Last night I attended Vertality2, a sustainable business networking event put on by Vancouver’s Board of Change. It’s part of my 2012 Resolution Pak™ to attend more of these things and network a little more effectively. Which sounds good until I am really too busy to go, and find myself looking around a room full of people I don’t know and thinking I should just get back home to catch up on work.
Fortunately, beer came to the rescue. I had one, which caused me to hang around long enough to spot someone I did know. Chris Livingstone, the Director of All Sorts Of Things at Globe (including the EPIC Vancouver show) and a guy who can put more names to faces than anyone I know. So I had another beer (Thanks, Chris) and before I knew it, I was talking to more people I didn’t even know.
The best part is, these were really good conversations. Green building standards, sustainability in the oil patch (?!), entrepreneurial ventures, sponsorship, yoga, car co-ops… smart people sharing lots of good ideas. And of course, more beer.
Mercifully quick speeches from representatives of Saltspring Coffee, Vancity and Hollyhock reminded me of just how human the successful corporate face of change is in this city. Monika Marcovici and Sonny Wong folowed up with the announcement of the one-thousand and first member of the Board of Change.
As I had another beer, I began to feel invigorated. Maybe we are building a critical mass of positive green thinking. Maybe the Rebel Alliance can muster a charge against the Empire. Maybe the changes I am working to make in my life and work are part of something greater.
Thanks, Board of Change. Thanks, Beer.
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