Feb 1-29 “Therapeutic Recreation Month”: see www.canadian-tr.org.
Feb 1-29 “International Boost Self-Esteem Month”: Focus on the importance of nurturing and cultivating self-esteem to beat the winter blahs. Call Valla Dana Fotiades 863-875-0759. email valla@valladana.com.
Feb 1-29 “Junior Achievement Month”: Junior Achievement students in Canada participate in experiential learning programs to discover free enterprise, understand business and economics and develop their entrepreneurial and leadership skills. See www.jacan.org.
Feb 1-29 “National Heart & Stroke Month”: see www.heartandstroke.ca
Feb 1-29 “National Black History Month”: see Citizenship & Immigration Canada www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/black/index.asp
Feb 1-29 “National Psychology Month”: see www.cpa.ca
Feb 1-29 “Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month”: If you are unhappy with your career, use these next 28 days to put to use your own unique prosperity and plant the seeds for your new career. Call Lorrie Walters Marsiglio 630-584-9368.
Feb 1-29 “Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month”: An opportunity to return stolen shopping carts, milk crates, bread trays and ice cream baskets to supermarkets and avoid the increased food prices that these thefts cause. Call Anthony A. Dinolfo 815-463-9136.
Feb 1-29 “Spunky Old Broads Month”: A celebration for all women over 50 who are interested in living a regret-free life. Call Gayle Carson 305-534-8846, email Gayle@spunkyoldbroad.com. See www.spunkyoldbroad.com.
Feb 1 “Dump your Significant Jerk Day”: With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, there’s no time to waste. If you’re in a loser relationship, it’s time to cut the cord. So call Marcus P. Meleton for ideas at 949-413-3052, email mm@sharkbaitpress.com. Web www.sharkbaitpress.com.
Feb 2 “Groundhog Day” If the groundhog comes out of his hole and sees his shadow, we’re in for another 6 weeks of winter. Call Woodstock, the town where Bill Murray filmed Groundhog Day 815-338-2436 or e-mail chamber@stans.com. Also check out Wiarton Willie – Canada’s leading weather prognosticator Phone:(519) 534-1400 or e-mail admin@wiarton-willie.org.
Feb 2 “Groundhog Job Shadow Day”: Students spend part of the day in the workplace “shadowing” an employee as he or she goes through a normal day on the job. Call 1-800-373-3174 for a kit. Email info@jobshadow.org. See www.jobshadow.org.
Feb 3 “Working Naked Day”: A day for all those who are working from home “naked” – stripped of the resources that millions take for granted in the traditional corporate workplace.
Feb 3-20 “Winterlude”: Ottawa, ON. Annual celebration of Canadian winter. Call 613-239-5000 or 800-465-1867. Web www.capcan.ca/winterlude.
Feb 3-12 “Ontario Winter Carnival Bon Soo”: Sault Ste. Marie, ON. One of Canada’s largest winter carnivals. Call Donna Gregg 866-899-1607, email mrbonsoo@bonsoo.on.ca or see www.bonsoo.on.ca.
Feb 4 “Happy Birthday Facebook”: Mark Zuckerburg launched the social networking site on this day in 2004.
Feb 4 “International World Cancer Day”: see www.uicc.org.
Feb 5 “Super Bowl 51I”: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas. Call 212-450-2000. Web: www.nfl.com.
Feb 5-11 “White Cane Week”: For info see Canadian Council for the Blind www.ccbnational.net
Feb 6-10 “International Networking Week”: To celebrate the key role that networking plays in the development and success of businesses around the world. Call Ivan Misner, PhD 1-800-825-8286 or email internationalnetworkingweek@bni.com.
Feb 7 “Safer Internet Day”: To promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially among children. See www.saferinternet.org.
Feb 8 “Laugh and Get Rich Day”: When people laugh they are more effective, stay in the same job longer and tend to remember things better, according to Rick Segel. Phone: 781-272-9995 or e-mail rick@ricksegel.com
Feb 12 “Darwin Day”: International celebration of science and humanity. Call the Institute for Humanist Studies 518-432-7820. email info@darwinday.org. see www.humaniststudies.org.
Feb 14 “New Mexico: Extraterrestrial Culture Day”: A day to celebrate and honour all past, present and future extraterrestrial visitors in ways to enhance relationships among all citizens of the cosmos, known and unknown. Annually the second Thursday of February in New Mexico.
Feb 14 “Sexual and Reproductive Health Awareness Day www.cfsh.ca
Feb 14 “Valentine’s Day”: An occasion for the exchange of gifts and greeting cards with affectionate or humorous messages.
Feb 14-20 “International Flirting Week”: Recognizing the role it plays in the lives of singles seeking a mate, couples looking to sustain their love and those simply exchanging a playful glance with a stranger, acquaintance or colleague. Call Robin Newman 516-773-0911, email robin@lovecoach.com. Web www.lovecoach.com.
Feb 15 “International Childhood Cancer Day”: see www.icccpo.org.
Feb 15 “National Flag Day of Canada”: see www.pch.gc.ca/special/flag-drapeau/index_e.cfm
Feb 16 “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day”: The engineering community is asked to reach more than one million girls and encourage them to pursue the fields that lead to engineering careers. Call Natl Engineers Week Headquarters 703-684-2852. email eweek@nspe.org. web www.eweek.org/site/news/eweek/girlsday.shtml.
Feb 19-25 “National Scout-Guide Week”: see www.scouts.ca or www.girlguides.ca.
Feb 20 “Family Day (AB, BC, MB, ON, SK)”: Annually, the 3rd Monday in February.
Feb 22 “Pink Shirt Day”: A day of anti-bullying. See www.pinkshirtday.ca.
Feb 22 “World Thinking Day/Founders Day”: Birth date of both Lord and Lady Baden-Powell, founders of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. Don’t be surprised to see members of these organizations in uniform today at school and work. See www.scouts.ca or www.girlguides.ca.
Feb 24-Mar 2 “Eating Disorder Awareness Week”: see www.nedic.ca
Feb 25 “Open That Bottle Night”: A night to finally drink that bottle of wine that you’ve been saving for a special occasion that never seems to come. Email Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher of the Wall Street Journal at wine@wsj.com.
Feb 26-Mar 4 Freedom To Read Week: An annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom. www.freedomtoread.ca.
by Sharon Taylor – ByrnesMedia
Recently, a client asked what I thought would happen to radio in 2017. Given recent events (Trump) I just couldn’t bring myself to even try to predict the future. Instead, I’ve come up with some resolutions.
1. Stop freaking out about the competition. Every time you look sideways you lose time. Straight ahead – always.
2. Remember what brought you to the party. If you hear yourself complaining about having to work evenings, weekends, having to leave late or return early from a vacation – stop and smack yourself in the head. This is, and always has been a 24/7 job and that NEVER changes.
3. Broaden your narrow definition of radio. Unless it’s coming from another planet, it’s all “terrestrial”. Radio can be found on a receiver, an app, it can be beamed by satellite, it’s podcasting, it’s Facebook live, it’s digital and sometimes it has pictures! Embrace the diversity that technology is bringing to radio, it’s making us richer, not poorer.
4. Call BS on “there’s no good talent out there anymore”. That’s complete nonsense and one of the ways to separate the lazy from the diligent. Talent did not go away with the all night shift, or suddenly now prefers to sell insurance over radio. Great talent is still out there. If you’re not interested in finding it, then that’s on you.
5. Accept that loyalty is very 1992. The minute that is was okay for companies to terminate every employee for “reorganization”, it was over. Once owners stop being loyal to employees, it was every man for himself. You should be a whole bunch of things – confidential, ethical, hardworking, but you no longer should feel indebted.
6. If you hate your job, get a new one. Entitlement in radio is an alternative fact. Unless you own the joint, you are always answering to the man. If you are the litigious type, if you like to round up a posse to support your beef, if you get all butt hurt and want revenge on your manager. Don’t. Get a new job stat.
7. If you love your job, double down. There are people who have been “retired” or “reorganized” that are smarter than you, more talented than you and better looking than you. (OK that last one is REALLY subjective) Point is, if you’re working in radio right now, you’re breathing rarefied air. We are at an incredible place in the historical timeline of broadcasting. Make a difference.
8. Solve one of the oldest problems we have. 30 years ago, one of the biggest problems in the business was that we made buying radio really complicated for the client. Um, it’s like, getting embarrassing already.
9. Stop pretending that it’s so terrible that people who have been in the business for a million years are let go. Radio is a merger of art and business, and right now the pendulum has swung hard over to business. If you last 25+ years in radio (a youth powered industry), you have something special and that should be celebrated and recognized. Radio was NEVER a secure career. We all knew this once and had little problem with it. How unbecoming and terribly convenient that we suddenly find it horrific.
10. Try to be a little less greedy. You know who felt bad for the record companies when their business collapsed? Nobody. That’s because record companies (deserved or not) had a reputation of ripping off artists and overcharging customers. Radio is risking similar sentiment with our drastic cost cutting, slashing of employee counts, reduction of local services and the choking number of commercials. At this point in time, we’ve never needed less self-interest, more.
Finally, one prediction that I can stand behind. 2017 is going to be one hell of a bumpy ride. Thankfully, most of us like bumpy rides.
Sharon Taylor has spent her entire adult life in a radio station and is now a consultant at ByrnesMedia. Any new business with Sharon will receive face painting for the kids and a carnation for the ladies. sharon@byrnesmedia.com