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Friday, Sept. 24, 2010
Back from
the CAFC with a pile of business cards to follow up on, an appreciation for the
ability of cruise ship captains to navigate Saint John Harbour and the blessing of a Tims on
every corner in the Atlantic provinces.
Highlights:
Monday –
Rick Hillier’s speech. Best feel-good anecdotes:
- Hillier lived in Texas for a while, which, his
buddies said, was good preparation for Afghanistan, what with all the heat and
the fact that most Texans are more heavily armed than the Taliban.
- Rick Mercer’s ability, on a visit
to Afghanistan, to talk a mile a minute
while parachuting/free falling from 10,500 feet. “He never shut up,”
Hillier said.
- When Hillier was leaving Afghanistan he asked the troops what one
final thing he could do for them. Like the good small-town men and women
many of them are, they asked Hillier to bring a Tim Hortons to the base. A
pretty hefty task – unless, of course, you’re Gen. Hillier. Hiller spoke a
bit later to a business group in Ottawa and was asked by someone in
the audience (with whom he had planted the question!) what Canadians could
do for the troops. “Well,” he said, “funny you should ask. They want a
Tims.” Naturally, Tims magnate Ron Joyce was in the audience, the rest is
history and you’ve all seen photos of the Tims in Kandahar.
You can
read highlights of the more serious portions of Hiller’s speech on leadership
and putting people first here.
Other CAFC
highlights:
Monday
night – Lobster and musician Terry Kelly.
Tuesday –
Niagara Falls Deputy Chief Jim Jessop’s passion for code enforcement.
Wednesday
– Some blatant truths during the panel discussion about 24-hour shifts and the
division between management and staff. Expect to see more unions recommending
24-hour shifts.
Wednesday
night – Cowboy hats – lots and lots of cowboy hats! The CAFC’s 2011 conference
is in Calgary . . .
More business
news from the CAFC 2010 next week.
Meantime
check out our photo gallery on our Facebook group page.
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