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In addition to
comedy
magic
entertainment, Don has developed and facilitates three different
seminars, each intended to promote personal and organizational
health.
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'LIFESAVERS®',
created and facilitated
by Don Stevenson, is an educational seminar presented in a very funny,
energy-filled experience. |
'LIFESAVERS®'
is designed to
help an intact work group from 60 to 400 participants build group
spirit, manage stress effectively and balance work with personal
responsibilities. In terms of length, ’LIFESAVERS®’
is similar to an elastic band and can ‘stretch’ anywhere from one to
three hours depending on group objectives and time available.
Using the
metaphor of ‘LIFESAVERS®,’ the original five-colored candy, each
color will both represent and remind attendees of five important
life style principles. These reminders are presented in a
humorous, light-hearted and yet meaningful way to ensure these
oft-heard messages are retained much longer than might otherwise
be the case. Through a PowerPoint presentation, group
participation, and the use of comedy, participants are given
information to better manage stress and balance work and family
life.
‘LIFESAVERS®’
can be the perfect opener or closer for your conference!
Don is a
professional comedy
magician, entertainer and
therapist all rolled into one. He is a member of the Canadian
Association of Magicians, the Saskatchewan Association of Social
Workers, the Psychological Association of Saskatchewan, the
Saskatchewan Educational Psychology Association and the
Retirement Planning Association of Canada.
For
availability, seminar requirements and fees for each of these
three seminars, please contact Don. Fees are dependent upon
seminar length, location and whether the seminar will be used in
conjunction with an evening’s entertainment.
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"I am writing to congratulate you for the
outstanding successful presentation delivered to our annual
'All Staff Event' in mid September.
You presented to an audience of more than 500 people, late in the afternoon when
people might sometimes be inclined to 'let down'. Your presentation was very closely
aligned with our overall theme (balancing work, family, and self), was informative,
energizing and VERY WELL received by our staff... I would be pleased to
recommend this to other ministries."
Deputy Minister
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"I am pleased to have the opportunity to thank you for facilitating
'LIFESAVERS®'
at our annual retreat held at the Regina Travelodge. Our retreat committee sent evaluation
forms to all employees. The feedback and comments we received on your
'LIFESAVERS®
' session have been VERY POSITIVE and employees thoroughly enjoyed the session.
Your contribution made this event memorable and successful."
Deputy Minister
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"Thank you for your presentation "Healthy Living with Lifesavers: Using the Metaphor of the Wildly Popular Candy Lifesavers to Improve Personal Balance and Reduce Unhelathy Stress" at our divisional conference on June 18th, 2009
I doubt there has been such an enjoyable lecture on balance and stress as yours. You have a wonderful way of combining wisdom, history and humour in seemingly simple stories that, in reality, have much deeper signifiacance and that can convey practical strategies and applications to our life situations and experiences.
Thank you again for a truly memorable presentation."
Susan C.
- Q.C. Executive Director |
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"Hi Don, thank you once again for your wonderful presentation. I have heard nothing but good comments about it. "
Michelle Kunitz
- Human Resources, Ministry of Justice |
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"Awesome!!."
Jenalee
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"Don Stevenson's seminar/presentation was one of the best things. It was woderful too, like you mentioned, to actually laugh through a conference instead of sleep. And it was great. The things he talked about, I felt, did relate to life and work and it was great that he did it in a fun and upbeat way. It was awesome!"
Michelle E.
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"Very funny. Used humour to apply his principles which made it enjoyable and not boring."
Deborah
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"Don Stenson was great!!! He does an excellent job in providing personal insight and reflection while creatively using humour and magic. He was a real treat."
Kris L
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"Enjoyed the content but especially the way he presented it."
Cindy
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"PERFECT...good job.. we need some more of this.. You learn alot but at the same time have lots of fun... GOOD JOB you guys that was GREAT."
Carla
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"I thought Don was excellent. It was nice to have a light presentation filled with a variety of material (jokes, magic, etc.) He spoke very well and made some very good points when trying to balance work and life."
Tanya
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"Excellent!!! One of the best speakers I have ever heard. He kept us entertained with his humour and magic all the while using this to get important messages/ideas across - when ideas are presented in the way that he did, one will tend to remember them more than when listening to a "lecture" type speaker."
Selma
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"Don Stevenson was excellent. He was very entertaining as well as informative and I'm sure we all took home more than we realize."
Donna
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"Don was a good speaker and was able to relate serious matters in a lighter way. I find it beneficial to revisit some of life's every day issues like physical/emotional and work/home situations. Reminders every now and then are good for me. The magic was a nice touch."
Marian
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"After my refreshing Christmas vacation, I wanted to follow-up with you regarding your presentation to our group in December regarding balancing life and work. Our group really appreciated the nature of your presentation and valued the information you provided. I, personally, fell you go above your call of duty by travelling to us to share your experience and expertise. In addition, I feel that your skill and knowledge in this area and your willingness to share with other public servants really is the essence of Excellence in Public Service. I hope that you enjoyed your time with us as much as we enjoyed having you and hope that you never lose the energy that allows you to provide such a valuable service to your internal clients. Thanks again and good luck in the New Year!"
Theresa Finn, P.Eng, PMP Senior Project Manager, Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure
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"It was great!! Everyone learned, laughed and raved about their fun lunch time! Thanks so much Don."
Angie, Ministry of Environment
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"That was fun today. I needed a good laugh.. he was a blast.. thanks for organizing it!"
Wanda, Ministry of Environment
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"On September 15th and 16th our organization initiated its first regional
team building session.
The objectives were:
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to create a healthier and more supportive work culture
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to build teams and relationships
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to increase staff awareness and understanding of service areas
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to revisit our strategic direction
Don Stevenson was invited to deliver a presentation that focused on creating a
healthier work culture and on team-building. Don's presentation greatly
contributed to the success of this event.
There has been nothing but positive feedback. A comment made by one person was that it was the best
team building exercise he had attended in 28 years! Thanks again... hats off to you Don!"
Regional Manager
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"On behalf of our Planning Committee, I would like to thank you for your recent presentation
at our staff event . . . Your informative and humorous talk entitled
'LIFESAVERS®'
was well - received by participants and served to remind us of the importance of nurturing our own financial,
physical, emotional and spiritual health in order to maintain balance in our lives . . . again, thank
you Don for adding your own brand of 'magic' to a very successful day."
D.W. and K.M. . . .
Committee Co-Chairs
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“Don
Stevenson has been coming to speak to the students in our classes
here at SIAST for the past four years. We have made him a regular
part of our schedule since his presentation provides a valuable link
with the Public Service Commission along with much needed stress
relief… Don delivers a presentation to our students that covers a
wide range of information, fun and stress relief… this information
is always put forth in a fun and magical manner, literally speaking.
By the time Don leaves, the students have laughed, learned new
stress relief techniques and seen a magic trick or two. They always
rate his presentation very highly. One told me ‘Don is a keeper.’”
Winn Spenst, Career Enhancement Programs,
SIAST.
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“Building
Motivation in the Workplace Through the Three R'S":
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Sincere
Employee Recognition,
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Personal
Respect From and Towards Colleagues and
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Random
Humour in the Workplace"
(a.k.a. Funny
Work - Serious Humour!)
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This session is
approximately 90 minutes in length, and likewise invokes sound
information, humour and group interaction. It is intended
to remind participants of an intact work group of these three
foundation blocks for building a respectful
workplace.
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"Three
R's of Workplace Motivation"
- Participant Reviews |
“The conference was awesome… much
thanks to the successful guest speakers we had… this means YOU!! We
went on the house-boat tour up the river that night and everybody
was talking about your presentation and how they found the topic so
appropriate for our group of people. I just went around to everybody
and took another pole asking for suggestions for improvement (as you
have asked for) but there were none. In fact, we all feel that you
had a very difficult topic to discuss but made it memorable and gave
us all something to think about by the humour and props you used in
your presentation. You were also very interactive which was
commented on by many. Some have asked if we could get you back at a
later date to speak on another topic! You have a very good way of
getting your point across. The only thing to comment on that could
have made it better would be if I had won the $100. bill!!! So I
hope that this helps you to know that we really appreciated your
presentation and I will certainly consider asking you to be a
presenter at a future conference. Many thanks Don!!”
Donna Krahn,
CASS manager, Sask. Ministry of Agriculture, Saskatoon.
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"You
did a really good job at keeping folks entertained. In fact, a lot
of people mentioned on their feedback form, that you were the highlight
of the day. . . including the food!"
Colleen Hawkesford, Communications
Consultant |
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"We
really appreciated you spending the afternoon with us. . . you are a
fabulous magician. I was entertained while I learned a lot, thank
you for sharing your gifts, talents, and your knowledge."
Carol-ann Decker, Manager, Career and
Employment Services |
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"On behalf of the Region, I
would like to thank you for your powerful message and medium yesterday.
I think this was of great benefit to our leadership group in assisting
in creating and maintaining a healthy workplace. Once again a huge
thanks. We would like to call on you again for a general staff
forum some time in the near future."
Garry Prediger, Social Services |
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"Thank you
for your willingness to attend the 2008 CPSP Health, Safety, and
Wellness Conference. Your natural talents in helping people learn
while laughing, to respect one another and not take life too seriously
really helped to make the conference a success! Thank you so much
for presenting! There is nothing better than home-grown talent!"
Carrie Bjola |
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"There's More to This Than Money" |
This
one-half day humourous and interactive session will be of
interest to attendees who may be considering retirement within
the next five years and who feel there might be more to their
retirement planning than the collection of a bag of money.
Spouses/partners are invited and expected to attend.
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Don has achieved the designation of Professional Retirement Planner from the Retirement Planning Association of Canada (www.retirementplanners.ca)
During this
seminar participants will:
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learn
useful
information gathered from up to date research along with the
personal experiences of a large group of retirees related to
planning ALL aspects of retirement, including
family/community, physical health, spiritual / emotional and
of course, the usual financial dimension;
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compare
outdated notions of retirement with fresh thinking about
retirement in a new century;
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hear what
others in their age cohort will miss and won’t miss about
their work;
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learn the
eight recommendations that many others who have preceded
them in retirement have found to help make their own
retirement happy and satisfying;
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have the
opportunity to focus their personal planning through group
and individual exercises and optional handouts.
The objectives
of this seminar are to:
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understand
the importance of non-financial personal planning for
retirement;
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begin
implementing part of a solid individual retirement plan for
themselves;
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remind
participants of some basic proven health practices that can
extend our lives into a fulfilling retirement.
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"There's More to
This Than Money"
- Participant Reviews |
“ Great
presentation… your humour in presenting the information will
help me remember…”
D. Gress, Regina
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“Helped me to really
think what’s important to me…health more than money.”
H. Green, Swift
Current |
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“ We really enjoyed
this seminar… very good, well prepared, humour, interesting,
entertaining.”
D. Morin,
North Battleford |
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“I found the afternoon very enlightening, reducing the stress of the
workday! There were new thoughts and confirmation of my thoughts and
feelings. I very much enjoyed it. Thank you so much.”
J. Dawson, Prince Albert |
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“Thank you so much for a fun and informative afternoon. Well worth
it!” B. McKay, Prince Albert |
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“The seminar has made us think about other matters besides financial.”
D. M., Nipawin |
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“This truly was the best seminar I have ever attended!! Lots of good
information and food for thought… time to start planning!”
S. Jarvis, Prince Albert |
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“I found the seminar interesting and entertaining. I don’t think that I
will find retirement so scary anymore. I know what I need to do to
make the most out of retirement.”
Laura M., Prince Albert |
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“Relaxing… easy to learn because of the good use of humour.”
Anonymous |
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“Enjoyed the afternoon… you make your presentation fun!”
Audrey R., Prince Albert |
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“I had a good time this afternoon Don. Good information and presented in
a unique way!”
Rick A., Prince Albert |
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“Humour well appreciated…. expected financial information but good
emphasis on ‘Retirement Planning’ and the four chair legs (metaphor)...
references to books and websites good… enjoyed the afternoon… good
seminar…lots of food for thought… you’re a great magician!”
Doris B., Prince Albert |
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“A great fun session! Heartwarming! I had a blast and thanks for
the rose! Great tricks!”
Loretta Stryde, La Ronge. |
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“What a great seminar! I left with lots of things to contemplate.”
Anonymous |
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“Don, without sounding corny, this was much more than I expected. No
financial numbers yet I feel better about my retirement... I do hope I
have another opportunity to attend another seminar or two of yours in
the future.”
Gerry W., Melfort |
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“ Honestly Great!! Lots to think about. The tricks were amazing.”
Anonymous |
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“The seminar was very interesting. You advised us about things that
people aren’t telling us … you are a very entertaining facilitator and
made things easy to understand. You never lost my interest. Thank you –
I really enjoyed this afternoon.”
Anonymous |
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“The seminar was very interesting and informative. It has given me a lot
to think about in the next few years. I found the information was easy
to understand. I enjoyed the humour. The real life stories really added
to it. Thank you.”
Anonymous |
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“It was a fun afternoon. Thank you for your great sense of humour. I
learned a lot today and will keep some of the advice. I like the idea of
going to a retirement session that is not about money issues.”
Anonymous |
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“This was a very fun and informative session. We need more of these
types of sessions for employees. Retirement is more than money but
planning for more years of life after work.”
Donna Millard, Prince Albert |
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“You blew them away… of the 16 forms left
at the session, you were rated as a ‘5’ or ’6’ or ’6+++++’ (and that
wasn’t even a choice!)… wow… you just keep getting better…what a crowd
pleaser you are… the feedback from the academic and admin group was just
as glowing as before with added comments that they’d like to attend your
regular session.”
Darlene Marchuk, Director,
Pension and Benefits, Human Resources, University of Regina |
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“Very entertaining - great comic relief! Thank you.. your presentation was very well recieved and much appreciated!”
Karen Lovelace, Administratice Co-ordinator, Canadian Pension Benefits Institute |
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“The Canada Pension & Benefits Institute Saskatchewan chapter recently held it's annual general meeting and Don Stevenson was one of our featured speakers. Don's Presentation was quite topical in the area of retirement planning, but it took a slightly different approach and focused on non financial matters, which many people don't consider. His presentation style was quite entertaining and a great way to kick off the morning. Don recieved good or very good responses on the evaluation summary and was greatly appreciated.” John Hallett, Assistant Director, Canadian Pension Benefits Institute |
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“Today I was reviewing my notes from our RPAC meeting last week and I wanted to send you a note to say how mich I enjoyed and appreciated your presentation. I plan to use some of the ideas around "head and heart" and "entertaining and humorous props" in my future presentations to clients and staff. I look forward to working with you on the RPAC exective.”
Terry Shiels, Financial Planner/Investment Advisor, Credit Union |
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