If those knobs on Global had just listened to Mr. Rae's comments in French, they would understand:
"It is not the place of the man who came third to decide who comes first".
At least, that's what I heard.
No one was doing simultaneous translation, and I could actually hear it for myself. I thought it was perfect.
Later, the cameras caught Ignatieff quieting his workers to give his old room mate and lifelong friend the space he needed to speak to his people.

I loved seeing two gentlemen practice politics.

My Aunt Lorraine has been trying to tell me for years that I need to learn to speak French, yes; but she hopes more than anything that I come to see how beautiful, graceful, and gracious a language it is. She wants me to come to love it as she does. To open my mind, and my world, to our French-Canadian culture and heritage. To open my heart to a big part of what makes me who I am.

Seeing someone like Bob Rae say such a beautiful thing in French inspires me. And I hope he said it to someone, somewhere, in English as well...

l'avenir...

I don't even know if I've spelled it correctly; imagine having Russian as your third language.
He reminds me of my beloved Aunt Lorraine.
that's a very good thing...

no rehearsals, please...

... a little Jimmy Stewart, (my PR practitioner was screaming "stop with the Mr. Smith, already...!"), but very sincere. He needs to stop licking his lips so much...
I certainly believe his sincerity.

Justin speaks...

...I miss his father. Justin learned very well from him, didn't he?
Gerard, on the other hand, left me a little flat. Nice words, not much content.
Pretty presumptuous "heir to the throne" stuff...
the plot thickens.

the intersection of the People and the Planet...

economic prosperity and social justice...
the People and the Planet...
yes, the core of Who We Are as Liberals...
how lovely was Stéphane Dion...?
...
this is going to be a very interesting evening...

hammer time

now the fun begins.
We have tons and tons of footage -- great stuff, people genuinely sharing their stories with us, beautifully photographed and ready for the cutting room...

The fun part is shaping those stories; tightening up the sound bites, coming up with that clever transition... the good stuff. I have to let the consultants earn their money, though -- and focus on the bigger picture: how will we make the most of this opportunity? These stories are so compelling, it's essential we use them well, wisely, and with a long-term strategy in place.

The possibilities are endless, of course: training aids, orientation materials, public and media relations, publishing ad nauseum, etc. etc.

The fun stuff!

inspiration

... just got home from Friendly Manitoba.

On this leg of our tour, we visited some very small towns. Needless to say, when we showed up with our camera and lights, we caused quite a stir in little Carberry, Manitoba. People mostly watched from their shop windows, but the ladies still slipped down the sidewalk to their hairdressing appointments... I briefed a few of them, whose shops I visited - so they will have the inside track tomorrow over coffee. No one from the local newspaper showed up, but I expect that the news of our visit will spread just the same.

My job is to ensure we capture testimonials from the people we are visiting: we need to hear how people are responding to Service Canada's presence in the community, who is partnering with us to make it happen, and most of all, we are hearing from some wonderful staff who sincerely, passionately believe in what we are doing with the Service Canada approach.

I truly believe in what we are doing, and feel so grateful to have had the chance to help to tell this story. This is the stuff that gets me up in the morning.

And in that respect, again, I count my blessings: how many people get the chance to work with passionate people, doing work they love, and actually make a positive difference in people's lives along the way?

So far, we've had over 20 interviews over the last nine days! We're working long, long hours, but I feel like I'm back birthing a ballet again. When I was Communications Director for Ottawa Ballet -- with Frank Augustyn as our Artistic Director -- we launched several original works, the most important of which was an adaptation of HCAndersen's Tin Soldier....it was six months of very hard work, but when the time finally arrived, I wept all the way through the full dress rehearsal.

There is nothing -- nothing -- like the joy that comes from creating art.

On this project, I'm getting the chance to tell some great stories, which will help a very large and worthy organization galvanize and feel both valued and appreciated. It will have a significant impact on a lot of people, in a lot of very positive ways: we can use footage for training videos, instructional packages, in our internal newsletter, the list goes on and on...

These days, it's good to be a public servant. Good to be part of Service Canada. Good to be alive!

the Service Canada story

I am a lucky, lucky public servant.
I'm lucky, because I have the chance to run with a very exciting project -- a welcome respite, after almost three years of hurry-up-and-wait, spent in four different branches. It's been like that for awhile now throughout government, really -- nothing personal.

But for now, I've got a project. It's got a tight deadline, and involves all the great stuff: travel, new people, new objectives, and new opportunities.
I'm lucky, because it's a great project. It's going to make a lot of our tasks easier and cheaper to do for the entire team over the coming year, and it's got all the things I love to do: video production, reporting, travelling, networking, and doing great PR work.

I'm a PR practitioner. It's not hard to see why I would so whole-heartedly believe in the Service Canada vision. And for this project, I'm going to go out and capture stories from across the country, showing just a sampling of our over 22,000 fellow employees at their best, demonstrating that the vision is the right one. From where I'm sitting right now, it's an exciting time to be a fed.

And I am lucky because I am working with smart, capable people. I get to meet a bunch of like-minded people, share an exciting race to a very tight deadline, and when it all comes off, I'll make some important steps forward in my career goals.

I'm jazzed.

I'll be posting regularly from the road. I expect that I will learn about much more than just how well Service Canada is working...