BIG PLANS FOR THE BIG TEAM REGATTA

BIG PLANS FOR 2008

While it’s only February, things are cooking back at the office.  The Gel website has gotten a face lift, and the phone is starting to ring. 

But it’s also time for friends and family members to begin thinking about the charity events we help with each year.  As a little reminder of why we do it, here’s a video clip from last year’s BIG Team Regatta in Chicago.

  

Election Day Thoughts

I’m wearing a sticker that says “I voted” and it feels good.  I hope you all did too….

But after all the hoopla, it’s back to the grindstone. I’m currenty working on planning a GEL Sailing event for a large bank.  It’s a cool event, which involves members of the US Olympic team.  Stay tuned for more details… although I may end up creating a gel specific blog for those sorts of things.

How to create an emergency baby sitter

It seems that having a ready stable of baby-sitters is of paramount importance to the modern family. But even a family with a fat bank account will run into that awful situation….. reservations at that hot new restaurant, and a string of cancelling sitters.

John and Tracey V. have developed a fool-proof system for creating the emergency back up babysitter, and I’m going to share their secrets with you here, in this, my first blog entry.  For the record, John and Tracey have three great kids… we’ll call them Jack -5, Scott -4 and Kate – 19 months.

Baiting the Hook

Step One – Find your Patsy.  The system may be fool-proof, but it does require one fool.  (Any unsuspecting single friend will do, but you need to find one with the right combination of common sense and gullibility)  In John and Tracey’s case, this would be me.

Step Two:  Insure your kids are cute, and train them to call your patsy “Uncle or Aunt Patsy” as frequently as possible with a cherubic smile on their faces.

Step Three:  Break your friend in slowly.  During visits at his place or yours, hand him which ever kid is acting most calmly and comment how good he is with children, and how much your kids really like him.  Take digital pics of him with your kids…. send them via email… with cute captions leveraging that pseudo-uncle moniker!

Step Four:  Over time, ask him to mind them for very brief periods … while you’re taking a shower, a short nap or a handling a phone call.  Complement and thank him profusely.

Step Five – Show him some of the basics of diaper changing, but don’t let him try.  Tell him “Uncles don’t change diapers… I’ll do it… it’s just great to have you here to play with the kids!”

Setting the Hook

Step one:  Invent a simple babysitting emergency. Tracey recommends invently a special neighborhood 90 minute zoning meeting taking place next door.   Call your patsy, ask for the favor, and mention how excited the kids are to see him.

Step Two:  When Uncle Jay arrives, have dinner for the kids on the table, and outline his duties as simply watching them eat, playing with them afterward, and putting then to bed.  Easy as reading a bed time story, right? 

Step Three:  As a fleeting aside, (best thrown over your shoulder as you walk out the door), mention that he ought to check Kate’s diaper before putting her to bed.  Assure him that “Number One” is the only thing within the realm of possibility, given Kate’s particular daily digestive habits. 

Step Four:  Laugh hysterically (inside) when you return home in 90 minutes to find that Uncle Jay has learned how to change his first extremely sloppy diaper.  Lament loudly that “You should have called me!  I was right next door!”  Tell him how sweet it is that he didn’t.  Share the humor with your husband later.

Reeling him in

Now… use your next real epicurian emergency to land your full time emergency sitter. -

Remember our scene?? – the reservations at that hot, new restaurant,  and no sitter to care for the clan? 

1) Make the call -  pour on the thank you’s, the gravy about the kids being excited, etc. etc.

2) Have Uncle Jay arrive a bit earlier.  Expand the duties to include making dinner, cleaning the kitchen, playing with the kids, overseeing toy clean-up time, changing Kate’s diaper again (Number Two is all this kid knows!!!!) and top it off with a surprise responsibility….. bathroom assistance for an older child assumed to be toilet trained!

This is the best…. having never told him how, require him to learn on the spot how to wipe a 4 year-old’s bum, all while the 19 month old and the 5 year old look on, with the four of you crammed in to a small, and slightly malodorous bathroom.

Thank god for me, Jack (the five year old) was able to let me in on the secret that Scott needed help, (which explained why Scott had been yelling that he was in the bathroom for about 10 minutes!) 

In another blog post, I may outline the ways in which a psuedo uncle can take his revenge… like:

1) Moving so slowly on the bed time prep that all three kids are still awake and acting caffienated when Mommy and Daddy return home!

2) Allowing the kids to have lots of sweets right before handing them back into their parents’ care!

3) Writing blog posts like these…

fin 

Leadership and Volunteers for the BIG Team Regatta

Volunteers Needed for the 2008 BIG Team Regatta ,

Want to help Treasure Island Sailing Center(TISC) and have a blast in the process? As you probably know, each summer TISC teaches over1000 under-privileged children from across the bay area to sail, and we are striving to teach even more.

And no, we are not asking for financial support, even though our program is funded primarily through donations. What we are looking for is great people to join the volunteer team which plans our annual fundraiser, The BIG Team Regatta. The Regatta, which takes place this year on Oct 3rd, is a non-profit challenge which gets corporate teams out racing on San Francisco Bay. The sailing is organized on TISC’s behalf by Group Experiential Learning, a national team building company, and OCSC SAILING, the Bay Area’s largest and best known sailing school.

Our volunteer team plays a huge role in making the event happen and generating $50,000 for our kids. The volunteer team members help us find ten generous corporations to participate, enlist other sponsors to provide products and services, plan the party, generate PR and make sure everyone has a great time.

Our team is always a fun group and we make sure to keep them energized with plenty of pizza and BBQs!

If you’re interested in helping, this year we’re looking for:

- Party Planning Volunteers to assist in planning the Awards Ceremony and the after-party. .

- Public Relations Volunteers to help publicize the San Francisco BIG Team Regatta and TISC’s great programs before and after the event.

If you have interest in volunteering, please call Robbie Dean or send an email to Zoe Sajor.

Now If you like the idea of sailing more than volunteer work, bring your company out on the race course! We still have a boats available for Oct 3rd. Click here to download an entry form.