Well Into the 21st Century

by Guy LeMasurier, MSc

Every conference organizer and meeting planner at some time has had the thought, "What if hardly anybody registers? What if we threw a party and no-one came?" These thoughts crossed my mind when Speakwell rented the 1000+ capacity, University of Victoria Auditorium for our evening of high level wellness titled "Well Into the 21st Century."

Typically, Martin addresses employee groups, organizations and major conferences and was aware that many people in his hometown had not heard him present. We followed the Nike philosophy and just did it! Once we were committed to a date and a program, things began to happen very quickly and in the words of W.H. Murray came to life:

The top companies and organizations in town came on board by purchasing blocks of seats for their employees. No surprise to Victorians that the list included Pacific Coast Savings, Thrifty Foods, The University of Victoria and Pacific Sport National Training Center of Greater Victoria. All told, these companies picked up over 400 tickets.

Our media sponsors were very supportive and timely with their coverage of the event. The Times-Colonist provided 1/4 page advertisements 2-3 times per week for the month leading up to the event and blanketed their calendars and upcoming event sections with our information. CFAX 1070 Radio ran interviews with Martin and promoted the event with free ticket giveaways on the air. The community newspapers ran articles and the local cable channel did a very professional 3 minute segment on Martin to promote the event. (They even included a clip of Martin and I playing Ping-Pong, a regular part of our day at Speakwell. Part wellness, all grudge match.)

The event was a sell-out, and a success for many more reasons than the attendance. We featured three outstanding women as part of the program Lara Lauzon, Dr. Nancy Wardle and Carolyn Neapole. Lara Lauzon had 1000 people stretching and moving out of their seats! Soon to be Dr. Lara Lauzon when she completes her Ph.D., she has had experience with large crowds. Her Internationally syndicated TV fitness program, 'Body Moves', has touched millions of lives throughout North America. Lara has been a student of Martin's from undergraduate through to the Ph.D. level.

Dr. Wardle is Western Canada's leading mind/body physician, and a great presenter. She captured the audience immediately and took them up with the 'Breath of Life' (a collective "YES!" from the audience that resonated outside of the complex) and brought them back down with some guided meditation which was so effective it sent Pacific Sport CEO Roger Skillings to sleep.

Carolyn Neapole, a brilliant singer and local recording artist, performed one of Martin's songs 'Never Too Late' and one of her best songs (in my opinion) 'Piece of You'. She was exceptional and the acoustically designed venue enhanced the impact of her delivery. Carolyn and her band got a large audience response.

We provided a 32-page booklet for every attendee called the "Little Book of Lifestyle Artistry". The booklet summarizes Martin's M.E.L.L.O.W. approach to wellness, includes some breathing techniques from Dr. Wardle, a synopsis of Martin's 'Phacts of Life', the PAR-Q (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire) which Martin co-developed back in the 1970's and some readings and resources for each of the elements in M.E.L.L.O.W. The booklet has been a big hit. Our first run of 2000 has sold out and we have gone to a second printing of 5000. (You can purchase a copy at Well-Mart.)

As the director of this production I couldn't have hoped for a better result considering we had no formal rehearsal and hadn't had all the principles together for a full run through. It was a one-off, and we put on a great event. If that were all there was to say I would have been happy with the outcome, but I would be forgetting a major objective of the evening.

We supported 3 local charities with which we had close association. The newly formed Kidsport Greater Victoria provides funds for registration and equipment for kids who might be prevented from participation in sport for fiscal reasons. Martin was on the board of Sport B.C. when the Provincial Kidsport was established, and now has helped raise money for the launch of the Greater Victoria branch. On April 30th, Speakwell will donate $2001 to Kidsport Greater Victoria at their official launch at the Cedar Hill Recreation Center.

The Neil Squire Foundation was established after the former UVic basketball player was badly injured in a car accident. The foundation develops instructional programs, produces research and helps people with physical disabilities develop the skills to pursue their desired careers. Our close association with UVic and Martin's memory of the late Neil Squire made this a Foundation a natural to support.

Martin donates $1000 to Leslie Warnock-Rogers for the
Neil Squire Foundation at the Resource Disability
Network Conference in Vancouver, February 23, 2001.

We also supported CFAX 1070 Radio president Mel Cooper's Foundation for Youth Leadership. Mel has always lent his support to local events and charities and we felt it would be great to give back to the hand that lent us so much support in the promotion of our event. Our interdependence worked out for both Speakwell and CFAX 1070 radio. Shortly after the event, Martin spoke to the CFAX 1070 and Extreme 107.3 marketing staff at a retreat in beautiful Cordova Bay. A fitting $1070 was donated to Mel Cooper's Foundation for Youth Leadership.

So we gave a party and we provided over $4000 of financial support to some worthy charities. We sold out the auditorium, the presenters got a standing ovation and we provided financial support to some worthy charities and had a lot of fun. Now the pressure is on to do it again to accommodate all the people who couldn't get tickets. Fortunately, we videotaped the evening and are looking for ways to make it available to everyone.