As today is the day that our friends south of the 49th spend giving thanks, it's only fitting that I can post a link to one of our Canadian independent business owner's Web sites as his efforts and dedication to supporting Easter Seals is something that we're truly inspired by and thankful for.
Edmonton-based IBO Shaun Guthrie posted his Easter Seals' Drop Zone video today. I encourage all of you to go check it out and see what's involved. Then, like Shaun, I hope you'll look into participating in this year's event.
Earlier this year, I interviewed both Ottawa-based IBO Gregory Anthoine and Winnipeg-based IBO Diane Fedak about their participation in their local Drop Zone events. I hope that reading these stories and seeing Shaun's video helps motivate people to take that extra step and go over the edge in support of such a worthwhile charity.
As you can see, Shaun has set some aggressive fund-raising goals for the 2011 campaign, and he's looking to other IBOs to join in and support him. And we'll do our best to help all of you here at Canuck Central. Each year we try to co-ordinate your efforts as much as possible and I'm going to make a commitment to better use our social media applications to help you guys out. We'll be launching new Amway Canada and Nutrilite Facebook pages shortly, so I can use those to help share your stories, encourage support, and make people aware of what a great opportunity we have to support kids and families with disabilities.
Again, thanks to Shaun, Gregory, Diane, and all of you who have given of your time, effort, and money to support this great cause. Feel free to visit the Drop Zone Web site. This year we raised over $1 million for Easter Seals — next year, with your support, let's shoot for much more!
As always, the comments are open. We'd love to hear from you. What can we do to help you if you're interested in participating? What does the Drop Zone mean to you? And what do you think of stories like Shaun's, Gregory's, or Diane's?
A self-professed good guy – but not a nice guy — turned to the silver screen for inspiration earlier this week in going over the edge for kids and families with disabilities at the Ottawa Easter Seals Drop Zone event.
Ottawa-based IBO Gregory Anthoine rappelled down the Delta Hotel & Suites on Queen St. disguised as the Terminator. He said he felt the fictional character – and his journey — was a perfect representation of Anthoine’s real-life personality. Well, and practicality also played a role.
“I wasn’t skinny enough for Spider-Man,” he said, laughing. “Originally the Terminator was a bad guy, but if you followed the series he turned out to be a good guy later on. I think that’s cool.
“I’m not a nice guy, but I’m a good guy. When they call in the SWAT teams, they don’t want the nice cops – they want the good cops. The Terminator, he was not a nice guy, but he was a good guy and I thought it would work with me, my personality, and my body type.
Putting together the right look wasn’t that hard. “Unfortunately, I had every article of clothing in my wardrobe already, so I didn’t have to buy anything for the costume,” Anthoine said. “What does that tell you about me?”
(*** UPDATE, OCT. 7 — Greg provided us with some photos from the event, which I've uploaded to an AmwayCanada flikr page. Check them out by clicking here! ***)
He explained that it was a phone call that he received from a member of the Amway Canada management team that prompted his involvement.
“Initially [Amway Canada’s communications and government affairs manager] Angela [Abdallah] e-mailed me and said that we’re going to be doing a Drop Zone event in Ottawa, and wanted to know if I’d be interested,” he said. “I said ‘yes’ right away – if the business has an event going on, I want to attend, support and be involved.”
That was a month prior to the event. In the intervening time, Anthoine raised the requisite funds, attended the training, and prepared for the event.
“It was a combination platter of people who supported me – people in the [Amway] business and those who are out of it,” he explained. “At first they thought it was hilarious and people would donate anywhere from $5 to $200.”
For some, the idea of rappelling down a large building can cause significant anxiety. Anthoine admitted he wasn’t sure how he was going to react prior to the event.
“I was nervous as to whether I’d be nervous,” he said. “I don’t have a fear of heights, but you always wonder if you’d panic once you get to the top. Then you start thinking, ‘wouldn’t it be embarrassing if you panicked or passed out half way through.
“But then you realize that the money is going to kids that have to deal with a lot more than we do. You talk to people all the time about facing and overcoming one’s own fears – so it comes down to am I going to listen to my own seminars or not?”
Not everyone was able to conquer all their fears. And although one participant backed out just prior to going over the edge of the building, Anthoine explained he has the ultimate respect for him for getting that far.
“One guy got up there and didn’t complete it. He said, ‘I’m officially a coward,’ and walked away,” Anthoine said. “Even though he didn’t go down, he got that far – and that’s a heck of a lot farther than most people. I’m not going to fault a guy for not going through with it – he did more than most people. Despite his fear of heights, he had the guts to at least try.
“Like the great American philosopher, Clint Eastwood, said, “a man’s got to know his limitations.’ He at least raised the money and stuck his neck out despite his fears. I’m not going to fault a guy for using common sense.”
To participate in the Drop Zone, registrants must raise a minimum of $1,500 and attend training. Anthoine said that the professionalism of the training staff alleviated most concerns that participants may have had – and they left no question as to who was in charge of the rappel.
“During the training, we prepared on something like one of those climbing walls. We went over an artificial cliff just to get used to it. The guys who were doing the training were amazing and all really professional,” he added. “Of course, their suggestions were not suggestions – they were polite orders. They were saying that this was the only way it’s done and people were pretty good about following directions. After all, nobody wanted to make a mistake or get hurt.
“When I did the training, some people were a little nervous once they were in the equipment. I just leaned right back and the guys said, ‘Wow, you really trust us.’ I said, ‘What choice to I have?’”
Anthoine said that he found parallels between the rappelling experience and building an Amway business.
“[The trainers] told me that if you want to not be nervous, trust your equipment, trust your tools, and your team,” he said. “To me that was the perfect analogy to Amway. You have the support, the equipment, and the team — you just have to trust in all of them.”
When it came time for Anthoine to rappel down the building, he explained that things moved quickly. He also changed his mind as to how he was going to approach the descent.
“Once I got to the top, I said, ‘here we go,’ Things happened so quickly and you were focused on the task at hand,” he said. “I was going to stop half-way down and make a phone call on my cell. But I decided against that. I watched the guys up top and they would watch slower people, or those who spun and got their ropes tangled a bit, and they weren’t impressed.
“I decided I wasn’t going to stop – I would just go down like a flash, nice and fast, and at the very least I’d have their respect – I wouldn’t just be some hack on a rope.”
This was Anthoine’s first Drop Zone experience, but it won’t be his last. He’s already starting to investigate how he can get more IBOs involved in the event.
“It’s a nice team-building thing. At Achievers we do similar events – those semi-dangerous things where you have to rely on your team,” he said. “Next year I’d like to do a something with our group – maybe do a group event so that the funds raised are contributed to a group total. After all, our business is a group business.
“People were aware of my participation and gave encouragement – this year was a test for us and it was the first time it was in Ottawa. I think it should be here every year. Anything like this type of public event is good public relations in the general public. There’s great opportunity for team building within the group – I think this could be a time to encourage group leaders to get their entire group involved. You could have two dozen people raising money, but only the brave ones would go down the wall. You’d get more people involved.”
At 54 years old, Anthoine said age isn’t an impediment to participation and he encouraged everyone to get involved. “I saw people going down who were wheelchair-bound,” he said. “Unless [someone] has a physical issue that would prevent them from going down the building, then they shouldn’t be concerned about it at all.
&
ldquo;[The company that was in charge of the rappelling] do stuff with wind turbines and dams – it’s a big-money organization, they’re not a bunch of thrill-seekers.”
Whether it’s conquering fear, overcoming nervousness, or setting and reaching a goal, Anthoine explained that events like this help one learn about themselves.
“I would say this is why people who do things that stretch themselves, whether it’s being part of a volunteer organization or doing smaller-group public speaking, you learn that you can do more than you think you can – even if it’s just a little bit more,” he said. “I was trained, I had support, so I was confident – I was a Boy Scout: be prepared. If you’re facing a situation where you’re nervous, you can say, ‘I’m trained, I’m prepared’ and it becomes more of a mental contest.
“If you’re terrified, then you need to go back through the process. But if you’re a little nervous – and you have to remember that Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, even the contemporary acts all said that before they go on stage they’re a little nervous – you don’t let a little nervousness stop you.”
And it’s not just self-awareness that improves. “You learn things about people. My brother-in-law, after he sponsored me, told me that he couldn’t see anything on the application for organ donation,” Anthoine added. “It’s like people who stop to watch accident scenes – you hope for the best, but there could be a gory story. If that’s what it takes for me to raise a little money, then I can take being the butt of a few jokes.
“I was very impressed with the people involved. You hear about how people don’t care and how bad people are, but these people took time out of their schedule and had the guts to raise money for a good cause. They could have been home, watching a movie, but instead they raised $100,000 – they’re good people and not selfish.”
Amway Canada has been involved with the Drop Zone for a number of years and Anthoine said the positive relationship can bring benefit to IBOs. “Some people I prospected for funds don’t know I’m in the Amway business – but they’re going to,” he said. “I can tell them, I heard about this event and participated because I’m in the Amway business. It’s a smart business decision if you leverage it in a classy, subtle fashion.”
Referencing today’s official opening of the Amway Center in Orlando, Anthoine explained that the public relations efforts are important, and events like the Drop Zone are an ideal way for IBOs to get involved with the business and the community.
“I’m not a basketball player, I’m not a soccer player, but I can hang off a rope,” Anthoine concluded. “Any opportunity that we have to participate – and you don’t have to be a superstar athlete – it’s great!”
A promise to lose weight led to another type of weight being lifted off of Diane Fedak’s shoulders – and a conquered fear has been replaced by an empowering confidence in her ability to meet any challenge she faces head-on.
Fedak, a Winnipeg IBO, participated in her second consecutive Easter Seals Drop Zone event on Aug. 19, 2010. She, along with the other rappellers, raised $137,000 which will support the Society for Manitobans with Disabilities’ programs. Her efforts help to change the lives of people living with disabilities – and it’s changed her life too, both personally and as an independent business owner.
“First of all, to me, it was a life-changing event. I overcame my fear of heights and I realized I could do something that I thought I couldn’t,” Fedak explained. “It absolutely relates back to my business – there’s that heavy phone I have to pick up and call [customers and IBOs]. If I can rappel down a building, then I can pick up a phone.
“I know now that I can do what I put my mind to do.”
Fedak, who is a secretary at her Church and works as a legal assistant, watched the event from the comfort of her law office which is conveniently located right across the road from the Drop Zone site. Interest, combined with a promise she made to herself, led her to take the plunge for the first time last year.
“I work right across the street from where they do the event. I watched it for four years and I thought that I could do it,” she explained. “After the third year, I said, ‘I will do that if I lose 40 pounds.’
“I lost the 40 pounds and so I had to stick by my word.”
Beyond the aforementioned benefits of participating, Fedak added that having the opportunity to interact with representatives from Easter Seals and the SMD has changed her on a personal level.
“In my personal life, I think that I’m a more confident person. Having met some of the people from the Society of Manitobans with Disabilities and learning from them, I think I’m more accepting and more forgiving of people,” she said. “I think in some ways, I’ve become someone who is more willing to step back and think first – lots of times, I’ll just blurt something out and now I’m more gentle and accepting of people for who they are.
While one would think taking that first step over the edge of a building would be the biggest challenge, Fedak admitted that was secondary to raising the funds required to participate in the event. “The hardest part is raising the $1,500 – especially if you’re doing this for the second time,” she said. “You can’t keep going back to the well – it’s a lot of money and you don’t want to keep going to the same people over and over. This year I raised $1,688 through family, people at the Church, people at work, and fellow IBOs. “The IBOs who did help me were very enthusiastic about the event.”
She added that people are generally shocked when she approaches them with this fund-raising concept. However, thanks to the safety measures taken prior to and during the event make rappelling down a building less stressful than her daily commute.
“I’m no spring chicken – I’m 56 years old and I’m not afraid to admit it,” Fedak explained. “People would say, ‘Are you crazy? You’re really going to do that – jump off of the building?’ But it’s really not that dangerous.
“I ride a bike to and from work through downtown Winnipeg – that’s more dangerous. You have to go for training and there are five points of safety that have to fail before you fall. It’s much safer than riding my bike to work.”
Fedak said that despite her assurances, people were offering alternative fund-raising methods. “I’ve even had people say, ‘I’ll give you $50 not to do it!’”
This being her second year participating in the event didn’t make it any easier for Fedak. In fact, a delay at the top of the building added to the tension.
“I found it harder this year, for one thing I’ve had some health issues,” she said. “I also had to wait up there for 15 minutes. Even though I work on the 22nd floor on a daily basis, this is a little different. The waiting kind of played little games with my head.
“Last year was a real adrenaline rush. I had a terrible fear of heights and I had to conquer that.”
Fedak also wanted to clear up the idea that you’re jumping off into the unknown. In fact, rappelling down the building is no harder than walking, she explained.
“You stand on the balls of your feet, lean back, and as soon as your heels hit the wall you start walking backwards. If you want to push yourself away, you could do that,” she said. “There are always people in windows, looking at you and waving.”
And while some take the time to take in the scenery, Fedak admitted that she’s been able to appreciate a similar view for years. “I looked around a little bit, but I do work on the 22nd floor across the street and have since 1990,” she explained. “The view is something I see every day – it’s old hat.”
Fedak said she is pleased with Amway’s support of the Drop Zone and was delighted to see NUTRILITE®-branded products at the event site.
“I was absolutely proud that [Amway] had a presence. [The event planners] really took care of me,” she said. “There was an A+ breakfast – they had croissants, cinnamon buns and doughnuts, and they had a big huge bowl of our [NUTRILITE] food bars.
“I’d see people going after the muffins and I was saying, ‘You have no idea what you have there with the NUTRILITE bars.’”
Fedak says there's still room for improvement. She said the opportunity is there for people to learn about our products and that IBOs could benefit both from an exposure and a team-building perspective.
“Even if there are only 100 people there, that is 100 people who can learn about the products,” she said. “I also think it could be a great team-building thing. But it’s something that you have to be ready to do.
“I would absolutely recommend it to people – if they’re ready.”
Which begs the question — how do you know you’re ready? “Your mind has to be ready. I knew I was ready,” she explained. “I just knew – it’s a feeling. How do you know when you’re in love? You just know.”
Will the third time be the charm for Fedak? She admitted that she’s not entirely sure whether she’ll rappel again – but her niece has expressed an interest in participating and if it takes Fedak strapping on the harness again to get her niece to take the plunge for Easter Seals, then she’ll strongly consider it. Regardless, Fedak said she’s planning to stay involved. “I’ll do it again in 2011 if my niece does it,” she confirmed. “Otherwise I’ll volunteer to help support the event.”
Whether you’re an IBO or not, or whether you’ve supported Easter Seals in the past or not, Fedak concluded by saying that participants receive an incredible reward for participating, beyond supporting a wonderful cause and helping people live better lives.
“I now will do things that I wouldn’t do before,” she explained. “The greatest reward you get, as a participant, is the confidence you gain and the knowledge that you can do anything that you put your mind to.”
Visit the Drop Zone Web site for videos and other updates from the various events this summer. There are two more events this year — Sept. 22nd in Montreal and Sept. 27th in Ottawa. And if you’re interested in participating next year and joining NUTRILITE in its support of Easter Seals charities, please feel free to e-mail public.relations.ca@amway.com.