Inspiration & Perspiration

A couple of weekends ago, 22 momstown mamas (and a few babies) from across Canada gathered for our momstown.ca winter conference. This was the first time we all had the chance to meet face to face! We connect and support each other through a portal on Meetup but that's not the same. We were able to put faces to names and stories to chapters. We are a strong network of women with the same goals, aspirations, passion and love for our communities. We are THE leading organization for connecting and supporting Real Moms across Canada. Now remember that statement because you are going to be hearing that a lot in the coming months. On this particular weekend we bonded, we branded, we created visions & values, we talked sales & strategies, we worked & wine-sampled (using this term loosely), we reviewed, we planned, we were inspired and we perspired. And I don't mean sweating....more on that in a moment.

After a jam-packed weekend, on the Monday we headed downtown to CBC for a strategic partnership meeting. Yes, you read that correctly, partnership meeting with Kids' CBC. For me, the real essence of this meeting was about the shared passion and missions that we both were bringing to this partnership. And they were honored to be working with us! So honoured that Mamma Yamma and Patty Sullivan re-wrote a Justin Beiber song just for momstown. Cue the soundtrack for "I was like Baby, Baby, Ohhh" and replace with "I was like momstown, momstown, ohhhh". As we were glued to the tv screen watching this recorded video, we quickly realized that Mamma Yamma had included every single one of our names in the song!! All 22 of us.

This is where the perspiration part comes in! I found myself with a very wet face as tears streamed down my face awestruck at this moment. A public broadcasting company with a heart so big that they thought about each one of us. A fun project for them, an emotional moment for us. For me personally, I have worked so hard at this business, have oodles of passion for it and have made a lot of sacrifices for it, as we all do for things we love -- and here was this video, this song, this moment, where it all just melted together for me. We had talked a lot over the weekend about Pride, Passion and Purpose and here it all was for me, wrapped up with a big red bow. Or should I say in a cute touching video.

This weekend was not just about connecting, supporting, face-to-face, planning, strategizing or even fun, it was about the connection of a brand, its partners and its people.

Real Moms. Connected.