I rarely feel at ease at big dinners like the United Way Community Builder Awards. It’s occasions like those that make me feel like a kid in a room with grownups. As I said to Kris Joseph recently, “Isn’t it amusing how we actually never left junior high school?” In any case, when someone offers you a free ticket to a dinner, it’s hard to say no. So I didn’t.

And to be honest, I felt like a fish out of water most of the night. I was at a table with some folks from uOttawa (none of whom I’d worked with during my time there) and eventually Alex and his girlfriend Amy. Alex was a reporter for Ottawa Construction News there to get shots of the PCL Construction table next to us.

MC Anne Beaudry was super duper — and I say that having MC’d a few things in my time. Dinner was good in the way that hotel event dinners are. It’s hard to make and serve 900 dinners at once. There were some wacky stunt double guys who did dangerous things before dinner; then a trio from the NAC Orchestra played while we clattered our forks and chatted and I felt bad for ignoring them.

And there were lots of awards. To individuals like Ottawa’s Police Chief (who likely had other things on his mind), and to a VP of Scotiabank. And to organizations like the Youth Services Bureau and Health Canada.

But there were two points at which I really got INTO the evening. The first was when the United Way Ottawa Ambassador of the Year was revealed. Natalie Gervais is a young woman who has spoke countless times to share her story of drug addiction and recovery. She was helped, thanks to Project STEP. Now she’s passing it on.

And then at the end of the night, CEO Michael Allen spoke. He talked about what turns out to be a new brand for the United Way. That resonated with me and I felt my ears prick up. Not because it was a brand and because I’m a flack. But because of what he said BEFORE he talked about the brand.

He talked about the United Way’s binary perception — by donors as only a fundraiser, or by agencies as only a funder. And he talked about the United Way as now more than ever being in the business  of engagement. He pointed to three new categories the United Way’s awards would be grouped under:

• Give
• Speak up
• Take action.

Here’s part of what he said: Michael Allen at the United Way Community Builders Awards. I couldn’t support what he said more strongly. And it was worth the discomfort to hear it firsthand.

__________________________

PS: I wasn’t the only social media type at the dinner:

• Sue “Suzemuse” Murphy wrote about taking back the term community – changing it from buzzword to a more powerful word.
• Andrea from the Fishbowl was reminded of how powerful one person can be in a community.

Others were tweeting away during and after the event.

Comments are closed.