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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 Ministe
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"I am pleased to have the opportunity to thank you for facilitatin
'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. Amrud - Q.C., Executive Director
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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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Hi Don, thank you once again for your wonderful presentation. I have heard nothing but good comments about it.
As discussed I am enclosing some of the comments for you." (See Below)
Michelle Kunitz, Human Resources, Ministry of Justice
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"Awesome!!!" - Jenalee
"Don Stevenson's seminar/presentation was one of the best things. It was wonderful too, like you mentioned,
actually laughed 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.
"Very funny. Used humour to apply his principles which made it enjoyable and not boring" - Deborah
"Don Stevenson 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.
"Enjoyed the content but especially [enjoyed] the way he presented it." - Cindy
"PERFECT... good job... we need some more of this... you learn a lot but at the same time have lots of fun...
GOOD JOB you guys that was GREAT." - Carla
"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
"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 so then when listening to a "lecture" type speaker." - Selma
"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
"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 & work/home situations. Reminders every now
and then are good for me. The magic was a nice touch." - Marian |
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“After a 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,
feel that you go above your call of duy by travelling to us to share your experiences 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.”
"That was fun today. I needed a good laugh... he was a blast... Thanks for organizing it!"
Angie and Wanda, Ministry of Environment.
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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"
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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 |
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“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 Shields, Financial Planner/Investment Advisor, Credit Union
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