Back to the Future (re-boot) – by Robert Pye, CAE
The Back to the Future cast and crew of CSAE were all those association leaders who attended the 2018 CSAE Trillium Winter Summit in Niagara Falls. Were you there?
As a reminder, starring in that great CSAE Trillium show was presenter, Cheryl Legate, a professional in the field of mental health education and awareness. Four Februarys ago, Cheryl’s CSAE presentation opened the conversation about mental health in the workplace. Stress, anxiety, and isolation were among the topics Cheryl addressed. Back on a stormy winter day in 2018, Cheryl’s elbow-to-elbow, standing-room-only breakout session was to become one of CSAE’s most profound examples of pandemic foreshadowing.
“Wait a minute, Doc. Are you telling me you built a time machine?”
“Well, no Marty, but it’s easy to think so considering the extraordinary future-forward motivation of CSAE and its members.”
Cheryl’s 2018 CSAE debut took attendees Back to the Future as chronicled in this refresh of FORUM – April 2018 edition. Following the positive influence of another Bell Let’s Talk day, Cheryl appreciates the timely re-boot of this mental health awareness article. Perhaps a look back helps move us ahead a post-pandemic future. Cheryl sets up this refresh with her professional observations about the remote nature of work life in the past two years.
“Support systems are unavailable, and distress is real for many people,” Cheryl empathically stated. “We’ve lost the real-life connections that make up our personalized support networks (away from home.) Employees are feeling the isolation. They are feeling the loneliness and the stress.”
“Mental Health is a state of well-being” she adds, “and many Canadians are feeling the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Cheryl said leaders in all sectors (including hospitality and associations) are responsible for a lot more these days. She said all teams are under new kinds of pressure (working from home, sharing workspaces, dealing with heightened customer stress, and ever-changing pandemic protocols) that ultimately impact mental health.
Great Scott! Speaking of Back to the Future, the last time CSAE Trillium had a face-to-face ‘cheers’ to our mental health and support system of CSAE connections was at a 2020 Winter Summit in Alliston. We remember that the Nottawasaga Inn Resort hosted a CSAE networking event themed, Back to the Future.
Here is a 2018 FORUM refresh:
Robert J. Pye, CAE is the Director of Business Strategy & Corporate Messaging with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. He sits on CSAE Trillium Network’s Council and is Vice Chair of the FORUM. Connect with him on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robertjpye
Cheryl Legate is President & Facilitator with Cheryl Legate & Associates. Connect with her: [email protected]
