(Click on any of these images to see the larger picture.) Last night I attended the Magnification Department picnic at Ron and Lori Biddle's home. Approximately 70 people showed up, which is a real credit both to Lori's leadership as well as the fact that history has proven this event to be one of the most enjoyable of the year!
As I observed the fun and merriment, I couldn't help but notice that there was some method behind the madness on Lori's part. Here are some bullet points of how to throw a great event that makes a difference in the ministry:
- Get help. I noticed that Lori didn't try to pull off everything by herself. Even for a "team" event like the Mag Picnic, she had assembled a team to help her pull it off.
- Don't program every moment. The picnic started at 6pm. Lori had people line up well after that for the food. She gave people time to talk and enjoy company. (She probably also knows that around Crossroads and Mansfield, people tend to show up late.)
- Honor all the teams. After the food, Lori went to the microphone and thanked all the teams and said something interesting about each of them. I was impressed just how many teams there are now under her leadership. Everyone walked away feeling good about themselves and their participation. People like leadership that doesn't take all the credit.
- Strategic games. Lori had two games, both of which were strategically chosen. Three of the values of the Magnification Department are creativity, teamwork, and communication. So her games subtlely illustrated all those values. In one game, teams chose two communicators. The first communicator walked about a hundred yards away and took 3 minutes to study a multi-shaped, multi-colored clay creation. Then the first communicator walked 50 yards back to the second communicator and described what they saw. Then the second communicator - without any assistance from the first communicator - walked back to the team and told them what the clay creation looked like. The team then used their own clay to recreate the object viewed by the first communicator. (See the picture above to discover just how different the results were!)
Lori is an example of a great team builder as well as a creative leader. I love working with her every week. After this picnic I'm reminded why so many other people love working with her too!
UPDATE: Jonathan Pierce, our tech specialist, updated his blog on the picnic. Cool pics here!