You know those updates that people send out during the holiday season? Where you get to read about family trips, milestones and engagements? I don’t send those personally, but as 2023 wraps I decided to go back through the LOC calendar to be reminded of the hits, if you will. As any happiness expert will tell you, taking time to appreciate the good stuff is one of the best tools to stay in gratitude which directly affects how happy we feel. There’s always something to grumble about, maybe even more so right now, but this week I’m going to exercise my “thank-you,” muscle.
One 2023 highlight was flying to Mexico, renting a car and driving in bumper to bumper traffic with Lauren Pritchard and Chris Trovador to a multinational company's headquarters. Chris had flown in from Orlando to support my college Spanish with his bi-lingual comedy gifts. We were all there to participate in their international thrive day. With a simultaneous LOC event in Chicago, we loved the opportunity to do what we do best, help people let their hair down - in this case literally taking off their hair nets – and getting some comic relief. Fresh biscuits and lots of laughter were on tap and enjoyed.
Much appreciation to ProEm – for inviting us to Chicago to be part of your sales kick-off. Loved sharing specific tools for better communication with these seasoned event producers.
High fives all around to our senior communities who brought me in to teach self-care tools and how to create laughter at all stages of cognitive decline. Coterie in NYC, Watermark in LA and Jewish Senior Life in Rochester, NY joined me in my quest for finding laughter where we least expect it.
The Ministry of Health in Saskatchewan was treated to some joyful team building and morale-boosting thanks to Raelynn Douglas, who has become a genuine LOC fan.
Special thanks to Alison Wood Brooks at Harvard Business School who brought me in to talk all things laughter and the marketplace. Her fab students read about us in a case study prepared by HBS. They peppered me with provocative questions and then offered thoughtful suggestions for our future!
ICAA and CALA welcomed LOC and our specific approach to supporting caregivers with tools for self-care and creating shared laughter. Nikki Ghisel brought her compassionate, comic genius to these conferences. Speaking of conferences, we are thrilled to be part of the upcoming WBENC national conference in 2024 as a featured contributor celebrating the “gold standard” of women’s entrepreneur associations. We can’t wait for this one!
Thanks to the generosity of Sherri Snelling, Cynthia Hutchins, Bill Miller, Phyllis Klein, Lindsey Flores and Dr. Belinda Chiu we launched our webinar series with authentic conversation about keeping people feeling connected and productive at work.
And last, but certainly not least, thank you to the LOC team, most of whom have been with me for years. Last month we raised glasses at Cafe Gratitude in Los Angeles. With menu items like “I am Dazzling,” “I am Thriving,” and “I am Delectable,” it was easy to poke fun, but we had to admit it was the perfect place to close out 2023. It focused our attention exactly where we wanted it. On being grateful that Laughter On Call, our “little train that could” continues to expand from “we think we can, we think we can,” to “we know we can, we know we can!”
