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NATIONAL 101: Admiration, inspiration, collaboration

May 17, 2017
NATIONAL 101 group
Written by
Joanna Wilson

Joanna Wilson

I had the privilege of facilitating NATIONAL 101 last week in Montreal, an important employee training initiative, spearheaded by Valérie Beauregard and now in its 15th year. During this high-energy – and chock-full – three-day workshop, I was surrounded by an enthusiastic and talented group of 27 people from across our network, all ready to make their mark on communications.

“Discovering the wealth of talent across the network was a true eye-opener and amazing realization. I’ve never felt so inspired and motivated to challenge myself and my clients to be better.”
Cameron Donald, AXON UK

Our interactive sessions focused on business management, research & insights, data-driven storytelling and creativity, and left participants like Heather Reinsborough from our Calgary office feeling “focused and motivated. I was inspired by everyone: the speakers, my peers, and the senior leadership team.”

The session also provided an amazing opportunity to get to know and bond with colleagues from other offices over a few cheers! Nick Ritcey from Halifax found that “NATIONAL has the unique ability to find and connect talented people with completely different backgrounds and skill sets. It’s incredible how quickly this group bonded and became a genuine team.” For her part, AXON US’ Kiran Ghouri learned that “the culture across the network is identical; I could pick any #NAT101 participant at random, transfer them to our office, and they would fit right in.”

My colleague Phil Armstrong, Account Director in Madano’s Energy Practice, has perhaps best summed up everyone’s experience coming out of NATIONAL 101:

  • Admiration – for the caliber of our colleagues
  • Inspiration – to deliver new ideas to our clients
  • Collaboration – with new friends across the network

And most importantly: “I feel part of a family now.”

I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this family and am already looking forward to meeting and learning from the graduates of NATIONAL 101 next year: may we all be agents of change.

——— Joanna Wilson is a former Senior Vice-President at NATIONAL Public Relations.