services. Clever!
It was also “Winterlicious” festival. Since I was there with a friend who is a food and restaurant author we took full
advantage of the weekend to enjoy three scrumptious meals including the best Cantonese food I’ve ever eaten.
I’m from the North Shore of Massachusetts where the winters are long and cold. When the temperature drops and
It gets below freezing, we strap on our skis or skates and have fun outdoors. So I proposed a hour skating party
down at the rink by the docks. My Hawaiian friend thought I had really lost it and pointed out the temperature was -3
but volunteered to take pictures…see below.
It has been some time since I skated, but I strapped on my skates and staggered off immediately my helmet fell into my eyes,
blinding me then the laces came loose on the rented skates and I caromed wildly around finally ending up on a bench.
After repairing these wardrobe malfunctions I was able to enjoy the music and exercise. I never did fall unlike my
pink suited fellow skater.
Despite the cold it was fun and our Canadian HR hosts proved to be as kind and fun as I remembered. I was asked back and
look forward to seeing them all again next year.
