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Boarding the plane at Chicago Midway, I’m definitely sleep deprived from attending the 2011 IEG Sponsorship Conference. While one could point the finger squarely at MH3 for my condition, I’m going to blame you instead.

You see, I had a simple goal in attending this year’s conference. Having been to something ridiculous like 15 or 16 of them, I was starting to feel like a bit of a lifer. This wasn’t a recent development. It had been creeping up on me for years. It would result in a little game I would play with myself on an annual basis. Seems every year I would tell myself that I didn’t need to attend and every year I would be fearful of “missing something,” like not going to every party on a high school weekend. So register I would. Then wish I hadn’t.

Candidly, I became a lazy conference goer. That’s an easy path to being disgruntled.

For this year’s conference I took some early clues from my Canadian colleagues. E-mails began to surface weeks ago about a Canada Night dinner from Leigh at Ivanhoe. Susan from the SMCC suggested a cocktail reception. Before long the events were merged, the location reserved and the invitations flowing.

As momentum picked up for the dinner, I began to realize how many of us Canadians would be invading American sponsorship turf. Even better, a ton of names began to surface of people I didn’t know. I was flabbergasted. Someone in sponsorship in Canada I didn’t know. Egads, I’m getting stale.

So, highly motivated, I departed to Chicago last Sunday dead set on expanding my network. Squarely intent on understanding the pulse of the Canadian marketplace. Fiercely determined to know what I didn’t know.

You know what? There was a lot I didn’t know. And a lot of people.

But of course there were a few I knew well. Like Stephane from Just for Laughs, who didn’t really laugh when I introduced him as the least funny person who worked at JFL. Sorry dude! Of course he did try to educate me on the 11 types of humour that apparently exist. I say apparently because he only got to six.

Then there was Stephen from BMW Canada. He led a roundtable on doing more with less that made it clear this is a revenue-focused sponsor with his examples of how he leverages global assets, internal departments and long-term planning to maximize his spend.

I also know Rico from the NCC. Real name Richard. He’s one of the key money men behind Winterlude and Canada Day in Ottawa. I didn’t know he wasn’t my brother from a different mother. All these years he’s had me convinced!

I also know Pat and Christie from the Stampede. But I didn’t know that the best event in Canada had just signed a JV with Cowboys to operate their casino. Yes folks, after a two-year absence, the big tent, big beers and big… you-know-what’s will be back in Calgary in time for the Stampede. If you’ve never been to this bar, five minutes inside Cowboys will make you understand why the locals proclaim, “It’s not cheating… It’s Stampeding!”

Speaking of the Stampede, Sue from BMO was also in Chicago. BMO has been the Stampede’s bank since 1912. That’s not a typo. That’s one heck of a long sponsorship renewal!

But on to some new people. Let’s start with Sophie and Catherine from Tennis Canada. The first thing they told me was that their colleagues had warned them that I was a big partier! Ouchy!

Speaking of Tennis Canada, check out Sarah from Esteemed Events’ new branding. She runs the TC sponsor summits.

Also from Montréal was Paul from Festival Divers/Cité. This annual event is, in his words, not run by gay people, nor does it feature only gay performers. But in its 26th year, it’s a world-class event created to celebrate the LBGT community.

Kevin from Parc Jean-Drapeau was in attendance and his property will be the site of the F1 race that is our hostevent for CSF 2011. Kevin’s attended CSF a few times, so make sure you meet him in June.

One of the funnest duos I met were Shaun from the Princess Margaret Hospital and Nick from his agency SDI. They, along with SDI team member Leah, are managing the cool new Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer event. (Full disclosure: we finished second in the pitch. Grr!) The boys and I had a few chuckles, about which I have promised them to disclose no clues… you will need to contact them directly and sign a waiver for details!

Met some American who didn’t believe we won the War of 1812, because the White House doesn’t fly a Canadian flag. Oh and they also said the Civil War wasn’t about slavery. To my face. Have you seen a picture of me?

Shari from the Shaw Festival was in attendance and by all accounts they seem to be cooking with gas. A recent deal included a big increase in support from a major bank. Congrats! I will let you issue the announcement Shari… but let us know so we can share it with our CSF newsletter readers.

Had to share a few fear of heights stories with Pat and Liz from the CN Tower. They have only worked at the tower for a combined 42 years, so I’m not sure how unique my tales really were.

Stumbled upon Ian from OOMPH! Events. In a bar called Howling at the Moon. Hence the stumbling. If you like duelling pianos, this is your place. Ian is speaking at CSF this year. I didn’t intend to meet him for the first time when I was gunned. Hope he still wants to speak… he is going to do an ROI Session on B2B properties.

I departed the Moon with Paolo from the NBA. Good call pulling the chute mate! He and Leah are hopeful their league doesn’t follow the lead of the NFL this summer into labour strife.

Good to see Jason from NFL Canada… no I mean Insight Sports… sorry I mean Capital C. By the time you finish this blog, he’ll have a new job.

Met Betty from North Vancouver and Lori from 3 Guineas in Toronto. If you need some help in the film world, these two are experts!

Brett from Canada Place was there with her new colleague Matti. Took me until the cab ride to remember Matti had been a client at Astral years ago!

Met Daryl from U of T. He was supposed to come to our dinner, but was under the weather. Perhaps it was from the germs on his shower curtain at this alleged hotel we stayed in called the Sheraton. Someone hoist the Motel 6 sign back up… the wind knocked it off the building.

Speaking of buildings, ever wonder if anyone works in that crazy big Foresters building near the DVP? Well I met a real live one. She knows my buddy George from Ontario Lung. Problem is I forgot her name. I’m sorry!

Lalitha and Pam from Elections Ontario shared with me their plans for testing a school-based program with kids in Grade 5 and Grade 10, to teach them about the importance of our democratic society and electoral system. Soon they will be looking for channel partners for this vital outreach.

Rashmi from Yorkdale had fond memories of working with my team on our Philips Sonicare toothbrush program last year. That made me relieved! (-:

Said hello to Todd from the ROM. They are looking for a new CEO if you want to be his boss.

Met Steve from Telus. He was one crazy Canuck. (If this joke is too subtle, humour type #4, Google “Podborski”.)

Speaking of the NFL, Dan and George were hunkering down for business unusual because of the lockout. Hang in there gents.

One of Scotiabank’s new sponsorship whizzes, Melanie, was there along with her agency S&E Sponsorship and account lead Matt. I once tried to hire Melanie. She said no. Doesn’t she know I hold grudges? (-:

There was a rumour Don and Dwayne from IMI were at IEG… but I didn’t see them in any sessions. A closer check of the lobby bar security videotapes, however, does validate their presence in the state of Illinois. That goes for you too, Jennifer from DIM!

Speaking of ghosts, did anyone see Alison from Rethink Breast Cancer? Oh I’m just kidding. I really should apologize for missing her workshop. Not only is she a great presenter, but the relationship she has created with Telus is UNBELIEVABLE, given the size of her organization. Beautiful!

Met Cathy and Elvira from Devan. They are good friends with Colin (ex-employee) and Megan from Toronto General & Western. Hey Megan, were you really the agent for Sloan from Entourage? Too cool. Shane from Rogers wants to know if you get him a walk-on role!

Bumped into Jim from Kraft. Leaked to him that the winner from Hockeyville last year is going to do a workshop at CSF 2011 on how to get entrants in voting structured programs engaged.

Also met Kiran from UCLA. He’s a former volleyball coach at North Carolina and Kansas. Which is cool ‘cause he was born in Toronto and raised in Calgary. Sports took him south. Now he does marketing for UCLA Recreation and is opening opportunities up for companies to connect with his campus community of 70,000 students, faculty and staff.

I am going to finish this entry by awarding the DELEGATE OF THE YEAR AWARD to “Little Jules,” the man who puts the jewel in Diamond Integrated Marketing. My boy Dave. To combat the HORRIBLE service and attitude of the Sheraton Chicago, Double D concocted a brilliant plan to defeat their ridiculous midnight last call. He ordered a two-four. How Canadian! A freaking “two-four” of Stella. (Full disclosure: I received an awesome Stella pouring kit at my office two weeks ago. It was the most beautiful promo piece I have ever seen!)

So back to Dave. After he got confirmation on the two-four, he puts his BlackBerry to work and ordered in six large pizzas from one of Chicago’s finest pie makers. Let me tell you one thing. You make a lot of friends when you control a two-four and 72 slices of pizza in a hotel bar at 1 a.m.

Brilliant work Diamond.

You have my respect. Harrison.

(Inside joke, ask Dave about it)

My life is going full circle. Witness the fact that one of my interns played football for me on the high school football team I coach. Couple that with the unique situation where one of my clients is the daughter of a long-time client. Hopefully I’ll be hanging up my iPad before I’m calling on his grandkids.

This week the circle has almost become fully linked. As part of our ongoing staff training program, we’ve decided to hire some consultants to teach an introductory IMC (Integrated Marketing Communications) course to our most junior staff. We’ve really pumped our training the past few years and have found that besides conference attendance, we’ve invested in an intensive combination of in-house courses, tutorials, executive coaches and ICA programs.

One gap we saw was in marketing fundamentals. It was really a simple conclusion. We have a very smart staff base. The typical profile is a Queens or Laurentian grad who then added a post-grad PR or sports marketing program to their degree. Or, in the case of the SPAD kids, a kick-ass internship at a place like IMG. However, as our agency becomes less about events and more about campaigns, the need to hone our marketing knowledge and really understand the language of our clients has become critical.

The answer? To custom develop an IMC course with some consultants to be taught to our up-and-comers. Here is where the Mark Harrison flashback comes in… The consultants we hired were my old marketing prof from the University of Guelph and his son. (Here comes that age thing again.)

We hired him over some of the other bidders for the simple reason that Professor (Tom) Funk was one of three profs I had in my university and grad school days that left me with lasting lessons.

Professor Funk and his wife Jane were both profs of mine at the U of Goo, where he taught for over three decades. His impact on me came in two distinct channels, although if you looked at my grades in his class you may not know it. What struck me about him as a prof, and I had him for two, maybe three semester courses, was his passion. I had a lot of smart professors in university. One might argue that all professors are smart… but don’t confuse the ability to read and regurgitate with smarts. But I felt that more than half of the time I was being guided by smart folks.

What separated Professor Funk from the others was a quality near and dear to me. Passion. I can’t remember one lecture that didn’t feel like he was so consumed by the material it was bursting to get out of him. He led by example and expected his class to be equally enthralled with what we were learning. Given that many students were not interested in the material, his ability to create that environment was impressive.

The other thing about Funk I loved was his clarity. He created a soft copy Marketing Management manual that I candidly used for many, many years in my work life. It was orange and cerlox bound, decorated with my in-class notes… and I am sure many a staffer thought I was a geek… but it was one useful guide to marketing!

The other prof at Guelph who really left a lasting impression was Dr. Richard Phidd, my thesis advisor. Phidd was just as happy to conduct class in the local pub as he was in an auditorium, but don’t think of him as the stereotypical prof from Animal House. (Especially not the Donald Sutherland character!) He was a deep thinker, constantly consumed by his craft and always egging me on that what I was doing wasn’t good enough. But in a way that kept me motivated, hungry and productive.

Phidd’s contribution to my life was teaching me the ability to problem-solve. For he was a systems theory expert and he got me captivated by policy, systems and the machine. Because he also allowed me to integrate sport into my thesis (I wrote about how the federal government used sport in the 1970s as a policy instrument), my fascination was complete. As a young adult, I went from reading the many books he coauthored with Bruce Doern to the likes of Peter Senge.

If you’re having difficulty understanding how your organization truly works, read The Fifth Discipline and you will uncover the answers. Thanks Professor Phidd.

My third influencer was from my MBA days at York. Emphasis on York for all you young Schulich grads applying for jobs with TrojanOne. When I went there it was still York. So don’t open with the line, “Oh you went to Schulich as well?” Yes, this grumpy old man went to York!

I can’t say I loved my MBA program. Maybe it was because to graduate you had to do a group project called the “601”. As part of the process, you didn’t get an individual grade. The profs gave us a pile of grades which we had to divvy up among our group members. One slacker in our group didn’t love the low grade we gave her. Candidly, it cost her, her MBA. So she left death threats on the answering machine of our group leader. (Google “answering machine,” youngsters, if you don’t know what I mean.) Yes, this is a true story!

But while at York, I had a great prof called Larry Ginsberg. Don’t know if he is still there but he taught some excellent courses on entrepreneurship and consulting. In his own consulting life, he worked a lot with dysfunctional family businesses. Not that the businesses were dysfunctional, but the families were and he had to repair their working relationships. Made for some great classroom stories.

Ginsberg taught an awesome course where not only did you have to get a real-world consulting client, they had to PAY the university for you to pass. This was the best real-world class I have ever had in academia. I watched several of my classmates fail; to land clients, and some land clients who wouldn’t pay up. Let me tell you folks, it’s the first order of a running a business. Creating a customer. (Thank you Professor Ginsberg and Peter Drucker!)

I often get asked by people whether they have what it takes to start their own business. I suggest to them that if they go to the busiest intersection in their city in their “birthday suit,” they will quickly find out. Those who can get someone to buy them some new clothes before they are arrested will definitely be able to start their own business and they would have passed Ginsberg’s course.

Don’t worry; while this is a flashback to my school days, I am not going streaking through the quad!

This morning, I arranged a couple of meetings at my club and I decided to hang out in the “President’s Lounge” between client chats.

Never been to the Lounge, but quickly discovered this is where I will probably spend my retirement days. Hopefully I will be as active as half of the octogenarians who were hanging out in here after their morning tennis matches, Pilates classes, or yoga sessions.

While I was pretending to work, I was really eavesdropping. Many of the hall of famers surrounding me had just come back from down south or even more exotic locales like South America. Getting ready to head south myself in a couple of weeks, as I’m sure many of you are, kept me even more interested in their chats.

One woman told a funny story about a time when she was vacationing in Florida and a stranger stopped his car to ask for directions to a local restaurant. After she told him, he offered to drive her, as it was the same place she was headed. While she was attracted to the young man (who was in his 50s, so you can judge her age), reason swayed her to reject the offer. To which the stranger replied, “Mom, it’s me… get in the car.” Her group thought it was the funniest thing ever, that she didn’t recognize her own son (he was making a surprise visit to Florida).

On its own, this story isn’t all that funny. You may not have even cracked a smile. Have to admit I almost burst out laughing, but didn’t want to blow my cover. When the storyteller added a footnote about how embarrassed she was to be thinking, “This guy in his 50s is cute and I think he is flirting with me,” I had to look away.

I will never find out this woman’s name, but if I saw her again, I would like to express my appreciation for her story. You see, I love great storytellers. You probably know that about me. It’s an art that I hope won’t be lost as we become more and more of a tech-enabled society. In fact, storytelling should thrive as mankind continually invents new ways to communicate.

It makes me want to request a change to the expression “Social Media”. Why can’t it be “Story Media”? Isn’t that what we really do with it?

Over the next few months, I am off to more conferences than is reasonable. But I love conferences. IEG. IMG World Congress of Sports. SportAccord. CSTA Sport Events Congress. Mixx Canada. Innovation Uncensored.

Why so many? I’m looking for the best stories, whether in a keynote, in a roundtable, at a reception, or over lunch. I’m a story hunter. One of my clients refers to me as a gossip. I hope (think) she is joking. Because stories are my passion. Information is my currency. Insights are my value.

And I don’t get these riches from machines or screens. I get them from you. Industry neophytes. Marketing veterans. Everyone in between.

So when I see you in the next few months, I hope you recognize me. Because I will be the guy asking for directions.

It’s hard to say you’re going to Halifax “on business” with a straight face.

Don’t get me wrong, Haligonians; I’m not saying that there isn’t serious business to be done in your beautiful harbour town. It’s just that it also happens to be one fun city. Of course, what would you expect when you combine six universities, the largest military base in Canada, and a downtown core highlighted by a collection of bars called “The Liquor Dome?”

But my real reason for going to Halifax last week was “business” and specifically to attend the spectacular 2011 Canada Winter Games. CEO Chris Morrissey, who oversaw the first games north of 60 in Whitehorse (2007), and deputy CEO Lindsay Hugenholtz, recently named one of the most influential women of 2010 by CAAWS, had their team firing on all cylinders!

The marketing motto for the event was “What will you Bring to the Games?” I hope they aren’t cross with me because all I brought were my eyes, my pen… oh, and according to my finance department, my AMEX card!

Most importantly, I was ready for some fun and games!

When I arrived at the accreditation center at the Westin Hotel, it was obvious that the staff had been going hard for a week. Even worse, they had another week to go! But despite the fact that my name wasn’t really on any official lists, it took Tanya and Jane all of five seconds to whip me up a pass, take my photo, load me up with swag and make me feel like royalty! Off to a good start.

Next up, I wanted to see the short track speed skating, so off I went to the arena at the hands of a volunteer driver. I asked to go to St. Margarets. He said, “Saint Margarets Bay?” I said, “Yes, St. Margarets.” At which point I was advised that #1 it was pretty clear I was not from around here; #2 I was allowed to call it either St. Margarets Bay or The Bay; and #3 I was NOT allowed to call it St. Margarets. Okay, so off to The Bay we went.

Truth be told, my driver was fabulous. As were the other dozens of volunteers I met. In fact, I think I met every one of the 5,000 folks who were contributing their time to the event.

The Canada Games are a stepping-stone for international competitions like the Pan Ams, Commonwealth Games, Paralympics, and Olympics. But when I got to the Bay for the short track, I almost felt like I was back in Vancouver a year ago. The arena was SRO and the action unbelievable. Remember the name Ann-Véronique Michaud, who at 19 has only been speed skating for 15 years! The 500M gold medal winner cites her coach Jonathan Guilmette as her role model and is fast building a resume that could soon see her on the world stage.

I stuck around for the short track relay events, where Quebec dominated both the male and female races, before I hitched a ride all the way back with some Games society staff, including one of my former SPAD students Kim Russell. Thanks for the lift and thanks for not lecturing me on local geography!

I got dropped off at St. Mary’s to watch some of the squash! My right knee tingled with painful memories of the last time I was on a court and blew out my knee. But it wasn’t nearly as sore as my jealousy bone. I watched the B.C. women take on the Ontario women and the play of these kids was unreal. After four matches split 2-2; B.C. won gold 167-165 on some point tiebreaker I didn’t understand.

So far the sports had been fantastic, but I needed a beer. So it was off to the premier’s reception at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. I was playing “small world” with a guy I met there and blurted out the name Karen Hood. She was a Dal grad and soccer player and Trojan employee 3B some 15 years ago! While my new beer mate didn’t know Karen, a passing woman said, “Karen Hood? Dalhousie Karen Hood? I played soccer against her when I was at St. Mary’s.” Of course you did, I thought… I am in Halifax. (Author’s note: I did send Karen a hello email, Tara!)

The Nova Scotia premier was funnier than I expected, but that didn’t stop me from bolting early to get to the hockey game. I felt like I was at a wedding… wait ‘til the bride and groom are talking to some old people and then warm up the car. Problem is, in 2011, I am the old person. Nevertheless, I made my escape and headed up to the Metro Centre to watch Ontario destroy B.C. in the men’s hockey semis.

Okay, now for some truth. Ontario lost. And these aren’t men. They are 16-year-old boys. But the hockey was brilliant nonetheless. The Canada Games tournament featured Nova Scotia’s Nathan McKinnon, who is from Cole Harbour, attends Shattuck-Saint Mary’s prep school in Faribault, Minnesota, and is often compared to some other hockey player from Nova Scotia.

During the game, a fellow strolled in who runs Tim Hortons’ marketing for all of Atlantic Canada. Turns out he is from my hometown of Orilia and recognized me. I was shocked. Not just because he recognized me without my trademark Michael Jackson afro. Nor because he recognized me without my trademark velour shirts. Nor because he recognized me even though I have grown many inches since high school. No, I was shocked that two of us had jobs.

The core element of our catching-up was about the infamous “bow tie” éclair that Tim’s used to sell. Yep, for 25¢, I could have a “bow tie,” which featured a huge pastry, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and a cherry… and a drink. Me and my buddy used to stroll down after school and get one far too often. I blame them for stunting my growth.

When the beating by B.C. had finished, we were off to the pub. Many of those involved will remain nameless – some are clients, some are staff, others were down there on business and may work at the Hockey Hall of Fame. All were seen at the Split Crow… and the Lower Deck… and the Ale House… and Pizza Corner… and getting back to their hotel rooms at 5:04 in the morning. (Not me, honey, honest!) Along the way, we ran into Rod Black, who was providing these young athletes with glamorous TV coverage; Tie Domi, who was watching his son play for Team Ontario and trying to forget the night he spent in Calgary telling people I was Donald Brashear, and the amazing Catriona Le May Doan.

The next day was decidedly quieter. Until I got to the Midtown Tavern for lunch and my friend Robert Logan had the proprietor send over his favourite lunchtime bevy. To be clear, Robert claims the advantage of this is that your beer doesn’t get warm because you don’t touch the glass. Really there are two things I want you to take away from this. One, don’t ever confuse Robert Logan with any other Atlantic Canadian, as he clearly doesn’t measure up. Secondly, if you are ever in Halifax… have lunch at the Midtown. It is an institution. And everybody has a beer in front of them. At lunch! What a concept.

Things got much, much noisier when I made it to Cole Harbour, and the very arena that Sid the Kid hones his skills in, for the gold medal ringette game. Have you ever seen ringette live? This was only my second time. Ironically both times in Nova Scotia. You have to see it to believe it. What a game.

Fast. Strategic. Intense. Let’s boot the Leafs out of the ACC and invite Team Ontario and Team Alberta to play a rematch. These young women battled their hearts out in one of the best sports events I have seen in months. I was perched just behind the Alberta parents and their energy could heat a pool. Unreal.

I am seriously going to find a local tournament next winter and take my sons to watch. If you have a daughter, give this sport a long look. The skating skills of these girls are insane!

After getting my bell rung, I hitched a ride in a cargo van with a volunteer who was transporting wheelchairs for a basketball team. What a great guy. I’m embarrassed I don’t have his name, but he lives in Nova Scotia and commutes to Mississauga on Mondays and home again Fridays. For work. Every week. Clearly the rest of us need to head to Nova Scotia and smell the roses! They must be worth it!

I was headed back to the gold medal hockey game, which B.C. won. After the game, I stood in the arena until there were no fans left and the equipment managers were picking stuff off the ice from the post-game celebration. I watched a parcel of parents hug, high-five, and congratulate each other. I was so jealous. There are no higher drugs than being part of a championship moment. Their sons had just won a Canada Games gold medal. Those 16-year-old boys were elated at what they had accomplished. But it will be years before they realize that the emotions in their moms and dads were many times their own.

If I had gone home to bed, my trip would have been considered highly satisfying. However, the Lower Deck called my name and it was back for another Sociable at the bar! Met some old friends there, including Michelle and Katrina from the B.C. mission staff. Met some new friends there, including Ryan from Ottawa who grew up with one of my key staffers. Got to watch autograph hounds quiz Catriona and ask her for pictures. The #1 comment? “You look taller on TV!” I asked Catriona if they knew that speed skaters wore skates when they competed. Oh, I think I’m so smart!

The next day, I had a lunch chat with a buddy from Halifax who filled me in on all the gossip and then I zoomed to the airport. Flew home next to the mom of one the hockey referees. She had gone all the way from Waterloo to see her son referee in Halifax. At 22, his selection to the Canada Games was quite an honour.

Yes, Halifax was fun. But the Games are serious business. Seriously important to our culture.

The Mo’ is flowing at MojanOne!

This week I personally passed the Mollenium mark in fundraising, scoring $1236.00 to date in support of Prostate Cancer research. Thanks to all of my Mo’ Bros and Mo’ Sistas who have supported me. And if you haven’t…. Well,  click here and show me the Mo’ney!!!

Apparently, cracking the big M has me in something called the “Platinum Club”. That’s the trackable part of this fundraiser. But what isn’t tracked is the really important stuff. The jokes. The jabs. The conversations. The raising awareness. The office camaraderie. The teasing. The styling. The education.

In short, the Word-of-Mo’uth. Literally.

That’s the most amazing part of this fundraiser. Everywhere I go with th is silly stache, I am instantly turned into an advocate for Prostate Cancer awareness. For an entire month. Unreal!

I’m a bandwagon jumper. So a month is a long time for me. The longer it goes, the more I’m into it.

Yes, there is the personal connection as it relates to my Pops. He and my Mom were in town this week and they went to see my oldest son play hockey. For three days, that was all he could talk about. At 10, playing in front of your grandparents is like playing on Hockey Night in Canada!

Beyond that, I think it’s the first time since a disaster-like fundraiser, that I have seen so many people get jazzed by doing something so good.

My staff are all over it.

There is Lindsay, the Calgary-based intern, constantly near the top of the fundraiser leader board.

There is Pierre, in Toronto, who finally looks French.

There is Norm, in Lindsay (Ontario), who definitely looks like he is from Lindsay, Ontario.

There is Brian, who might as well give up.

There is Jody, who is “virtually unstoppable.”

The team is having a bake sale on Friday to raise money. I just donated four MLS Cup tickets for the top two fundraisers of the week. We are leaving mo stone unturned! (Pardon the prostate pun!)

Daily, I’m answering the question at every meeting, every fundraiser, every lunch, every flight and every coffee shop. “Oh, you’re doing Movember.” Perfect strangers. Tired baristas. Over-worked clients. All want to spend a few minutes joshing about the ‘stache and telling stories of what’s happening in their workplace.

When I send out fundraising appeal emails I raise as many chuckles as I do mollars! One guy I used to coach football with accompanied this picture of me with the following caption.

Calling all cars. Black & white football coach on the loose. Doesn’t like to punt. Arrest immediately.

My rivals have told me I’m going to lose business. My friends have extended their sympathy to my wife. My children want to rub their cheeks against it.

If you haven’t caught the Mo’ yet, I encourage you to do so. Prostate Cancer Canada is not a client of mine. I’m sure my actual NFP clients are shaking their heads right now over my infatuation with Movember.

But I am infatuated with this event!

Mo Harrison

PS. I’m in the Porter Lounge as I write this and two women behind me are talking about Movember.

PS2. At a “meeting” at the Irish Embassy on rue Bishop in Montreal, I spotted this poster!

Last Saturday we helped our clients at ParticipACTION stage the first ever Sports Day in Canada.

Through partnerships with CBC and True Sport, ParticipACTION was able to mobilize over four hundred communities to stage 1,000 local events attended by over one million people. An unbelievable start!

From the day ParticipACTION CEO Kelly Murumets, CBC Sports President Scott Moore, and yours truly huddled to brainstorm this idea, I knew we were on to something big.

Like all great ideas, it wasn’t entirely new. CBC had pioneered the model for the sport celebration “day” with their Hockey Day and Soccer Day properties. Various amateur sports groups and affiliates had attempted to put a “Sport Week” together for a long time.  But a great idea is only great if it gets executed.

Sports Day in Canada came along at the right time. On the heels of an unbelievable Paralympics and Olympics on Canadian soil, there is tremendous enthusiasm for sport in our society. Unfortunately, at the other end, sport enrollment has been declining over the past fifteen years. So, ‘Sports Day’ presented an opportunity to create a national holiday of sorts for sport.

Sports Day in Canada featured a week long series of events including ‘Jersey Day’ on Friday, September 17th. A modest success for its first year, the idea behind Jersey Day was to get all Canadians to wear a sports outfit to work, school, or play that day.

On the big day, I was in Kingston where the Queen’s-McGill varsity women’s basketball game was broadcast from. The game featured the 100th anniversary of women’s basketball in CIS sport. Now, that is an event worth celebrating on Sports Day.

Across the country there were a series of great events, such as Canada Games Day in Prince Albert. Part of the upcoming 2011 Halifax Canada Games’ efforts to spread the fever across the country.

In Iqaluit, they featured a hip-hop event hosted by a woman who calls herself “Lil Bear.” Free for youth 11 and up, the free event was a big attraction for aspiring boys and girls.

In Charlottetown, the Bluephins Aquatic Club held an Open House as they and other Swimming Canada clubs promoted their sport as an essential for all young Canadians.

Sports Day scored big with Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Sports Day scored big with the news media garnering 388 hits and over 46 million impressions. Sports Day scored big with many key stakeholders, like the Canadian Paralympic Committee, who were enthusiastically involved.

In the long run, Sports Day will be one of the biggest properties in Canada. But it wont be a true success if its just one day. Everyday should be “Sports Day” in this country.

Sport builds community.
Sport builds relationships.
Sport builds people.

It is one of the activities that can make us all healthier, happier, and richer. Because healthier people are smarter people. Healthier people are more motivated. Healthier people cost you and I less tax dollars!

So while SDIC #1 is in the books, I would ask all of you to help ensure that SDIC #2 happens today, not September 17, 2011.

So, join a team; sign up for a race; go buy a bat and ball. Get out and play some sort of sport today. Do it with friends, family, neighbours and co-workers. Do it with strangers. I guarantee you they wont be strangers for long.

Game On!