BC's Interior: Meeting our Members

Last Thursday, on one of my days off from the Olympics, I had the distinct privilege of meeting a number of Certified Management Consultants in Kelowna, British Columbia.  Led by Chapter Chair, Deb Bourne and supported by Marty Playford and Paul Burgener, the Interior BC chapter is not large in numbers, but they are big on passion.  I met some wonderful consultants who truly enjoy what they are doing and where they are living (I too love where they are living).

We had a terrific chat and update on CMC-Canada and on what these members are doing in the business community.  The Interior Chapter comprises of consultants in Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon and the rest of the interior.  In fact, it was a pleasure to have members from Terrace and North Vancouver join us via teleconference.

We were fortunate that the Daily Courier printed a great article about the Association in their business section.  Great work Deb on making this connection.

Later this week, I have the great opportunity to meet with Lower Mainland CMCs and Vancouver Island CMCs.  I am looking forward to getting to know as many CMCs as I can.

Local Pride

On Thursday, Christine Nesbitt won gold in womens' 1,000 metre long track speed skating.  While she has dominated the race all year, her gold medal win was by the slimmest of margins.  It is testament to the enormity of the Games and to her drive and desire that she managed through the pressure to win.

I don't know Christine, but I felt a bond with her during her win.  Don't get me wrong, I had absolutely nothing to do with her victory, but because we hail from the same city, there is a link.

Because I too can say that I live in London, Ontario, there is a bit of extra pride with Christine's win.  My Canadian chest is pumped up a bit more.  I am sure the London Free Press and A Channel TV have covered her story in an extra special way.

London is well represented at the Games, with Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue competing for gold in Ice Dancing.  Again, I'm sure that I will focus a bit more on their competition and will be a bit more proud when they succeed.

Finally, VANOC board member and Ivey Business School Dean, Carol Stephenson, hails from London.

London, Ontario....feeling a little extra local pride thanks to Christine Nesbitt and the rest of the Olympic athletes and leaders.

Ivey Connections

Coming to Vancouver to work the Games has been a great experience....not only because I am working a the Games but because it has provided an opportunity to reconnect with old friends.  Four weeks sounds like a long time, but I am finding myself short of time, as the list of people to meet with is long.  

The Richard Ivey School of Business network is a great one and the bonds are tight. 

Earlier this week, I linked with Eric Lee, Randy Jang and Murray Lynn, all Ivey MBA alums.  They were all involved with the BC Chapter of the Ivey Alumni Association in previous years.  Yesterday, the networking continued.  In the morning, I reconnected with Brian Phillips, an Ivey alum, who also served the Chapter and on the Ivey Alumni Association Board of Directors.  At lunch (pictured above), I reconnected with my Ivey classmates - twenty three years after we started our MBA.  Rob Stewart, Jim Logan, John Toomey and myself, shared old war stories and lies.

Ironically, there was another neat connection.  Rob, Jim and I, all ran the New York Marathon together back in 1991, while John just returned to Canada after living in New York for many years.

The Man in Motion

Today, I had the opportunity to meet Rick Hansen, the Man in Motion, who serves as the mayor of the Vancouver Athletes Village.  For those of you who can't remember Rick, he has raised more than $200 million towards spinal cord research.  He is an excellent ambassador and is a perfect choice to serve as the head of our village.

Rick was hosting the BC Minister of Health, Kevin Falcon, as he toured the Polyclinic.

At the Opening Ceremonies, Rick was the torchbearer who brought the Olympic flame into the stadium.  He passed off the flame to Catriona Le May Doan.  There was no more symbolic sillouette than when Hansen entered BC Place with the torch.

Bad Games or Bad Press

I have been continually reading in the media about how bad the Vancouver Games are.  Most often, this has come from news reports in the UK but I have seen some from Canadian newspapers, as well.

For what it is worth, allow me to state...these are not poorly organized Games.  In fact, you would be proud to know that VANOC has done and is doing a great job in hosting the Olympics.  Yes, it would be nice if the weather would not be the source for delays, cancellations and lack of snow.  But, these are Winter Olympic Games and the very definition of "winter" indicates that bad weather may be part of it.  I fear this is what the UK media may be missing.  You can't just turn on cold weather and snow.  There is a reason why there is a ski hill at Cypress....they normally get lots of snow.  Unfortunately, we have a weird year on our hands, which is actually a great testament to VANOC's organization skills, that they have some very good conditions, even though mother nature has not cooperated.

If you look at the photo of Cypress' mogul run, you can see the depth of the base of snow.  I would suggest that this is deeper than many resorts have in most seasons.  That is a clear example of the work organizers have put in to create very good conditions.

Having said all of that, I do agree that the Olympic Cauldron issue is an embarassing one.  I cannot see how anyone would find the 12 foot high chain link fence surrounding it, keeping fans 50 feet away, acceptable.  They have now found a very good solution, allowing fans to use the elevated walkway to get closer and to have an unobstructed view of the flame.

For what is it worth, this is my two cents.....and you get what you pay for!!!

Snowboard Cross, Luck and More...

I don't know about you, but luck seems to be balanced.  You win one, you lose one.  Everything is equal and balanced.

Today, I had the most amazing opportunity.  I had to go up to Cypress Mountain to deliver some supplies.  If you recall, Cypress is where the freestyle skiing and the snowboard events are being held.  It was sunny and clear - a perfect day to be up on a mountain.  After delivering the supplies, we had a quick look around.  We saw the mogul run where Heil and Bilodeau shined.  We saw the jumps for the aerials....holy smokes!!  Then we climbed the hill and saw a few racers come down the snowboard cross course as they were qualifying for the finals.

Neat.  If there ever is a sport that television does not do justice to, it is the ski and snowboard events.  It is difficult on the small screen to convey speed, pitch and height.  You have to see the size of the half pipe...you can't even imagine it.  You have to see how steep the mogul run is.  You can't imagine the size of the aerials jump and the landing area.  You can't believe how big the final jump is on the snowboard cross run.

Back to my story.  I had great fortune to go up to Cypress, but when I came back to the city and heard everyone talking, I realized that I had bad luck.  I totally missed Maelle Ricker's gold medal in snowboard cross.  Rats.  You win some, you lose some (seriously, I realize that I am very fortunate to be here in Vancouver).  Congrats Maelle.  Gold #2 for Canada.

Here is a neat tip....as the Olympics progress and as Canada starts to win a mess of medals, it is getting a bit hard to keep track of the standings.  Here is a neat add-on (from a Canadian company) that you can use on your desktop to keep track of the standings and your favourite country (http://norex.ca/content/olympics):

For Windows:   http://norex.ca/content/olympics#sidebar
For Mac OS X:  http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/sports/olympicmedalscount.html
For Windows Mobile: http://norex.ca/content/olympics#winmo

Honouring Bilodeau

Tonight, I had the great opportunity to see Alexandre Bilodeau receive his gold medal at the Awards Ceremony at BC Place.  The crowd was stoked about Bilodeau and they were loud.  We had third row floors and therefore, we had one of the best views of the presentation that one could hope for.

Following the awards, there is a musical performer, to bring a festive atmosphere to the stadium.  Each night, there is a provincial theme to the event.  Ironically, tonight's theme was Quebec.  What a fitting theme to match Bilodeau's gold.

I had the opportunity to attend this ceremony thanks to the generosity of my old Ivey classmate, John Toomey, who is seeing almost every event during his trip to Vancouver.  Below, you can see John, his wife, Rebecca and son, Nolan.

Gold in Family and Humility

Alex Bilodeau did what no other Canadian has ever done before....on Canadian soil....he won a gold medal in Mens' Moguls.  Outstanding.  Incredible.

But, what makes him a hero is not necessarily the fact that he won the competition.  Bilodeau is a role model and hero because of how he holds his brother Frederic, who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, up as his inspiration and how he explicitly talks about how important his family is in his life.  It would be so easy to be embarassed of his brother, but he sees Frederic as the source of life's lessons.  How can anything be difficult when he sees the challenges that Frederic overcomes each and every day?  What a way to see the glass as half-full.  For more on Bilodeau's character, read Christie Blatchford's great article on Bilodeau (http://www.ctvolympics.ca/news-centre/newsid=41947.html?cid=rss).

Prior to the Games, Bilodeau was interviewed and said he knows Canada will get rid of the monkey on its back early, by winning a gold medal on the first day of competition - i.e. he was alluding to the fact that Jenn Heil was the favourite in her discipline.  Don't get me wrong, he was very confident, but he was also modest and extremely supportive of his teammates.

When you think about how he treats Frederic, his family and his teammates, I wish more of our so called "superstar" athletes would follow Bilodeau's lead and conduct themselves as he does.  What a terrific role model for our youth.

Finally, further to my comments yesterday about watching these Games with a big crowd.....how everything is a bit more exciting.....I had the privilege of watching the moguls competition at the home of Jamie and Laurie Stewart, with their extended family.  It was exciting having a dozen people celebrate Bilodeau's win and hearing the enthusiasm and support for Canada.

Go Canada go.

Canada's First Medal and Other Good News

Tonight, everyone at the Vancouver Athletes Village Polyclinic watched Jennifer Heil compete for a gold medal in Ladies Moguls.  It was exciting watching with everyone at the clinic.  Every time Heil or the other Canadians did well, you heard a roar throughout the clinic.  Yes, a roar.

This made watching the event more exciting than one could ever have, while at home.  I strongly recommend that you watch the big competitions with a large group.  It just makes it more fun.

Heil did well in the qualification round placing second, behind Hannah Kearney, the American. In the finals, the skiers competed in reverse order, from their finish in qualifications.  I can't even imagine the pressure on Heil, who is the 2006 Torino gold medalist and someone who has been expected to win.  You could cut the air with a knife, as the drama that unfolded in the final round, was top notch.  Heil did great, held first place until the final skier and won a silver.  Heil didn't lose the gold, rather Kearney won the gold, with an outstanding final run.

Let's hope that Heil's silver is just the first of many medals won by Canadians at the Games.

I have some other great news.  Yesterday, I was successful in booking flights to bring my sons to Vancouver for a few days, so they can experience the Games.  Tait, who is 16 years old, can't miss too much school, so he and his brother Blaine are making a quick trip, just so they can say they were there.

As much as I have enjoyed my time so far in Vancouver, I can't tell you how much I have missed seeing my sons, so it will be great to have them visit.

Canadian Pride

The global identity of Canadians is that we are easy to get along with and that we fit in and assimilate well with other cultures.  The downside to this is that we sometimes do not express enough pride about who we are and what we stand for.

Well, that was not the case last night at the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympic Games.  Canadian pride was on full display and many things that characterize Canada were imbedded in the program, mountains, aboriginals, music, icons, etc.  It was an evening that often times put a lump in one's throat.  

I was proud to be a Canadian.  I hope we will feel this way many times over the next two weeks.

Here are a few more photos from last night, courtesy of Sarah Stewart, a budding photographer, who attended the Ceremony.

The Canadian team marching at the parade of nations.

The Olympic flame lit by great Canadians, Rick Hansen, Catriona Lemay Doan, Steve Nash, Nancy Greene Raine and Wayne Gretzky.

Young Canadian Singer is a Hit at the Opening Ceremonies

It is midway through the Opening Ceremonies.  Did you hear Nikki Yanofsky belt out our National Anthem?  Unbelievable.  Just turned 16 years old this past week.

To hear her #1 hit, "I Believe", which is about generating pride for Canadians during these Games, click on the title of this post.  It will take you to a great video on YouTube.

From my perspective, she is the first Canadian Gold Medallist of the Games.

A Frightening Start to the Games

In a training run earlier today Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili had a fatal accident during his run at Whistler's Sliding Centre.  He flew off the track and hit a metal post at speeds of 150 km/h.  From media reports, we understand that he was treated by medical staff at the venue and they were unable to revive him.

This is a sombre way to start the Games.  It puts the battle for supremacy into context.  No medal is worth a life.  We are so sad to hear of Nodar's passing.

Our sincere condolences and prayers go out to his family, friends and teammates.