ChilliBox

Lead with Laughter, the new program by Gavin Jerome was a huge hit at the SHRM Leadership Conference in Ankeny.

It is nice to stay close to home. All I had to do is drive down the road to the DMACC Conference center located in the Culinary Center to address the leadership of SHRM.

At the very least I knew I was going to get some great breakfast pastries…

For those who don’t know, SHRM is an acronym for the Society of Human Resource Managers. A fantastic organization, one that I have spoken to on a few occasions here in central Iowa. This group was different, leadership from all over the state gathered in Ankeny to have an all day workshop, which I was privileged to kick off.

The best part for me was my contact person, Sharon Dralle, who helped me create a new program with a leadership focus. She was also instrumental in helping me get my program approved for continuing education units or CEU’s for the SHRM attendees. Every so often you meet someone with real vision who understands what this is all about and pushes me to be a better speaker. From start to finish, this program lit up the Culinary Conference Center and the group was amazing.

And I got crum cake…scrumptious crum cake…what a great gig!

The Iowa Association of Bookkeepers for Co-ops had their meeting at the Country Inn and Suites in Ames, Iowa.

And Gavin Jerome was there. And what  wild time it was. One of the generous vendor partners provided a free “happy hour” for attendees of the event before dinner. The beverages were flowing and the everyone was having a great time.

I was glad as well, because I figure that the more they drank, the funnier I would be…

By the time dinner had finished and I had started my program, everyone was in a perfect mood. These folks work unbelievable hours and the message I provided was a needed one. As one attendee put it,

“Thanks for the great time! Great material. We all definitely need to laugh every day!”

Meeting planner Heather Hill was very pleased and for the first half of the program acted as event photographer for me. I am not an easy one to photograph as I move around quite a bit and I am a little bit “animated” when I speak.

Still, the program has something for everyone and attendees left with a renewed sense of purpose as they head into fall harvest season.

And the lasting lesson learned is even if it is an open bar, DON’T order a Long Island Iced Tea if you are not used to drinking them…

With everything going on in today’s business climate, we need to take a step back and find a way to deal with all the stress. Boosting employee morale is more important now than ever before. But what is a company to do? Budgets are tight and getting tighter every day.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Many companies are struggling and their morale is at an all time low. So the Morale Mechanic is rolling up his sleeves and pitching in.

The Morale Mechanic has announced HIS brand new Humor Stimulus Package specifically tailored to fit any and all companies, associations or budget. Gavin’s main morale boosting workshop now comes with several added elements dealing with the current crisis and presents it in a way to make every attendee smile and be re-energized.

“That is the really scary part of this economic climate. The one thing companies SHOULD NOT DO is forget the morale of their people. It is the employees that make a business great and it is your people who will keep it afloat during the tough times…”

A morale boost is often needed and concrete skills need to be learned in order to deal with this in a positive way WITHOUT losing perspective or your sense of humor. A humor stimulus package from the Morale Mechanic could be just the ticket.

And I will share it with your company at a discount…

If you or your company need a morale boost during this tough economic climate, contact the offices of The Morale Mechanic today and ask about the special Humor Stimulus Package and the deep discount it provides. You will be glad you did!

For the past three years, I have been the host of the Mullet contest at the Iowa State Fair. This year was bigger and better than ever.

The Des Moines Register covered the affair that took place on the Budweiser/ABC5 stage and my quote lead off the story.

“There is no award given at the Fair more prestigious than the title of Mullet champion.”

Sponsored by the Iowa School of Beauty, an organization that I have done consulting work for, this event literally FILLED the Budweiser stage and the huge crowd was cheering for their favorites.

In the end, a resident of Omaha by way of Atlantic, Iowa made the trek to the fair to enter the contest and the competition was stiff. Coming in second and third were the winner and runner up last year.

We were lucky to have great judges from all over the metro including:

• Avant Garde Beauty Supplies, Inc.
• Atelier Hairspace
• House of Hair in Ames
• Blondies Beauty Parlor on Ingersoll
• Artwork by Shawn Palek

The grand prize winner got product and prizes and a special airbrushed painting of Joe Dirt done by sponsor Shawn Palek.