BACKGROUND
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The First Thirty by Jillip Naysinthe Paxson (and expanded version, The Silhouette Man) tell the story of a person's efforts to make a difference and the lessons learned along the way. Greg is the real-life person upon whom the books are based. In November 2009, he traveled to Toronto for 2 days. This part of the site has photos, details and links regarding his trip (and some links to past trips along the way). Italicized notes are personal notes from Greg.
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MONDAY AFTERNOON
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Visiting with a friend at a popular local place, after arriving in Toronto.
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...their guests, donors, sponsors, faculty, staff...
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and presenters had a chance to spend time with each other.
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... and have some great food
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After the reception, the hundreds in attendance were escorted to the auditorium -- where students and alumni were presented with a variety of different prestigious honors. In each case, a donor or school representative or notable local leader was on hand to present the award.
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Many of the honorees had friends or family on hand to support them on this big night
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Greg served as the event's guest speaker. He spoke with the honorees about the different things they could take away from the evening - above and beyond the honors they were receiving.
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In ways big and small, the staff at Amica go out of their way to make life as nice as possible for the residents.
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At Amica, some residents enjoy the peace and quiet of reading the morning paper...
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...while some prefer a 'little' companionship.. (and as long as he's really - really - little, he's welcome, too)...
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...while many other residents spend the day taking part in activities and enjoying each other's company...or the company of visitors. Tuesday, for instance, happened to be Remembrance Day -- so, Amica residents displayed photos of themselves and their spouses who served their country. In turn, they showed those photos and shared stories about them with younger visitors.
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TUESDAY MORNING
In the morning, Greg had a chance to join some of the residents for (a really fun and really good) breakfast.
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A tour by car of downtown Toronto - fun to see them putting up wreaths and preparing for the holiday season.
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TUESDAY AFTERNOON
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In the afternoon, there was a special event at Chapters at Bayview Village -- a very popular, multi-floor location.
Readers in Toronto: The First Thirty and The Silhouette Man are both available at this Chapters location. They make for great holiday gifts!
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Amica is currently developing another beautiful community - Amica at Bayview Gardens - across the street from Bayview Village.
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Any good event requires assistance from a variety of people 'in the background'. This event was no different -- and some of the really nice people from Chapters were there in advance to help set things up.
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At the event, Amica presented the honour, 'Wisdom Speaks', to The Silhouette Man by Jillip Naysinthe Paxson. The honour is given to a book that celebrates the unique wisdom of seniors. Greg accepted the honour on behalf of the book.
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Then, he spoke with those in attendance - about the special role that seniors have played in his life and can play in the lives of so many others. Afterward, he took part in a book signing...
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...while representatives of Amica were on hand to answer questions from attendees.
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TUESDAY NIGHT
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Greg hosted a group dinner for 15 people in Toronto. Other than one attendee who he'd met one time three years earlier, he had met all the people at the table within the last 24 hours (or had never met them at all).
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The dinner took place at Moxie's in Fairview Mall - a very popular place with great service and all kinds of different options on the menu.
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This particular dinner was unique because it happened to take place on Greg's birthday -- but, in general, hosting brunches and dinners for complete strangers-turned-new friends is a fun tradition that he has been part of hundreds of times in cities around the world.
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WEDNESDAY MORNING
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Breakfast with the same new friends I had breakfast with a day earlier, before heading off to the airport for the flight back to the US.
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SIGNS
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During each trip, Greg likes to find a fun, meaningful, and/or memorable sign or two. Here are a couple he saw on this trip...
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CONNECTING DOTS
One of Greg's favorite things to do is 'connect dots' -- between people, places and/or things. Here is an example from this trip: During the reception at Humber, Greg met one of the honorees - who was focused on a career as a police officer. Then, he met someone who was already following that career path. So, he introduced them -- the latter giving the former all kinds of great advice on pursuing a job in that noble field.
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THE FIRST THIRTY ELEVATOR PROJECT
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During the trip, another chapter of The First Thirty Elevator Project was implemented. The recipient was one of the many very nice people who work at the airport in Toronto.
To learn about this Project, how it started, what it has turned into, and how you could be part of it, go to www.TheFirstThirty.com and click Elevator Project.
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SAMPLE OF FEEDBACK
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Gina Antonacci, Dean, School of Social and Community Services at Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning: "...His speech was the perfect length and he spoke directly to the students, which was wonderful. His words and his demeanour were exactly what the evening called for..."
Grace Alaimo, Community Relations Manager, Amica at Bayview Gardens: "We really enjoyed having Greg here. He made a positive
impact on those that attended, including the Amica staff..."
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CROSSING PATHS
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Greg's trip provided him a chance to meet lots of other interesting people - planned and unplanned. Here are pictures of some of the many additional memorable people and places who crossed his path during the trip...
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BOOKS & POSTER ORDERING INFORMATION
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To purchase The First Thirty or The Silhouette Man in person in Toronto, visit Chapters at Bayview Village Mall To order copies of The First Thirty or The Silhouette Man online, visit www.TheSilhouetteMan.com and click Cart
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SPECIAL THANKS
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Thanks to Amica, Humber College, Chapters, everyone I met in Toronto - and those I met en route - who all treated me so nicely. It was a busy 48 hours, but it was a lot of fun - and a great way to spend a birthday!
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